You Can't Teach Heart

No, no you cannot. This is an important statement that I feel a lot of competitors and practitioners of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can relate with.

Do or Die appears to be a company with the die hard Brazilian Jiu Jitsu players in mind; with the likes of Xande and Saulo Ribeiro and the Miyao brothers representing them, there's no shortage of top level competitors who seemingly agree.

Purchase Do or Die Hyperfly kimono at Amazon

Do or Die Hyperfly Gi Review by Dan Halpin

Per Do or Die's site:

Hyperfly Kimono

The Hyperfly re-defines Jiu-Jitsu for the next generation of athletes. Staying loyal to its ancient Jiu-Jitsu Japanese philosophy based on sophistication defined by its purest simplicity, the Hyperfly is the perfect GI. The Hyperfly weave is the strongest weave in the world but still the lightest and softest. (If that's not a bold claim, I don't know what it is. ~Dan)  Hyperfly is the future of Jiu-Jitsu and already respected as the perfect gi by BJJ academies across the world. (Second note: If that first statement wasn't bold, then this one certainly is! ~Brendan)

Jacket Features

1. Lightweight 450g soft Hyperfly weave
2. One piece construction with no back seam
3. EVA foam collar
4. Contrasting black color stitching
5. Heavy reinforced seams
6. Tailored fit

Pant Features

1. 12oz drill cotton with 4 way stretch crotch gusset
2. Stretch rope drawstring
3. 6 point loop system
4. Contrasting color stitching
5. Heavy reinforced seams
6. Tailored fit
7. Reinforced double layer knee padding

Dan’s Dimensions: 5’10″ 195lbs, stockier upper body with normal legs for
his height.

Normal Gi Top Size: A3
Normal Pant Size: A2

As seen above buying this Gi will net you:

1. 1 x Gi Top
2. 1 x Gi Pants
3. 1 x Gi bag

Overview

When I first pulled this Gi out of the bag the first things to stand out to me were it's crisp clean look, light-weight and softness. In all honesty, I think those three things sum this Gi up quite nicely.

In the age of ever loud Gi designs Do or Die's Hyperfly manages to stand out with a perfect level of subtlety. (Brendan is probably calling me a scrooge and shaking his fist at me for my very small shot at what I think are overdone Gi's. Yea yea, “hater's gonna hate” and all that. ~ Dan :)) 

The A3 seems to be perfect for someone around 6'0″. At 5'10” I didn't have any issues shrinking the top to my necessary sleeve length (Note: More info on shrinking your gi to fit). A2 pants would have been a better bet for myself, but i didn't see about mixing and matching sizes.

I can make no assessment of the validity of Do or Die's claim that “The Hyperfly weave is the strongest weave in the world but still the lightest and softest”. I can say that it is light and I can't imagine anyone ripping it apart with their bare hands.

The price of the Hyperfly at around $169 places it in the higher end of the Gi price spectrum. This is definitely a quality Gi and for the added features and subtle touches I feel the price range is justified. I don't imagine anyone not using this Gi in their steady rotation if they buy it.

If you could catch it on sale somewhere it would be an awesome bargain (SEE BELOW TO SAVE $30 and get FREE SHIPPING).

The Hyperfly emblem and aesthetic make for great T-shirt/hat potential in my opinion and a blown up Shield on the jacket under the arm would be exceptionally good looking.

(Note: The Hyperfly meets IBJJF regulations.)

Gi Top

The Emblems on the sleeves are very clean and a well thought design. The Gi itself drew many “oohs and ahhs” from my counterparts at gym and when I opened the jacket to show them the internal “You can't teach heart” print, they got even more gitty. I had numerous people asking about the brand and price.

There was some loose threading around the Gi top, but these threads were extra little pieces that seemed to have been too stubborn to let the Gi top go.

I had no issues with mobility while wearing this Gi top. The Gi top has a tailored fit which is, in my opinion, the best kind of fit. It leaves less for your opponent to grab while still offering great mobility if done right.

The Gi top is also very light. I also had no issues with the industry wide standard EVA foam collar and had no scratching on my back from the label (I saw this mentioned in another review by Meerkatsu, but it seemed to be an early model). Also of note, I didn't have any issues with any of the seams being scratchy.

Gi Pants

The pants kind of threw me for a loop when I first took them out of the bag.  The back of the Gi pants is actually about an half inch higher than the front. I'll have to go back and check my other Gi's but I think I would have noticed this before. It could be some awesome revolutionary change to Gi pants…but I'm not privy to that information. Regardless, the Gi pants fit well and I had zero issues with them falling down through full drilling and sparring.

The knees are reinforced and secured with single stitching. The bottom of the pants have a 4 stitch reinforced seam. I really liked the 6 loop system and I never had the stretch rope string ride up past the waist of the pants, which I've seen happen in lesser systems.

Another standout upgrade these pants have is the lycra panel in the crotch of the pants (similar to the Kingz 550), it's very stretchy and is a nice addition to an already well thought out Gi. I don't see the crotch ripping anytime soon.

Wife Approval

My wife ignored me when I asked her what she thought about the Gi. She keeps blabbing about “Jiu Jitsu being 99% of my life” and “I never talk about anything but Jiu Jitsu” or something (You and me both, brother ~ Brendan).

I'm not exactly sure what she was saying, I wasn't really listening. I was too busy enjoying my new Hyperfly Gi.

Check out more Do or Die gis and other products at Amazon