Review: HCK Competition Double Gi

I bought this gi from a website that had it on sale for 120 or 130$.  At the time I didn't have too much cash for training and my priorities were as follows:
- Must be durable
- Must be durable
- Must be durable
The HCK comp double meets all three of those requirements with flying colours.  It's the single thickest/toughest BJJ gi that I've ever found.  The collar is not rubberized anything, it's solid cotton, very thick, and hard to bend.  The jacket can stand up on its own - even after two years of heavy use and regular washing.  People regularly hurt their fingers/hands trying to grab this thing.  I am constantly getting questions about what kind of gi it is.  I've also used it in tournaments with no concern that it was going to be too soft or easy on my opponent's skin.

The embroidered shoulder is one of the only decorations on this gi.  It says Jiu Jitsu at the bottom, but was kinda hard to capture on camera.

I contacted Howard by email with some measurements (6' and around 180 at the time) and he got back to me within a day or two to confirm what sized gi I should be looking for (a size 5 jacket and pair of pants).  It matched the sizing chart on his website pretty well: http://www.howardliu.com/catalog/bjj/sizes.htm .  After washing it a couple of times in warm water the gi and pants shrunk slightly to a perfect fit, both just meeting regulation lengths.  After shrinking the crap out of an OTM gi that I bought I now only air dry my gis.  That said, it hasn't shrunk at all since the first wash.  One thing to note is that the colour faded quite a bit after the first couple washes.  It's been exactly the same ever since though.  In retrospect though I probably should have washed the gi with vinegar the first time to try and lock the dyes in the fabric.  Ah well, live and learn.

This tiny HCK patch on the pants is the only other marking on the gi.

The jacket is cut similarly to a judo jacket, with a strip up the back.  I know that many people complain about this kind of strip, but honestly it's never been too uncomfy to me when playing guard from my back.  The strip is nicely taped on the inside, which might play a part in the comfort level.  Sleeves are slightly wider around the wrist than some BJJ specific gi tops that I've tried, but they're not super baggy.  Everything on this gi is well taped.  The armpits are reinforced with a heavy pad of gi material, the split seam up the side is reinforced with a heavy denim triangular patch, and all of the stitching throughout the gi is heavy duty double stitching.  The collar is thicker than any collar I've felt before.  Maybe good for gi chokes, but sometimes it can get stuck under your back or your neck when you're playing guard . . . and then it feels like you're rolling on railroad ties.

The pants are very good.  They're made of some kind of tough cotton that feels almost like a pair of jeans, soft, comfortable, and tough.  There's a double layer of material from just above the knee down to the bottom of the front of both pant legs.  The drawstring is a flat, thick piece of cotton.  It can be hard to get the pants off after class sometimes when they're soaked in sweat, but I've also never had them start to fall down (or be pulled down) during class.  These pants are a heavy duty fabric . . . and feel very tough.  The single belt loop sucks though.  Seriously, I think that two is the bare minimum that you should have and four is ideal . . . but just one?  It gets the job done I supposed, but if I could change one thing about these pants it would be adding three more belt loops.

Disadvantages?  This has been a good gi, but it's hot.  Not just slightly warm, but we're talking baking in an oven kinda hot.  If you do burpees in your class warmup you'll feel it.  If you're rolling hard for 20 - 30 minutes you'll feel it.  If you train in the summer (and I've trained with this gi on hot, humid summer days) you'll be hitting the water.  Hard.  It's like sauna training all the time.  Maybe it makes you tougher, but it also can make you dizzy and on the verge of passing out.  There's a certain claustrophobic element to wearing this gi that takes some time to get used to as well.  I've found that during warm-ups I have to pull the gi top out of my belt to be able to keep from overheating.

Oh yeah, thinking of making weight for a tournament with this gi?  Hahahaha.  This gi is heavy.  Buick heavy.  You will be fighting people who are heavier than you if you wear this gi into a tournament during your weigh-ins.  The toughness that it gives you, and the discomfort that it will cause your opponents is pretty awesome (cross-facing someone with this gi is like pushing a cheese grater into their face) but it too comes at a price.  The interior of the competition double is as uncomfortable as the exterior.  Your skin will toughen up after a while though.  All of this weight also means that it takes forever to air dry.  My lighter OTM gi is good after a day sitting on the drying rack in the basement, this Howard takes at least two days (with a fan on it).

In conclusion, this gi is designed with a lot of trade-offs.  It's damned near indestructible, has one of the thickest, least bendy collars you can get.  It's tough to grip, great for cross-facing people, and comes with pretty minimal patching/bling (I'd feel too much like a NASCAR driver having dozens of patches and sponsor crap all over my gi personally).  It's also hot, heavy, and takes forever to dry.  Your call as to whether or not it's worth it . . . it's served me well for two years of heavy use, and I suspect it'll still be kicking around another two years from now.  At 225$ on the HCK website though . . . well, although it's a very tough gi, that seems a tad steep to me.  You could buy two Padilla and Sons gold weave gis for that price - and have enough left over to buy a pizza.

Vital Stats (Post Shrinking and more than 2 years of use):
Size: 5
Total Weight (Pants and Jacket) - 7.2lbs (dry)

Jacket Measurements:
Sleeve to sleeve - 57 inches
Shoulder to bottom hem - 30 inches
Cuff diameter - 7.5 inches

Pants Measurements:
Inseam: 27.5 inches
Top to bottom length: 35.5 inches
Cuff diameter: 10.25 inches