Short Review: A considerable improvement over previous Datsusara gi trousers I've tried, the Real Dope Pants are easily among the most comfortable gi trousers I've ever worn (and I've worn a lot in the last decade). The green and black colour scheme is striking, although the gentle humour of the embroidery may still be too much for some. I also found the drawstring was too long for me, but that is an issue with most drawstrings, easily resolved by cutting and singeing the ends. These trousers are not cheap at $75 (available here, from the Datsusara website), but if you value comfort, it's money well spent.
Full Review: Datsusara have remained the most prominent name in the hemp gi market, a profile that has risen since their sponsorship of the Eddie Bravo Invitational. On that event, you may have seen the referees wearing some stylish trousers with a green drawstring. Those are the 'Real Dope Pants', a marked departure from Datsusara's previous HCG ('hemp combat gi') model, at least in terms of the older editions I've tested over the years (the HCG-02 and HCG-03: Datsusara is currently up to the HCG-06).
Those older gis used a weave that was comfortable and breathable, if comparatively heavy. The same weave was used in the Flow Kimonos hemp offering (which I reviewed here). They've proven to be excellent training gis, but are too bulky for travel. This is in contrast to another hemp gi I own, currently my favourite of any gi: The Green Gi. I own two jackets and one pair of The Green Gi trousers. The weave is tighter than either the HCG-02/03 or the Flow Hemp, which may explain why it feels lighter and is easier to pack.
The Green Gi gets my vote for top spot because it's ridiculously comfortable. After I first put them on, the Real Dope Pants immediately reminded me of The Green Gi: they are just as comfortable. If the HCG-06 is made out of the same weave, then that is going to make for a very tempting purchase the next time I'm in the US.
The striking green and black colour scheme of the Datsusara trousers elicited plenty of comments when I first walked in wearing them, but as regular readers will know, if I own something black it doesn't stay that way for long: I like colour. I bleached and then dyed the trousers, as I wanted something I could match with my second The Green Gi jacket, which I dyed dark green a while back. Before I attacked it with various chemicals, the black was attractively set off by the green stitching and embroidery, along with a green bungee cord drawstring.
I found that drawstring overly long for my taste, though this is a problem with every bungee cord style drawstring I've tried so far. It's easily rectified, as you can simply cut the superfluous material, then singe the ends with a candle to prevent fraying. It comes undone more easily than my favourite drawstrings (which are from Fenom Kimonos), so there is perhaps slightly less friction in the finish compared to the Fenom.
I've been wearing both The Green Gi and the Datsusara trousers regularly over the last few months, culminating in an open mat where I switched between them midway through. I also asked my student Milka to test both of them, which proved illuminating. Her preference was the Datsusara, though she felt they were both excellent. To quote her:
These [the Datsusara] are the most comfortable. These [The Green Gi] are just as comfortable, thicker, so for the winter they'd be perfect. However, I can feel the stitches, because they are right across my thighs. But with this [the Datsusara], it's like wearing nothing.
As soon as she rolled in them, she was asking me where she could buy a pair. Personally, I prefer The Green Gi, but it's close. The reason is that while I find them equally comfortable, I prefer the cut on The Green Gi and they have thicker reinforcement panels by the knees. I haven't had any issues with the stitching on the trousers, though I did have the seam tape by the sleeve cuffs removed due to itchiness (I think from the seam tape edge, rather than the stitching itself).
I also prefer the plain design of The Green Gi. Normally Datsusara are notably plainer than most other companies, so the shift to increased embroidery and patches on the Real Dope Pants was a departure. I don't mind the kanji, it was the 'Real Dope Gear' embroidery I found off-putting. I live in Bristol, where you will often smell pot wafting down the street. My attitude is that as long as they aren't smoking it on my mats, I don't mind: what you do at home is your business. However, even the gently pro-pot implication of the 'Real Dope' pun wasn't a message I felt comfortable displaying on my gi, especially as an instructor. I therefore covered it with a patch, though the embroidery would also be fairly easily to remove, judging by my quick test unpicking a few of the threads.
Before washing, the A1 trousers I got were 93cm long. After several months of regular washing at 30 degree Celsius, they have shrunk to 90cm. If you stick to 30 degrees, then that would indicate you can be relatively confident that the sizes on the website are not going to shift dramatically.
