Here are a couple of reviews of the Tatami Estilo 3.0 Women's Cut from two marvelous ladies who are both gi junkies. They offer two different perspectives so you can get a more well-rounded evaluation of this gi.

The gi review world is still dominated by males, and we're grateful for Julia and Nicole's passion for BJJ gis. Click here to skip to Julia's review, and here to Nicole's.

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Julia's Review of the Tatami Estilo 3.0

Hello!

Jiu Jiu from jiujiubjj here!

I'm so excited to review my FAVORITE GI TOP OF ALL TIMES! I bought the Tatami's blue Estilo 3.0 size F3 independently several months ago, then was contacted by Aaron from BJJHQ and asked if I would like to review the same gi but in white. I jumped at the chance and asked him to send me an F4 since the F3 pants were not ideal.

This review focuses mainly on the blue F3, since the fit was much better, but discusses size differences and there's a picture of the white F4 gi below.

Sizing

Here are the sizes for Tatami's Estilo 3.0 women's gi.

I am 5'4″ and my weight back in April was around 165. I chose the F3 because I am losing weight and chose a gi for the future. I am currently 150. I am also a bit slimmer than people my weight because I have lifted weights. The top fit me at 160 and currently at 150. The bottoms did not fit at 160, and barely fit at 150.

Measurements

I wash my gis on HOT, several times. The F3 has been worn and washed a minimum of 40 times. The F4, only 4-5. The most significant shrinking was in the pants height and in the overall circumference of the gi jacket.

The Specs

It has patches across the shoulders and the front in big, flashy colors. Tatami Fightwear is stitched across the top back, below the collar. Both of the arms have the “E” logo just below the Tatami name logo. Across the butt there's another large Tatami patch. There's also a tiny patch on the very bottom of the collar.

It is triple stitched across the major stress points, like the main vertical seam int he pants and the horizontal seam running under the arm down into the armpit. It comes with edging tape that says estilo on it – which is in the cuffs and follow the inside border of the collar. The pants have 4 loops. It has a canvas rubberised collar, the top is a “500gsm Single Piece Pearl Weave Jacket.” The bottoms are “Heavy 14oz Canvas pants opposed to traditional twill. Double reinforced knee padding, triple stitched with over lapped seams.” Additionally the pants have a rope drawstring “as opposed to the traditional twill, which allows for tighter fastening of the pants, and more comfort when training. “

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The look

I love my blue gi so much. When I opened it up the first thing I thought was OMG IT'S LIKE A SUPERHERO COSTUME! Full disclosure: I'm a comic nerd, so this is a total positive in my book. The use of primary colors, the contrast stitching, and the red/white/black labels against the blue are visually striking. After MANY washings on hot water, the white in the labels has greyed a bit, but not the white in the contrast stitching.

The white has black contrast stitching and looks sharp as well – the red really comes out. Ultimately: This is not a gi for people who hate bling!

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The fit: TOP

My measurements: Height 5'4″, weight 150, chest 35″ (in a sports bra), waist 29.5″, tummy at the widest point 35″. I absolutely love the slim fit of the top. It stays on, it stays closed, and it doesn't bunch about. I find it even stays closed when my belt comes loose. I find it irritating when gi tops open and scream to the world Hello, look at my chest. The F3 passes the Crab Walk Test. When doing the Crab Walk, the gi stays still – no falling off my shoulders and bunching around my hands. I honestly didn't know a gi existed that would NOT do that!

Similarly, it stays still for Bear Walks. It's sometimes as though this gi is glued to me. The arm length is PERFECT, coming right to the wrist, and it's narrow, so my opponents don't have a lot to grab. It's also fairly modest, covering most of my derriere. I don't know if the reason it stays shut is because of the “Canvas rubberised collar” which, according to Tatami, “are much more hard wearing than traditional twill collars and help to keep the shape of the kimono. ” I buy it!

The F4 was too big for me. I had grown accustomed to the F3 and loved how it fit. However, the F4 scored low on the crab walk test, and came down to the bottom knuckle on my thumbs. I think if I had not had a wonderful fitting gi that I would have though this fit fine.

The fit: BOTTOM

My measurements: Height 5'4″, weight 150, hips 38.5″, thigh 23″, calf 16.5″. These are SLIM pants with no trunk space. Built for much thinner legs and smaller butt than I have. When I first got this gi back in April, my legs were a bit bigger – 24″ thighs, 17″ calves, 40.5″ hips. I put on the gi pants and I could BARELY kneel in them. My legs were like sausages in tight casings. Now that my legs are a full inch thinner on top, I found they fit okay. The tight fit makes sense because they're for weight range 115-140. The cool thing is that because they are so fitted, there's no loose fabric for people to grab. The purple belt at my gym tried to grab my gi pants and visibly reacted because he couldn't grab them! Overall, as my legs thin out I find the tapered fit fairly nice.

