I have spent most of this year telling myself that I didn’t need to buy any more gis and this is one of the reasons why there have been slightly fewer gi reviews on the site this year. However, when packing for my recent trips to the states I realised I had a definite gap for a lightweight white gi. After searching a number of options I opted for Valor Fightwear.

After some discussion with Kev at Valor who always is great with fitting queries and advice, I opted for the Prime 2.0. It is sold as a premium gi and is designed to be light enough to compete in but also durable enough for everyday training so it sounded perfect for my requirements. Plus being a total girly gi addict I also liked the blue detailing and design. I like my gi’s functional and stylish whenever possible!

The gi jacket is a 450 pearl weave and is designed to have a tailored fit and be a bit closer to the body than a standard gi. This is an important consideration for me as a taller female as it means it isn’t as box-ey / broad as some men’s sizing. Not only does this make things better for competition performance but it means it is suitable for the longer leaner grappler. I’ve also hinted that the gi is rather stylish with a lovely blue contrast stitching, clean valor embroideries that leave plenty of space for competition patches if you wanted to patch it up. (add re the V stitching) As well as woven tape inside the cuff (which is well stitched in so no rough edges!). There is also sublimated details with the jacket including the neck.

The Pants are made from 8oz canvass cotton and like the jacket have the same style of embroidery and contrast stitching feature contrast stitching. The trousers are reinforced from the knees all the way down to the cuff helping their durability and the waist features 4 belt loops and a very nice thick cord.

Out of the bag, the gi fitted reasonably well. The pants fitted excellently and the jacket as anticipated was slightly too large. Nothing that prevented me training in it straight away but enough for to give it a quick hit in the tumble dryer after the first wash. It was literally an inch or so too long on the sleeve.

Now considering that I did deliberately shrink the jacket slightly those all-important measurements:

For Gi Map click here. Please note that I did slightly tumble dry the jacket for 45 minutes after the first wash to shrink it for fit. All other washers were cold washes and air drying

As you can see the pants hardly shrunk and maintained there just out of the bag fit. The jacket was deliberately shrunk but it magically only shrunk where needed. I lost the excess length on the sleeves and somebody width but the sleeves maintained their width and competition legality and there was very little loss of body length. Essentially with careful washing, this gi will only shrink a small amount. It isn’t as pre-shrunk as some of the brands on the market but for me, this can be a benefit as it enables you to make small home adjustments if needed.

In terms of weight, the gi was around 1.5kg which for me is light enough for competition usage. But if you are one of those grapplers where every gram counts then you may want to consider the Valor Invicto Ultralight or Valor VLR Superlight which are about 400g lighter.

I really enjoyed rolling in this gi. It handled the sweaty heat of a Los Angeles heat wave as well as the less glamour grind of my home mats in Stockport! The gi didn’t stretch or seem particularly grip-able. It was also hard wearing and other than post wash creasing has maintained its stylish good looks!

Overall this a great gi for anyone’s rotation. Competition legal and more than suitable for competition but also tough enough for day to day training. The Valor Prime 2.0 retails currently at £95 making it a very competitively priced gi. Plus as they have a British base it also means that shipping is really reasonable and that you won’t be paying any import tax. But if you’re one of my readers in the states doesn’t worry they also have a USA store with again great shipping options with the gi retailing for $150.