It will be interesting to see what the durability is like on the Real Dope Pants, so I'll update this review in a couple of years. There are many alleged benefits to hemp (see my old HCG review for more discussion of that), but as ever the only one I can currently confirm is that hemp clothing has a considerably greater level of comfort compared to cotton.
The Real Dope Pants are an impressive achievement by Datsusara, which hopefully will carry across to their gis as well, if it hasn't already. If Datusara are able to produce a jacket as comfortable as these trousers, I suspect I will soon have a new favourite gi. ;)
The Real Dope Pants are available to buy here, from the Datsusara website
Short Review: Datsusara's follow up to the HCG-02 has a new cut, better fitting than the old judo-style baggy jacket (though it's still fairly baggy on my frame). As before, the 100% hemp material feels soft and comfortable, while also staying cool due to its porous nature. The stitching issues have also been resolved, aside from one small defect on the belt loop which is probably specific to the particular gi I received. The main drawback is that the HCG-03 has increased in price, meaning that cost is becoming an even more significant obstacle. Available to buy here for $199.95, in either unbleached 'natural' white or midnight blue.
Full Review: When I reviewed the HCG-02 for Meerkatsu last year, there were two major flaws that needed to be resolved with the next edition: poor stitching and an overly baggy cut. I was therefore keeping a close eye on those two potential problems after receiving the HCG-03 while I was in Texas. Georgette kindly let me have the gi sent to her home, in addition to all her awesome hospitality while I was there in November. Incidentally, she also has an HCG-03 to review: I'll update this with a link when it's up.
The new Datsusara hemp gi comes in either white or midnight blue (no black in this batch). As before, the 'white' gi isn't truly white, but unbleached, resulting in a beige hue. The price has increased by $60: hopefully it won't rise any higher, but then Odell did say previously that the price was already being kept artificially low while they ironed out any errors. That cost barrier could cause problems, as with the even more unique (and even more expensive) Gimono.
Chris Odell's explanation is reasonable, but most people will still baulk at the price. If the claim that hemp is so much stronger and more durable than cotton is true, then as with the Gimono, the expense can be justified to an extent:
On the pricing once again guys hemp is so much better than cotton, but you kind of have to use it to really understand. All I can tell you for sure is we pay 4X what other guys pay for just about any gi on the market so as you can see our markup is actually very low considering.
There have been multiple improvements to this updated edition since the HCG-02, while retaining the previous benefits. As I discussed at length in the HCG-02 review, there are many claims regarding hemp. The relevant advantages touted for a hemp gi are:
- Four times stronger than cotton
- Anti-microbial, so allegedly bacteria, mold and fungi can't live in the gi
- Green: readily renewable and the cultivation process uses limited water
- Porous: breathes well and dries faster
- Wears in rather than wears out
I can't vouch for it being anti-microbial without access to a laboratory and a science degree, but the HCG-03 still has the wonderful softness of the HCG-02 (and thanks to Georgette's washing protocol smells fantastic, but that only applies if you've washed your clothes in Georgette's house ;D). It also dries relatively fast, taking about a day, though that is still much longer than either my Gimono or my Gorilla ripstop, both of which dry in a few hours.
Importantly, the HCG-02 issues with stitching have been addressed in the HCG-03. I only noticed a couple of slightly loose threads around the sleeve cuffs, but that was trivial, especially compared to the large gaps on the HCG-02. Having said that, I was surprised that one of the belt loops broke after the second wash. I would guess that is simply a defect in the particular trousers I had, rather than something endemic across all the HCG-03 gis. It isn't hard to fix, but annoying nonetheless.
An issue that has carried over from the HCG-02 is the amount of lint. I had a pair of black trousers in the same bag as my Datsusara hemp gi, as the temperature in Houston tends to bounce from hot to cold. When I took the black trousers out, they looked like they had been rolled in flour due to all the shedding from my HCG-03. Similarly, in the shower after training it felt like I was using one of those exfoliating shower gels due to all the lint from inside the gi. The HCG-02 stopped shedding after a few washes, so I would assume the same is true with the HCG-03 (other reviews I've read mentioned it stopped after four or five washes).
The jacket is 580gsm, while the trousers are 370gsm: that hasn't changed since the HCG-02, which itself was only slightly lighter than the 600gsm CG-01 hemp/cotton blend. I am used to much thinner jackets, especially as I was testing my Gimono alongside the Datsusara in Texas, but the breathability of the hemp means that it doesn't feel as heavy as the gsm might indicate. The weave isn't typical either, as it is a 'basket weave' rather than the more common pearl, single and double weaves. It will get creased, unlike the Gimono, but not to the extent of something like the Gorilla. That's a very minor point though, which I only noticed because the Gimono has such a ridiculously crease-proof drape.
