At the start of lockdown I got a lovely email from Valor Fightwear asking me if I would like to review one of their BJJ gi’s. I have previous reviewed their Prime 2.0 and found it a great gi both in the gym and on my travels so I was delighted to help out. So this is the gi that has helped me train through lockdown!

The Valor Valente on first impressions is a pretty lightweight gi but still durable enough to handle a tough training session. The Jacket is a pearl weave cotton and has reinforced stitching on all the usual stress points. The branding on the gi is pretty minimal with patches on both shouders and an embroidered logo and the chest. It also had great looking contrast stitching throughout.  Meanwhile the pants are canvas cotton. It has a sturdy rope drawstring and 4 belt loops which makes it straight forward to tie (and to keep our pants up!).

Straight out the bag the gi certainly had a feel similar to some of my significantly more expensive gi’s. So I was surprised when I googled the Valente Gi to discover it was one of their more budget gi’s priced at very reasonable £55. In terms of sizing the trousers were a pretty good fit but the jacket felt a little oversized. Not enough to stop me training in it and definitely wouldn’t have wanted to attempt to shrink it.

Now 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 there was really very little shrinkage. I double checked and it isn’t advertised as pre-shrunk but obviously there was very little shrinkage was great for me. Although I often like to use a little bit of width from gi’s often I fall fowl of the pants shrinking too much and loosing length. So for me this shrunk just a little and in all the right places.

In terms of weight, the gi 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 would love to say that I enjoyed rolling in this gi but lockdown was problematic for that part! But I did test it throughout drilling with my hubby! So I only got to test it through drilling over the past few weeks but there wasn’t any particular problems. My husband complained once or twice my lapel wasn’t long enough but he’s a Keenan fan so there is enough lapel lol! I’ll be honest I’m looking forward to wearing it on the mat as soon as we are allowed to get a grip on each other again!

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. I know that I do cover a lot of high end gi’s on this blog but the Valor Valente proves that you do not spend a small fortune to find a gi that is both stylish and practical! As I’ve already mentioned the Valor Valente retails currently at £55 making it a very reasonably 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 around $90.