How to choose your first gi

Many gyms lend a kimono for the first few classes, and several start beginners with no-gi. Waiting three or four weeks before buying saves you the most expensive mistake: getting the wrong size in a model you did not need.

The fabric: pearl weave, and that is it

The name you will read everywhere is pearl weave, a fine-grained weave that has become the market standard. There is also *gold weave*, softer, *ripstop*, very light, and *single* and *double weave*, by now marginal in jiu-jitsu. For a first gi the choice is pearl weave: it is what almost everybody buys and what you find at every price point.

Fabric weight, explained in two lines

Fabric weight is measured in grams per square metre (GSM) and tells you how heavy the fabric is. Jackets sit roughly between 350 and 650 GSM, trousers between 220 and 300.

• 350-425 GSM — light: cooler, dries faster, excellent in summer and for travelling. Wears out sooner.
• 425-550 GSM — the mid range, the one retailers point to as the best compromise between durability and comfort. It is where almost everybody buys.
• 550 GSM and above — heavy: lasts longer, but is stiff at first, much warmer and bulkier.

The colour

For training, any colour is fine. If you are thinking of competing, though, only three are allowed in competition — white, royal blue and black — and jacket and trousers must be the same colour. A white gi with black trousers, or with a contrast collar, does not pass the check. We cover it here: the gi in competition.

The size, which is the thing that counts

It is the only difficult choice, because sizes are not standardised across brands: the same A2 label can indicate very different builds. Do not buy “your usual size”: look at that brand's chart. The subject is a long one and it is here: gi sizes.

What you do not need on a first purchase

• An ultra-light competition gi, if you do not compete.
• Patches. They do nothing for you, and in competition there are precise rules about where they may sit.
• The same brand of gi as your favourite athlete: it is the least important variable of all.

Once you have it, the way you wash it decides how long it lasts: how to wash the gi.