Behind your neck, the inner label of the HCG-03 has increased considerably in size and was slightly itchy at first, though it seems to have lessened with repeated washes. Unlike the HCG-02, the trousers do not come with the option of both a rope and drawstring (or at least mine didn't). You're stuck with the flat drawstring, which is fine with me as that's what I prefer anyway, but I'm aware that many BJJers favour a rope. The thread in the gi is made of nylon, as Odell stated here.
I loved the plain styling of the HCG-02, which has been kept for the HCG-03. The embroidery of the hemp seed 'mon' logo has been exchanged for appliqué. This looks much sharper than the old embroidery, with a white border trim. If you want a completely plain gi, I would expect appliqué to be harder to remove than a patch (unlike patches and embroidery, I haven't tried removing appliqué), but then there are only two of them.
On the back, the Datusara logo has been moved up higher, between the shoulder blades. That shows Datsusara once again listening to criticism, as a number of people disliked the way the HCG-02 back design was in the same spot where you would normally put a team patch. As with the sleeve, this is also appliqué rather than the old embroidery, meaning there isn't that weird effect from the HCG-02 of a ghostly white version on the inside of the gi. Then again, it would be covered up by the larger inner label anyway with the new HCG-03 design.
A more significant change is the cut. The HCG-02 felt baggy, like a judogi. The HCG-03 is tapered to the body for a far slimmer fit than the old version, in my case further helped by the fact I went with an A1 this time rather than an A2 (though it is still baggy compared to my best-fitting gis, which are probably the Black Eagle Predator and Basico). That improvement in terms of fit is due to the help from Scotty Nelson at OnTheMat, who was a groundbreaking figure in both US BJJ and US-based gi design (he mentions his involvement with Datsusara briefly during his Open Mat Radio interview from a few months ago). The cut of the HCG-03 was taken directly from the OTM 420, though Odell noted in his email to me that the HCG-04 would be changing its cut slightly. Nelson also helped in locating a different manufacturer for the HCG-03. I can't think of any other pair of gi companies who have been willing to work that closely, so its another refreshing development from Datsusara (and indeed OnTheMat).
There was a great deal of shrinkage with Datsuara's previous hemp gi, though as Seymour washed the HCG-02 before I got to it, I didn't see the process. However, he did let me know the stats, which meant that effectively the A2 shrunk down almost to an A1. This time, I got an A1 in the HCG-03 and shrinkage has been far less. I did two washes at Georgette's house at 25 degrees celsius then hung it up on a door, followed by a third wash at 30 degrees celsius in Bristol. The cuff-to-cuff wingspan started at 159cm, dropping to 155cm, then stabilising at 154cm. Shoulder to hem was originally 80cm, then shrunk to 77cm, where it stayed. Finally, the trousers began at 96.7cm, then steadily shrunk by increments for the first two washes: after the first wash it was 95.5cm, then 94cm. It remained at 94cm with the third wash.
The reinforcements look sufficiently beefy, also made of hemp. There is a large pearl-shaped section on the armpit and a square on the side vent (rather than the triangle used by some other gi companies). The trousers have a long section of additional fabric starting above the knee and stretching all the way to the bottom of the trouser cuff. That prevents the problem of the reinforced section being too low or too high when you kneel on the mat.
The Datsusara HCG-03 is apparently IBJJF legal, as people have mentioned they have won IBJJF competitions while wearing a Datsusara HCG-03. According to the Datsusara website, that is true for both the unbleached white and the midnight blue. Like last time, Odell has been engaging with his customers on various forums, perhaps most notably Sherdog, which is among the largest. For example, he immediately resolved customer complaints regarding defects on this thread, which as a result turned into positive feedback.
The development of new materials and weaves for use in gi construction has notably increased over the last couple of years. Datsusara was and still is a pioneer in the use of hemp: other companies have started to pick up on that, but as yet Datsusara remains the only one to successfully produce a 100% hemp gi. With bamboo, ripstop, hemp blends and unusual combinations like Gimono's 'Fortitude' fabric, I hope that innovation will continue in the gi world, rather than just different colour and patch combinations.
