My second gi arrived today, the Naja Extreme "Silver" Ultra-Light Blue Gi which I purchased from fightplanet.ca. My first gi (and only gi I have experience with) is a Koral MKM Green gi so a lot of the comparisons are gonna be against that match-up.
Before I start, I thumbs up fightplanet.ca for service... they have reasonably priced gear and great shipping rates (no crazy S&H fees). However they only ship within Canada at this time.
The Naja Extreme is light... compared to my Koral it's like night and day. My Koral is an A2 and Richard (owner of fightplanet) recommended I go with an A3 for the Naja. I'm 5'11", 160 lbs and the fit of the Naja is kinda loose but I can see this gi shrinking a bit over time due to the thinner weave (it is listed as pre-shrunk, I will be testing it over the next couple of weeks to see if it does shrink). Both the jacket and pants are very soft, I can see it being comfortable to roll in for a long time.
Construction looks solid, not as much as the Koral but very close. It is made in Brazil and has a vulcanized-rubber core in the collar and one-piece jacket construction. Re-enforcements of the main stress points in the jacket are there, such as the armpit, side-cuts, chest/neck area of the collar. Besides being a little loose size-wise the jacket does fit nicely with the belt on, the collar stays flush with my body which is similar to my Koral.
The pants are really thin material, so much that I'm a little worried how they will hold up but only time will tell. They have a drawstring waist and re-enforced from the knee down through the shin. I didn't examine the pants as closely as the jacket yet so I'll update this post once I do.
It is priced around the same as a Vulkan gi, I love my Koral but couldn't justify buying another with companies like Naja and Vulkan making a similar gi.
Overall it looks like a solid/light gi sharing the main construction points from my favorite gi in Koral (which was the main reason I purchased it). I'll update this post to answer any questions that pop up in this thread and I will take a lot of pics over the weekend to add to this post. As well I'll drop in and advise how it holds up to training/washing over the summer.
Naja Extreme link...
UPDATE: May 23/08
Before I soaked the gi in vinegar to set the colour I took some snaps as promised.
front shot showing the fit...
arms up showing the sleeve length...
back shot, one-piece jacket = scweet...
close-up showing the weave, the material is very light and soft...
inside pants showing stitching and re-enforcements...
somewhat close-up of pant leg showing knee re-enforcement.
I'll post an update and pics after the first wash to see if it shrinks... gonna try delicate cold wash/rinse and hang dry first to see if anything changes.
UPDATE: May 25/08
OK, so hang dry after the colour-set and it looks like the gi jacket has shrunk a bit. Not 100% dry yet but it looks like maybe 1/2 inch shorter in the sleeve length. I'm planning on rolling Tuesday morning so I might need to rush the process and tumble dry low tomorrow.
UPDATE: May 26/08
Just doing a delicate tumble dry checking every 15 min., the gi jacket is definitely shrinking to a better fit. Once it's done in the next 30 mins. I'll post a pic to show the difference.
30 min. total time tumble dry low, jacket about 75% complete dry... I'm happy with the results so I'm gonna let it hang-dry the rest. Here is the direct link to the pics. Tomorrow we roll with this beatch!
Post 1st tumble dry pics
UPDATE: May 27/08
Rolled today with it for the first time, very nice. I think I might prefer it to my Koral because being nice and light gives me the preception I can move faster... however the trade off seems to be the collar can be manipulated a little easier in this gi, but again only time will tell.
Funny note, another guy in the class just bought it too... he didn't think someone else would have it as well, lol.
