The Best Kendo-Gi

[ben spain]

I had a quick search and could not find this post anywhere so I thought I would start it.

We all bang on about Bogu - but what is the best Kendo-Gi? There are loads of little reviews and opinions - but please post you opinions on the different Kendo-Gi you have owned so we can get a general consensus on at least a couple of good quality Kendo-Gi.

Only restriction is that is has to be commercially available and not a special hand-stitched one with fancy embrobery inside that costs as much as a set of Bogu!

[Kaede]

Why is there a lot of answers in ben spain's hakama thread and not here?

Isn't gi as important as hakama?

I have only used a Musashi-blue until now. I have just got a new set from Kendoshop (white). I believe these are good beginners options. Cheap and quite durable for the price... Simpel good gear for practice. Gradings and such is another matter... :p

[KAKUSEI]

I favor my Jin Keiko-Gis. Double weight when cold. Single weight in the summer.
I love them because they feel suprisingly light, esp. the double weight. I got both of them from Eguchi.

I have also used Ebogu's Single Weight Gi's which I think is a steal at $50+..

[Richmond-san]

I have a single layer kendogi, standared e-bogu, I love it.

Richmond-san

[#2 mouse]

I just got an e-bogu double layer gi. I'll let you know how I like it once I get to wear it a little.

[kanyil]

I think keikogis tend to wear out faster than hakamas as they take a lot more beating.

I had experiences with a few basic cotton single layer keikogis, a Tozando CoolMax double layer keikogi and a Mitsuboshi keikogi from Chibabogu. And my take on this is to either go to the extreme cheap end, or the other way around and reserve these high-priced babies for special occasions. Becausethere will not be that much of a difference between the functionality of a mid-level keikogi costing around USD$100 and a lower-end keikogi costing $20, but one can definitely feel the difference between a USD$200 and a USD$20 keikogi.

The basic keikogis I had were priced at less than USD$20, and served me quite well. What's to complain with those prices? I will continue to buy these bottom-level keikogis for everyday practice in the future. They are what I call the "work horses".

The CoolMax keikogi is very nice and soft and wicks mosture (aka sweat) quite well, but the inner CoolMax lining is apparently very fragile, and is already breaking apart after only 3 months. Have something in this price range breaking apart so soon is just unacceptable. I personally will not buy another keikogi made from CoolMax-esque fiber (i.e. including HiDriTex, etc) in the future. To me, this was a failed science experiment but at least I found out that perhaps my type of keiko is incompatible with the less sturdy keikogis.

The Mitsuboshi keikogi that I picked up during my trip to Tokyo is probably the most expensive one out of the lot but also feels the nicest. It looks beautiful and feels wonderful but is still sitting in a tub of vinegar/water solution, where I left it about 5 days ago. Let's see how it holds out in the long run.

[LarsCW]

How is it about this cotton #5000, #7000, #8000, #10.000?

I understand it's something with the quality but in what way is this noticable?