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Just got my White Padilla Goldweave yesterday.
Joe was super-helpful with shipping and even suggested which method had been fastest for other customers in Canada.
Note for people who like patches and stuff:
It seems they don't put the embroidered shark logo on the beltline anymore. You can see it on the pics from the website, but if you look at Fozzy's pics, it's no longer there. There is still nice embroidery on both sleeves. And there is one tiny patch on the lower lapel and one on the pants. I like the low-key design.
The gi feels much softer than my Koral Classic but not quite as soft as my instructor's Lucky (sorry, these are really my only points of reference.) It has the same quality construction admired by previous reviewers. I was a little disappointed to find about 5 loose threads between the gi and pants. I trimmed them with nail clipper and hopefully this won't present any further problems.
A note on shrinking. Fozzy found it hard, I didn't. I think Joe advises people to be so cautious because if you shrink too much, too fast you're screwed. I washed it once in cold water. About 5 hours later the gi was still wet under the armpits behind the collar so I tossed it in a hot dryer (against joe's advice,) for about 15 minutes. The gi is now shrunk to just about the perfect size for me. If it shrinks a little more over the next couple washes, I'll be fine. It'll never see the inside of a dryer again.
My only real complaint is one I have about every gi I've ever tried: the drawstring. I ordered an A5, that's for people up to 275lbs. I'm about 255-260 and I pretty much max out the drawstring. And when you're short on drawstring, it comes undone a lot - especially if it's made out of gi material. This is why fat guys always have their asses hanging out of their gi pants. I'm getting all my gi pants drawstrings replaced with rope-style ones which are longer. I just don't see why this isn't done by manufacturers. No big whoop.
I haven't hit the mats in it yet, because I have to get the club patch put on the back. After a month or so, I'll let you guys know how it wears. I'm pretty rough on gis, because me and my training partners are so big. Should serve as a good torture test.
Thanks Joe and thanks G&E for recommending what appears to be a superior product at an excellent price.
(As a note on price, the total for shipping to Nova Scotia and duty at the border brought the total purchase price to about $120.)
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