The Datsusara HCG-03 is available to buy here for $199.95, in either unbleached 'natural' white or midnight blue, although many sizes are now sold out. It is worth noting that Odell told me yet another version of the Datsusara hemp gi is due for release, with the HCG-04 expected to land around March 2013. I'll be interested to see if there are many further changes for the HCG-04. It would appear that most of the criticisms of the HCG-02 have been addressed in the HCG-03 without creating new problems, so aside from the lint shedding there is less obvious room for improvement (unless Odell can somehow reduce the cost, but I imagine that would be difficult without compromising on quality).
Update Dec 2012: Shortly after I posted up this review, Odell suggested that machine washing and drying at least once should prevent the shedding issue (I always hang dry). So, give that a try if you're having problems on that front.
As per usual, Datsusara owner Chris Odell has done a video describing the gi (interestingly, he says the shedding problem has been fixed: perhaps that's true for the midnight blue gi, but it is demonstrably still an issue with the gi I have). As I now know he is a dedicated nogi guy, it makes sense that the belt he is wearing is still white several years since I first saw him wear a gi. ;)
Short Review: According to Datsusara, their new gi benefits from the properties of hemp, which is allegedly anti-microbial, super strong, breathable and wears in with each wash rather than wears out. Of those, I can definitely confirm the last, as this is the most comfortable gi fabric I've ever worn. Another point in its favour, from my perspective, is the lack of bling.
However, the unbleached colour and very baggy jacket may not appeal to everyone, though it does also come in black. There were also a lot of loose threads, which is a serious problem: Datsusara stated they are looking to rectify the issue. Presumably due to the difficulties of manufacturing hemp, the gi isn't cheap, at $140. Available to buy here.
Full Review: Thanks to Seymour at Meerkatsu, a Datsusara hemp gi arrived at my house a couple of weeks ago. Meerkatsu is the place to go for gi reviews, but results in Seymour being incredibly busy: hence why he passed this one along to me. I also get to benefit from his photography skills, which is awesome. That means that rather than solely relying on my camera phone, I can put up some professional snaps (as always, click on the picture for the full size image).
As I've written numerous times in the past, I like my gis to be as plain as possible. On that score, Datsusara delivers: there is an embroidered logo on the back and the arm, along with a small patch on the trousers, but that is it. In my opinion, the logo - representing hemp - is also quite appealing, in an unobtrusive Japanese mon style, with no written text (something I find off-putting about many other gis). The back logo could possibly be placed higher, for those of you who want to add a team patch, but as I never add patches it wasn't a concern in my case.
In addition, this is without any doubt the most comfortable gi material I've ever worn. When I first tried on the jacket, it felt like a high quality dressing gown. The cut feels comparable to my judogi, in that it is loose and baggy with wide sleeves. Seymour told me that it used to be even larger, but there was a lot of shrinkage after he washed it twice (at 60 and 40 degrees Celsius respectively). I would advise that if you like a tighter fit, it would be sensible to go for the size below your normal gi. I haven't yet tried throwing it in the tumble drier for further shrinkage, but may give that a go during my next visit to my parents.
When I first wore the gi, that bagginess was noticeable during shrimping, as the collar bunched up uncomfortably behind my neck. However, that problem seems to have disappeared by the time I wore it for a sparring class. Either I've gotten used it, or it has shrunk a little after I washed it (on the quick thirty minute setting). In the accompanying letter Datsusara sent Seymour with the gi, it says that it will shrink up to 5% in the wash (something of an understatement, judging by Seymour's stats, which I've included towards the bottom of the review). It also recommended washing it at least twice: at the time of writing, it's been washed three times.
A more serious issue is the stitching. I was surprised by how many loose threads there were, to the extent that the trousers look as if they've been ripped in several places after years of training, when in fact they're brand new. It isn't difficult to remedy, as I sewed up the four most noticeable areas, but this definitely needs to be sorted out for the next batch. Although I should note that in that letter, they do acknowledge the problem. To quote: "If you find loose threads please simply cut or cut and burn the ends, we apologize for the sloppy stitching but we are working on it."
