Is the Vital BJJ Gi any good?
Who are Vital anyway and what is the quality of the Vital BJJ Gi?
Vital Kimonos & Muaewear
Vital and Muaewear is one and the same and has been around for some time.
Muaewear is a well known and popular Korean BJJ gear company.
They are known for producing highly decorative and aesthetically pleasing BJJ Gi’s or Kimonos.
Some of the popular Muaewear Gi’s include:
- Furinkazan
- Gunshin
- Oniwakamaru
So Vital and Muaewear can be considered the same in terms of BJJ Kimonos and gear.
The Vital BJJ Gi range has focused on producing high quality training and competition Gis while still marketing to BJJ Gi collectors and aficionados with their decorative and aesthetic Gi designs and colors.
***If you are a beginner and are searching for the best BJJ gi for beginners then check out a post I wrote about the best BJJ gi for beginners***
What is the Price Range for the Vital BJJ Gi?
On the Vital BJJ website you find a range of adult Gi’s with the cheapest being $99.00 in their Pandemic PDM range and the most expensive at $179.00 for competition Gis, Furinkanzan, Gunshin and Throne Series of Vital BJJ gi.
For kids, the prices range from $99.00 for PDM Gi’s to $129.00 for their more expensive range of Vitall BJJ Gi.
Vital/Muaewear BJJ Athletes
Competitive BJJ athletes on the Vital Team include:
- Nicholas Meregali 2017, 2019 IBJJF World Champion
- Matheus Gabriel 2019 World Champion
- Samuel Nagai
- Jon Thomas
- Olivier Rodolphe
- Olivier Maxime
- Olivier Thibaut
Oniwakamaru Gi
The Oniwakamaru Gi is a premium, limited-edition Gi that is really designed for those who are Gi enthusiasts and collector with its highly decorative but also functional design.
This limited edition Kimono features interior printing on the jacket, seam tape on the sleeves and pant cuffs with 4 rows of stitching.
The gi is single weave and the jacket is 500 grams with ripstop patching at the end of the sleeves. Patches and aesthetic embroidery are also a feature of the jacket.
A review on gireviews.net discussed comfort and sizing noting that at 6’1” and 200 pounds, the A3 size fit well with slim fit and cut.
The review did note that is you are heavier and wider at the waist is likely you will need a larger size due to the slim fit and cut around the waist.
The gi pants are 350gram canvas with a similar feel to the Tatami fightwear Estilo gi heavy canvas[pants.
The gi pants also do not have the stretchy rope drawstring and only two belt loops
It should also be noted that the Inside print will fade after wearing and washing a few times.
Furinkazan Gi
The Furinkanzan Vital BJJ Gi is another highly decorative Kimono with a beautiful interior design of a Samurai seated with cherry blossoms falling around him, on the jacket.
The jacket also features kanji or Japanese characters for “Wind, Forest, fire, mountain” with an inner patch giving translation for the exterior kanji characters.
The jacket is 560gram single weave and fit well according to another review for a 5’10”, 205 pound male using the A2 size.
The Gi pants are 330g cotton twill with a 25.5 inch length from the crotch. These pants have the stretchy drawstring with 4 belt loops.
Gunshin Gi
The Gunshin kimono design is based on a Korean naval commander from the 1500s who was famous for his naval victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin War.
Gunshin means ‘God of War’.
The interior of the Gunshin gi jacket depicts a God like military figure over water.
According to this review, the gi does comply with IBJJ rule on patch and logo placement.
Featuring reinforced material and stitching in stress prone areas, the quality of the Gunshin gi is top notch as well as being aesthetically pleasing.
The Gunshin gi also includes deep cut side vents on the skirting and reinforced stitching in key areas.
It is also more Korean focused in design over the standard Japanese designs that are more popular.
The gi includes a lightweight and flexible jacket made from 550g/sqm pearl weave cotton.
The pants are 550g.
Throne Gi
The Throne Vitall BJJ Gi is one of the newer ranges
The Throne Gi was worn by Meregali in the 2019 F2W BJJ STARS Final.
The Throne Gi comes with a special Gi bag featuring the iconic design of a dragon and phoenix symbolizing the ascension of a King to the throne.
Both the pants and jacket have a simple design compared to the more elaborate ranges such as Gunshin and Furinkazan Gis from Vital/Muaewear.
The weight of the Gi is 1.5kg with A2S size fitting well on a 1.75m, 71kg slim male and it is made from Pearl weave 450g/sqm.
Although the Gi is pre-shrunk it can be a little roomy for a smaller person through it should shrink over time after a few washes in warm water.
In terms of competition this Gi was worn by Meregali in competition as stated earlier.
The jacket includes triple stitching on the from wrist to chest with the lapel having rip stop fabric and the neck/shoulder area reinforced with additional pearl weave material.
