Preface: The gi's I own prior to this one:
Gameness Platinum - very heavy and durable A2 shrunk to a good size for me
Ouano Lightweight - Light but not too light A2 fits a little large
Vulkan Lightweight - A2 fits a little big is very light but stretches when wet and if someone has good grip strength its not fun
Padilla and Sons - A2 light very thin
HCK (don't remember) - this gi is very large on me don't remember what size it is I don't really wear it anymore
Weight/Height: I'm about 5"8 around 170 LBS.
Reason for purchase: After doing competitions and training with people similar to my size, I learned that I could fit into an A-1. In competition I don't want to give my opponent any advantages of a large gi to grab on when I don't have to.
What I wanted: A lightweight gi (for weigh ins) thats not too light that it stretches and they can get an awesome grip on you.
Why I chose a Gameness Pearl: After reading all of the reviews possible I was down to a Gameness Pearl A-1 or a Keiko Raca A-1 2009. I felt a Keiko Raca A-1's collar and it seemed more rubbery to me than the Gameness Pearls which I didn't like. Also the Gameness Pearl's have like no patches on the front and back of the gi which I like. It also has a very clean nice white look.
Right out of the box: This gi fits very well on me personally, I will probably always buy A-1's from now as long as they don't shrink too much. The collar is good but not too rough, the material seems like it doesn't stretch when sweated on and the pants are probably my favorite at the moment. This is probably my new favorite gi and I will update this once a wear it for a few weeks.
And Now the pictures...