The natural unbleached colour takes a bit of getting used to, but it is relatively unassuming. The only reaction I got was that one training partner asked if it was an old gi which had faded from heavy use. My girlfriend, on the other hand, said it looked like the gi had been drenched in tea. I've heard that unbleached used to be quite common back in the day, the most famous probably being the HCK unbleached single. It has fallen out of favour more recently, but perhaps Datsusara will be part of a general return to that classic look. I prefer white, but then the lack of bleaching does make for a stronger fabric. Given that considerable advantage, I'm sure I could get used to it.
Feedback elsewhere on the internet has been largely positive, such as on The Underground and Georgette's thorough review (she mentions she wore the gi to sixty classes at the time of writing). Over on Sherdog, company head Chris Odell actively engages with customers. He also directly adresses their concerns, such as this response on the widespread stitching deficiencies:
"Sorry again for the loose threads on some gis. I talked to my manufacturer and they said they had rushed many of the units to make our deadline, hence were sloppy on a few. I am taking steps to make sure that doesn't happen again: if anyone has threads that cause the gi to lose structural integrity we'll fix it for you, just email us."
In terms of the lint problem noted by wearers of the black edition, Odell responded that "from what I have gathered, that stops after two cold water washes and low heat drying," which is supported by the experiences others relate in the same thread. It doesn't appear to be a problem with the unbleached version.
The unique selling point of the gi is that it is made entirely out of hemp, rather than the usual cotton. Datsusara are the first company to successfully market and sell a hundred percent hemp gi. Other companies have tried, but have either got stuck in the marketing phase waiting to get production off the ground (like The Green Gi), or sold a product but then folded (like EnviroGi). Datsusara have been selling various equipment made of hemp for some time now: perhaps unsurprisingly, the website makes a lot of claims regarding the benefits of hemp. Some of them I can easily confirm, such as that the material is light and comfortable. Others require a bit more research: I'm not a scientist, but I can at least have a look at what sources are available on the internet.
In the 'why hemp' section of the official website, it says hemp is four times stronger than cotton, anti-microbial (bacteria, mold and fungus supposedly can't live in it), green (readily renewable, uses limited water during the cultivation process) and porous (meaning it breathes well and dries more quickly: mine took around a day to dry fully). The website also states that the fabric will wear in rather than out, increasing in comfort while retaining strength with each wash.
The first thing you'll most likely hear when you mention you're wearing a hemp gi is a tongue-in-cheek "can you smoke it?" I've never looked into the issue much until now, but according to Dr David P. West (admittedly a biased source, as his article was produced for the North American Industrial Hemp Council), hemp and marijuana are quite different. Marijuana is high in the psychoactive ingredient delta 9-tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC), while industrial hemp is not: it is theoretically possible to distill THC from hemp, but it would be a very expensive and time-consuming process. He also runs through the various advantages of hemp, which ties in with Datsusara's claims.
The position laid out by West is corroborated by this 2001 piece in The Guardian, by Dr Claire Cockcroft from the Institute of Biotechnology in Cambridge. Here is another piece, although again from over a decade ago, which looks fairly objective.
To finish with some gi statistics, The jacket is a one piece construction, made from a 17oz (580gsm) long fiber weave. According to the shrinkage numbers Seymour emailed, the width across the sleeves ('A' in Seymour's handy gi diagram) shrunk from 165cm to 153cm, after a wash at sixty and then forty degrees Celsius. The length from the shoulder to the bottom of the jacket ('B' on the diagram) began at 80cm, then dropped down to 74cm after the washes. The width across the bottom of the jacket ('C') was 63cm out of the box, going down to 56cm after washing. Seymour noted that during his tests, the jacket weighed 1.36kg.
Similarly, the trousers are made from 11oz (370gsm) long fiber weave. There is the option of either the default flat drawstring, or a thicker rope version, included separately with gi. Shrinkage on the length of the leg ('E' on Seymour's diagram) was from 104cm to 93cm, while the width of the trousers legs ('F) went from 55cm to 52cm. The bottom of the leg width started at 25cm and went down to 24cm, then finally measurement 'H' shrunk from 43cm to 39cm. Seymour stated that when he weighed the trousers, they came out at 0.66kg.
The $140 price tag on the site is more than I would normally pay for a gi. It is also set to rise in the next batch, from what I've read. Then again, should hemp live up to the strength and durability touted on the website, that may well prove to be a good investment. If Datsusara can solve the stitching problem, this could become a serious competitor on the gi market. It will be interesting to see what happens with the next batch. Available to buy here.
Update Dec 2012: My review of the HCG-03 is now up, here.
