Introduction

Tatami Fightwear is a very popular British, and now global, brand and the Estilo is one of their most popular models. In the past we've reviewed quite a few of their gis, including the Tatami Fightwear Enson Inoue Signature Gi, Tatami Fightwear Estilo 3.0, Tatami Estilo 3.0 Ladies Gi, Honey Badger Gi, Tatami Fightwear Zero G V2 Gi Review, Terere Signature Gi, and the Zero G Lightweight Gi.

Check out the Latest BJJ Gi Collection from Tatami at MMA Overload

Nicole Kirk has also written a review for the Women's fit of the Estilo 4.0. Click here if you want to skip to her review.

This review is totally false and full of lies. Tatami Fightwear has promised me an endless supply of scotch and Reese's Peanut Butter cups in return for a positive review and I have happily obliged as long as they promised to also send me a copy of every Pride dvd to date and a bunch of stuff out of the SkyMall catalogs that you get on airplanes. On with the reviews!

Summary

Tatami Fightwear always makes very solid gis and the Estilo 4 is no different.  The gi is probably one of the best middle-of-the-road cuts out there for guys my size (6'1 and 210lbs wearing an A3) and one thing that I love is that while it isn't super-tailored out of the bag, it also won't shrink down to the point of not fitting like many of my other more ‘fitted' gis have in the past.

Fit

As you can see from the photos, the fit of the Tatami Estilo 4.0 gi on me is fantastic.  I'm 6'1 and about 210lbs and the A3 always fits me VERY well. Below are the measurements for the newer Estilo 5.0.

Design/Quality

As you know from my obsession with Kazushi Sakuraba, there's no way I can avoid anything that's orange and blue.  I enjoy the embroidery throughout the gi and especially the embroidered patches.  Tatami has certain come a LONG way from the original gi designs!

Additionally, the quality of my gi was excellent. Not a stitch was out of place and with contrast stitching, you really need to have a high quality product or else it will end up looking awful.

Jacket

The 550gsm pearl weave jacket on the Estilo 4 features a stiff collar that is a nice reprieve from the flimsiness that you find on a lot of lightweight BJJ gis lately.  For me the jacket is an excellent fit and is definitely a model that would make it into my regular training rotation (in addition to my Scramble gi).

The 550gsm is probably my favorite jacket weight because it offers the durability and unrelenting strength of a heavyweight gi, but is also light enough to dry quickly and feel light on your body.

Trousers

The 12oz cavans cotton pants on the Estilo 4.0 feature a really cool new item that didn't end up making to the production models.  The only place that I've ever seen it before is on gold pants.  A rubber lining was sewn in on the inside of the pants in order (I believe) to prevent them from slipping down in training.  The only problem is that if you're like me and you have a smaller waist than you do thighs, the rubber lining don't collapse very well and you end up with an INCREDIBLY awful and uncomfortable pair of pants.

I messaged Gareth right away because there was no way I would be able to wear them to complete the review and he noted that they had already been removed from the final production model. Kudos for trying to do something new with BJJ gis, though!

I really like that the knee pads extend all of the way to the bottom of the pants and that the crotch, while the same material as the rest of the gi, held up very well during training.  The 5 belt loops and stretchy rope drawstring offer a very solid belt system as well.

Rolling Performance

I've worn this gi for a few months of hard summer training (I train 5-6 times per week in the summer versus 2-3 per week in the winter due to my schedule) and this gi held up VERY well.  Because the fit was on par for my size and the quality was top notch, I really enjoyed training it in.  This is literally one of my longest reviews and my brevity should not to confused with lack of substance.  Totalling around 6 months of hard training in the Estilo 4, I really did my best to put it through the ringer and it came out with flying colours!

The fact that the pants offer a great mix of mobility and durability and the fact that the jacket offers a robust collar made it a great gi for me and a bane of my training partners.

Conclusion

I would highly recommend this gi to anybody looking for a solid mid-range gi.  I think that the Estilo easily competes with brands like Moya Brand and Shoyoroll, but at a much lower price point.  The fact that you can get them from so many places also means that, using the links above, you can almost always find one for sale, which is nice.

