Storm Sakura Gi Review by Lisa Pages
I received the Sakura Storm Gi as a Christmas gift after wanting it for the past year or more.
When I first received the Gi in the mail I was so excited. I actually received the black one in an F1 although my husband ordered the white in an F2. But this was no fault of Storm because my husband bought it through a 3rd party company.
[thrive_link color='orange' link='http://gireviews.net/storm-womens' target='_blank' size='small' align='full']Click here to shop for women's gis by Storm Kimonos at Amazon[/thrive_link]
Fit
I thought I would try the F1 on to see how it fit. I am 5’3” and 115lbs so according to the size chart I should wear an F2. The F1 did fit but it seemed to barely fit and I was worried about shrinkage and the pants were about an inch above my ankle so I was worried about that too since I wanted to use this as my competition Gi. I also heard the black one is NOT IBJJF approved because of the embroidery on the side of the knee on the pants. So I returned it and received the White Sakura in F2 to be safe.
Angelica Galvao is 138lbs and 5'4″ and is shown in the storm pictures wearing an F2 which is not what the sizing chart says is best for her. F2 is supposed to fit someone 99-119lbs and 5'1″-5'4″ . An F1 should fit someone who is 83-99lbs and 4'7″ to 5′.
The F2 was a little long in the sleeves but I figured once I wash it that it would shrink. Well I actually did not get that much shrinkage out of it at all, so the sleeves are a little long but it still fits ok. I did have a friend abot the same size as me tell me that her sleeves were too long in her storm and when she posted on the mat while rolling the sleeves were in the way. So she returned her F2 for an F1. In my opinion the Gi runs a little big and does NOT shrink much at all.
Another thing to add to the Gi that I did not like was the inside of the sleeve cuff. It is supposed to be a “grip free” technology but they have a material that they line the inside with that was very itchy and it puts scratches on my wrists everytime I wear it.
Jacket
I love feel of the gi top! It is very soft. I love the softer gi’s. It doesn’t rub and chafe your skin like some harder fabric gi’s. The collar is normal, it’s not too hard were you choke yourself out wearing it but not flimsy either. The skirt length is good too its not too short like some women's gi’s you find that try to get that “ladies fit”.
Pants
The pants I am not a fan of. For starters I don’t like the pearl weave rip stop pants. They are very slippery on the mats and when someone gets a grip on them it is not easy to break. Also when you are sweaty the pants seem to stick to you. These pants do seem to be very durable but a lot thinner than most rip stop pants.
They are very wide at the bottom too which I don’t like either and the white gi is pretty see through. I have to make sure I wear white underwear. I do like the draw string because it never gets stuck, so it is much easier to tighten and loosen and I have not had any problems with the loops ripping.
[thrive_link color='orange' link='http://gireviews.net/mmawh-storm-kimonos' target='_blank' size='small' align='full']Check out Storm Kimonos collection at Amazon[/thrive_link]
The overall design of the Gi is nice. It is not too girly but still has that girl flair to it. It is very nicely made and it looks good on. I love the cherry blossom design and it is all embroidered very nicely.
Other than what I mentioned above about rip stop pants being very slippery on the mats and the grips being very hard to break on these rip stop pants because they are so thin, rolling in this Gi is a good experience, but I will give all of that credit to the Gi top.
About Lisa!
I have a blog that I just started this year to hopefully help inspire women to try BJJ. I blog other women's stories and struggles for other women to read so they know they are not alone out there. BJJ is not easy but it so worth the struggle. And we all need all of the support we can get! If you want to check out the blog or send me your story I would really appreciate it: http://girlzbjjlifestylez.weebly.com/
Update (Jan. 11, 2016)
This gi is no longer available but you can still purchase women's Storm Kimonos by clicking the button below:
[thrive_link color='orange' link='http://gireviews.net/storm-womens' target='_blank' size='small' align='full']Find the latest women's Storm Kimonos at Amazon[/thrive_link]