They are super highwaters. These are 3″ shorter than the tops of my feet. I do not understand why these are so short! They're intended for 5'3″ to 5'6″, which means that if a 5'6″ gal wears these, they're likely to be 5″ too short for her! If they were made for 5′ to 5'4,” I could understand, but these are practically capris. Even the F4 pants were highwaters! The pants fit more comfortably, but they're clearly meant for people with half-sized legs, because there's no way these would fit a 5'6″ gal and not be capris! Ultimately, I love how they look and I like how they feel, but I hate how short they are.

The feel

This gi feels super sturdy and thick. I heard someone say that it felt like a cheese grater when they don't wear a rashguard underneath. After feeling how super freaking soft the lilac Vulkan gi is, I can understand what he's talking about. For the record, that Vulkan gi feels like a towel. It is stiff, but not uncomfortable, and feels very heavy duty.

I don't find the inside tape to be scratchy even when I wear short sleeved rash guards. I really love the fabric used in the pants – they're really strong and the fabric itself feels nice. That's why there's a possibility I'd wear them after losing a bit more weight. It's also why I asked Aaron to send me an F4 so that I could see if the pants fit better. I have a love/hate relationship with the rope. It is thick and super slick – like silk. However, it doesn't knot very well, and this is the only pair of pants I've had actually make me moon my jiu jitsu class. Thankfully I was wearing shorts under them.

Pricing (Note: Compare current prices before you buy!)

If and when it comes up on BJJHQ it is $100.

It's completely worth the retail price, and I would absolutely buy a second one.

Buy the Limited Edition Tatami Women's Estilo 5.0 Premier BJJ Gi 

To sum up

Hands down my absolute favorite gi top – perfect for my size. I use this gi top as my standard for buying other gi tops. The pants, however, are made for MUCH shorter/thinner legs. So if you have a lollipop shaped body, this would be perfect for you. If you have any junk in your trunk or have long legs, not the pants for you.

If you're similar to my size, you might want to consider ordering from Tatami because they claim All Estilo kimono's will come with mix and match pants options enabling customers of in between the sizes to have the best fitting kimono. I do not know if this is still true, but if they allow for mix and match sizing, I'd order direct from there.

To see more pictures from this photoshoot, you can visit Jiu Jiu's website.

Nicole's Review of the Tatami Estilo 3.0

An awesome review by Nicole Kirk.

I bought the Tatami Estilo 3.0 (women’s cut) for a cool $100 on BJJHQ, after having had my eye on them for ever ever but never having had the guts to pull the trigger.

It's no secret that Tatami is well known for its combination of bold but sleek aesthetics, quality materials and affordability. So I won't spend too much time rehashing that.

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My gi came to me with a couple of minor issues. First, there were a couple of dropped or flubbed stitches on the jacket, which is a bummer, but not a huge deal for a $100 purchase. More importantly, there was a really large pink stain on the jacket where the red part of the lapel patch had pressed against is when it was folded. It was pretty noticeable, so I decided to FB message Tatami to see if they thought it would wash out. After waiting a week or more for a response, I finally gave up and washed it, and it did come out…which is good news for future erroneous dye marks, I hope.

As usual, with this women's cut gi, I was between sizes (I’m 5‘3”, 140lbs, very compact) so I went lower with an F2, as I prefer a more fitted gi.

When I laid eyes on the it, I instantly regretted my decision because, as you can see, the pants on this bad boy were really, really tight! I tried it on and thought “God, this had better not shrink.” When I finally arrived with it in class, I spent a good portion of the session explaining to everyone that I was reviewing it, and I understood that my ass looked like it was challenging the structural integrity of the trousers.

Though I had a really hard time with anything that involves flexibility in the pants, somehow I had no real issues with them when rolling.

If there was stuff I couldn't do, I either didn't notice, or my internal desire not to have my butt hanging out subconsciously informed my technique selections for these sessions.

Also, while the jacket was snug as well, it was actually really comfy for me to wear and didn't pose any restrictions at all.

After washing it on cold and hang drying, it was clear that this was not going to be the gi for me in the long term. The post-wash pictures look like I stole my little brother's gi. The trousers went from just above the ankle to mid-shin and I couldn't T-Rex that top into being comp legal on the T-Rexiest day of my life, as the sleeves clearly hit a good couple of inches above my rash guard sleeves!

I think I hit the mat in the Tatami two more sessions, which I'm sure were exponentially funnier for my teammates than my pre-wash session, but I was doing this for science, dammit!

I will say that from a purely functional perspective, the stitching on this gi is impeccable. The canvas of the trousers had absolutely zero give (unlike a twill, drill or even some ripstops I own) but even during my most daring stretches and warmups, I did not manage to Incredible Hulk them with my thighs and ass of doom.

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The super tailoring of the pants is also interesting to me, because with most women's cut gis, there is so much extra booty room that it feels diaper-y on my modest bubble, so the only conclusion I can draw is that British ladies don't have asses at all, and that's sad.

After all this hilarity and shrinkage, I traded the gi to my teammate for a size appropriate Ronin Insignia. She's 15lbs lighter and 3 inches shorter than I, and though she loves it, this gi looks a touch tight on her! All that said, with construction, design and affordability such as Tatami offers, perhaps if it comes around again on BJJHQ, I'll grab an F3… or an F4, and try again.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOVEMBER 4, 2012