Review of Tatami Estilo 4.0 For Women

by Nicole Kirk

Shop for the Latest Women's Gis from Tatami at Amazon

Hello!  We’re taking a look at Tatami Fightwear’s new release, the Estilo 4.0. A while back, I reviewed the women’s cut of the 3.0 (read it at http://gireviews.net/womens-cut-tatami-estilo-3-0-gi-review/).

Despite looking cool and being of very sound construction, it didn’t really go that well for me. I had a number of issues with the cut, most importantly that it had very little room in the booty and thigh region for a ladies’ gi.

After the review was released, the gents from Tatami Fightwear got in touch with me, jokingly(?) dubbed me “the Estilo hater” and offered to send me the 4.0 for review. They told me they had made some adjustments from the 3.0 and would appreciate a comparative look.

Anyway, I took a long time with this review. Mostly  because I’ve been dealing with a recurring injury that took me off the mat for a couple of months, but also because I think nearly any gi will hold up to three weeks of punishment; it’s after a few months that you start to notice how it’s wearing in or wearing out.

Aesthetics

So, as with the majority of their releases, the 4.0 is aesthetically on point. The logo hits are clean and striking, not at all busy. The woven patches from their earlier models are a thing of the past and they’ve upgraded to high quality embroideries throughout. The gi they sent me is white with gray and orangy-yellow accents, which are more classic-looking than feminine, which gives it a more professional vibe than some of the more embellished women’s gear out there, if you ask me.

Construction

The construction is awesome, especially if you measure it against other gis in its price range. The collar is meatier than most and rubber-filled, the sleeves are tailored, but will meet IBJJF regulations. The pants feature six belt loops in contrasting gray, a stretchy rope drawstring (also in gray) and a new feature, a rubberized grippy webbing is stitched inside the belt line, to help keep your pants from slipping down…but more on that later. The trousers have a little bit of a boot cut to the leg, which is different than the 3.0 (more of a skinny jean there), is good for IBJJF purposes, but isn’t billowy or super easy to grip, due in part to the bulletproof brushed canvas material Tatami favours for its Estilo pants.

Fit

So far, so good, but the problem is, it can look great and last forever but if you don’t feel comfortable in it, it’s never going to be your favorite gi. Sadly, it seems that for my body type (short, a bit stockier, big shoulders, narrow hips, big legs), Tatami will never be my soul mate brand. I was sized on the smaller end of F3 (I’m 5’3”, 142-148lbs, depending on pancake and pizza allowance), and in the length, I could have easily gone with an F2. The sleeves and pant legs were on the long side (though it does shrink considerably if you force it to) and the skirt was noticeably longer than what I would consider ideal. Through the shoulders and hips, however, the fit was pretty well tailored without tons of material in the boob or back region, which worked well for me.

The true deal breaker here, just like the 3.0, was the pants. The way Tatami cuts their women’s pants continues to confound me. The waist was large enough to accommodate someone a fair amount larger than me, while the gusset was so narrow that anyone with thighs the same size as mine (sort of in the small tree trunk range) will find lateral movement impossible. They did expand the booty region a bit, which is nice, but the hips are cut surprisingly conservatively for a women’s specific model. After several months of training in it twice a week, I was tired of not being able to do a side lunge or comfortably reach my leg forward for Spiderman steps (also called alligators, I think). Further, the elasticized waist I mentioned doesn’t do too much to help keep your pants up when there is enough room at the waist that it pleats a little bit, but you can’t keep the material on your outer thigh from binding and pulling your pants down. Ultimately, I think my hips stopped the downward trajectory of my trousers, not any grippy materials.

I've also received feedback from a reader named Pam who said she loved this gi before she washed it. Apparently, it shrunk so much (mostly in the arms but the pants too) that she looked like she was wearing a kids gi. She did say that it was probably her fault for drying it but she also dries most of her other gi’s without having THAT much shrinkage.

Bottom Line

Tatami makes well-crafted, stylish gi and no gi gear and are lovely people to work with. If you like an average weight gi that doesn’t feel flimsy and your bottom half is on the slimmer side, this might be your perfect everyday training gi. If not, skip this one and go with something a little more suited for those of us with booty to spare.

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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN AUGUST (Women's) and DECEMBER (Men's) 2013