Lightweight Gis are great for many people who want to be comfortable during the summer. Also, as you may know, I do my jiu-jitsu training in Thailand and many gyms don’t have good air conditioners. So I am guessing that you already guessed how important a gi can be for people like me.
So I gathered really good 3 lightweight BJJ Gis for regular training. I chose them based on my, my buddies’ experiences and research on jiu-jitsu forums. The other one is a lightweight competition gi which is for people who want their gis to be IBJJF approved and want to enter the tournaments all around the world with it.
Tatami Nova
Durability: 9.2 / 10.0
Comfort: 9.8 / 10.0
Quality / Price Rating: 9.6 / 10.0
Exclusive Features
- Good design
- Really light
- Comfy
- 10 oz pants
- Triple stitched
Tatami Nova is one of the most popular options for a lightweight gi which is durable. The triple stitching improves it and the pants are only 10 oz. ! It lets air in and out quite well and the collar gets rid of the bacteria and wicks the excess sweat.
Tatami Fightwear uses a quite good and classic design and basically, you just can’t go wrong with it. This is why it gets quite good feedback from a lot of practitioners.
It is single weave and 425 gsm. It also has triple stitching. This is actually the perfect combination for a lightweight Gi. Gsm number is not so high which helps with the lightweight and the single weave is the lightest weave type and the triple stitching basically helps you do ground work on the mats for long years.
You can check out its detailed review or if you liked Tatami Nova’s qualities, you can check out the most recent price on Amazon.
Hayabusa Lightweight
Durability: 9.6 / 10.0
Comfort: 9.2 / 10.0
Quality / Price Rating: 9.1 / 10.0
Exclusive Features
- Quite light (420 gsm pearl weave + 8 oz.pants)
- Hayabusa design
- Fits well
- Shrinking is negligible
- IBJJF approved
This one’s gsm number is relatively low and it is 420. So it is lighter, however, pearl weave is heavier than the single weave and this is why this gi is a bit heavier than the first gi. However, the cotton and pants get rid of sweat quite well and help you stay cool while doing groundwork.
The shoulder part fits well and it allows you to grapple and move freely. One thing is to note that this gi shrinks less than usual so if you do sessions in a hot environment and think of washing it more or longer, this quality can help your gi to fit well for a longer time. This gi is also IBJJF approved and you can compete in any BJJ tournament with it.
The price is actually better than many Hayabusa Gis and it is also lighter than the others. This is another reason why I picked this gi and you can have a closer look at Hayabusa Lightweight on here.
Vector Lightweight Preshrunk
Durability: 9.2 / 10.0
Comfort: 9.0 / 10.0
Quality / Price Rating: 9.9 / 10.0
Exclusive Features
- Quality materials
- Tapered design
- Triple stitched
- Comes preshrunk
- Comes with a free white belt!
- IBJJF approved!
Well, I am sure that some of you did not surprise to see this gi in my lightweight gi list : ) Since at least some of you, who are readers of my blog or followers of my social media accounts, know that I rolled on mats quite a while in Thailand with Vector Lightweight.
Due to the design, the midsection of the jacket is a bit tighter than usual and I actually prefer this since I feel more comfortable while grappling and I also think that this design is just a better fit for me.
This one has quadruple stitching so it is basically really solid.
It is made of cotton and has pearl weave. And the pearl weave increases the years of training. However, it is a heavier weave type.
You can wash this gi in cold water so it basically does not shrink at all! However, if you don’t like the fitting (it may be a bit baggy, have long sleeves etc.), you can always wash it in hot water and make this gi shrink a little. This is just really important for people who really care about improving submission techniques. So I am %100 sure that you will like the fitting.
On the top of that, this gi comes with a free BJJ Gi belt and considering that you can wear Vector Lightweight Preshrunk for years without any shrinking, the cost efficiency is really high.
Sanabul Highlights Professional Competition
Durability: 9.2 / 10.0
Comfort: 9.3 / 10.0
Quality / Price Rating: 9.8 / 10.0
Exclusive Features
- Quality materials
- Tapered design
- Triple stitched
- Comes preshrunk
- IBJJF compliant!
The design is quite tapered and this leaves less fabric to hold and this comes in handy in tournaments or while you are doing sparring. It is made of organic cotton and if you are allergic to certain fabrics or just have too sensitive skin, this gi can be an option.
This gi is preferred a lot in tournaments and if you watched any tournament, you will probably have seen that someone who rolls on mats with this and I actually saw it a lot. Many seasoned practitioners consider Sanabul Highlights as the top lightweight gi for competitions. It also comes as preshrunk so you don’t need to fear from the first wash.
Also, this Sanabul Highlights Professional Competition can last for years without being baggy so when you see the price you will understand that you truly get more than what you pay.
Advantages of Wearing a Lightweight BJJ Gi
Raise your hands if you know that I train in Samut Prakan. I think that I mention this in every other article. Anyway, doing jiu-jitsu sessions in a hot environment just sucks. First of all, after some time you just can’t move well while you are doing submissions. I remember that one guy started doing triangle but he was so uncomfortable that he stopped doing it (excused himself) and just went straight to the locker room. When you are sweating, the gi’s arm and leg compartments start being sticky and it directly lowers your training performance. That just sucks, right? Also, the gi will get heavier and heavier. When this is the case, the gi also starts to stay just on your skin more and as a result, you will sweat more. It will be unbearable.
As a result of this, your gi will stink and you will need to wash your gi longer. Also, some gis actually shrink more than it should so you may wear your gi for a shorter period than you think.
So wearing a lightweight gi, which provides constant air in and out, will save you from all of these.
Also, you can move faster with a light gi so you can show better ground work performance.
As you can see, there are a lot of benefits of training with these gis above and I am sure that these kimonos can accommodate any BJJ practitioner who rolls on the mats regularly or competes in tournaments.
If you have any questions regarding any of these top lightweight BJJ gis or experiences with them, just have a comment below and I will reply to you as soon as possible.
Thanks for the reviews!
I know very little about this stuff as I do not practice any form of martial arts myself.
However I have a very good friend that trains in MMA and I have been thinking about getting him a gift related to that.
These lightweights gis could be the perfect choice, and I like that you gave multiple options to choose from.
Which of these three choices is your top pick?
These gis can be really good options for his grappling sessions and anyone can use an extra lightweight gi for MMA sessions. My top pick is Tatami Nova. When you consider the price and weave quality, it just stands out more. The collar is also good at wicking sweat as well.
I appreciate the review. My son has been in jiu jitsu classes in the past and about ready to start again after his summer is over. Yep we found out about the shrinking. And yes they seem like the gi’s they had were aggravating always pulling them down, chest area always poofing out. Very informative Thanks
Yeah shrinking is a real issue among a lot of BJJ Gis. It is definitely something to consider while buying a gi. That is interesting because the chest area generally fits better with time. Which gi did he train with earlier? I heard this the first time and really wondered since it should be the opposite.