Date: October 18, 2015
Reviewer: Doug Pothul
Subject Item: Wolfhound Fightwear’s Dabilla Series 2.0 550gsm Gold Weave BJJ Gi
Summary
The Dabilla Series 2.0 gi is IBJJF legal and comprised of a 550 gsm gold weave, partially sublimated jacket with 10 oz. ripstop pants (with gold weave gusset and pearl weave knee padding). At present it is offered in black with contrast green stitching and seam tape throughout. To keep the gi affordable there is no matching cloth gi bag. All of the artwork on the gi is embroidered and there are no patches. Wolfhound Fightwear is based in Ireland and ships worldwide. Their shipping costs are fixed and below the actual rate charged by the postal service. So no matter where you may live, purchasing this high quality gi from Wolfhound in Ireland is likely to be less than you'd pay for a lesser quality gi located 200 miles away.
Overview
Website: http://www.wolfhoundfightwear.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wolfhoundfightwear
Instagram: https://instagram.com/wolfhound_fightwear
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wolfhoundfight
Price: Regularly €129.99 ($148 USD). Currently on sale for €99.99 ($114 USD).
Click here for the current price for this gi.
Sizes: Adult sizes A1, A2, A3, A4 & A5
Highlights:
- 550 GSM gold weave top (single piece back)
- Sublimated, interior yoke lining
- Ripstop covered EVA foam collar
- Reinforced triple stitching in all high wear/stress areas
- Green contrast stitching throughout
- Fully embroidered, no patches or printed graphics
- Reinforced knee padding with a thick layer of pearl weave
- Green rope drawstring with 2 belt loops
The Basics
Brand
Wolfhound Fightwear, which was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Ireland. The proprietors are Ian Stewart, Marko Conroy & Roger Dardis.
Product
Dabilla Series 2.0 550 GSM Gold Weave BJJ Gi with 10 oz. RipStop Pants. This comes in any color that you desire as long as it’s Black. (Note, Henry Ford’s 1909 autobiography states that he told his management team that in the future “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.” Hence my attempt at humor here). All kidding aside, the gi is black and only available in black at this time, however in 2016 a white version will be available. So keep your eyes peeled on
BJJ New Gear (
@bjjnewgear) for that drop announcement.
Pricing
Regularly €129.99 ($148 USD). Currently on sale for €99.99 ($114 USD).
Click here for the current price for this gi.
Click here for a worldwide currency converter.
Shipping
The gi was shipped in a heavy mil poly mailer. With a shipping weight of 2.2KG, Wolfhound’s rates are as follows:
- To the Republic of Ireland is €6
- To Northern Ireland and the UK is €12
- To the US / Canada €25 ($28 USD, $37 CAD)
- To the Rest of the World is €35 ($40)
The Wolfhound website has a page dedicated toward explaining the shipping.
You can access that by clicking here.
And for a currency converter, click here.
Sizes Available
Offered in A1, A2, A3, A4 & A5
Colorways
Black with green trim, plus silver/grey embroidery.
Where to Buy
http://www.wolfhoundfightwear.com/
The Journey
The trip from Ireland to Hawaii took about a week. Considering that is 7,000 miles, that is a reasonable time frame.
As do most gi brands, Wolfhound charges the buyer for shipping. Their charge to a US-based buyer is only €25 ($28 USD). However, per the stamp on the poly shipping container it actually cost Wolfhound €36.50 (almost $42 USD).
It appears that Wolfhound has absorbed 1/3rd of the shipping cost. And at only $28 to the buyer, that’s significantly less than the cheapest shipping method from the US to Ireland at approximately $62 (USPS). All in all, that’s a very inexpensive shipping cost and about equal-to or even less-than many US-based BJJ Brands charge to ship within country.
The Landing
The delivery of the gi was uneventful, which is what any buyer would want. The bag was delivered unopened and sealed with no puncture marks. Typically, gis are either shipped in these thick mil poly bags or cardboard boxes (USPS, FedEx). And while the boxes are seemingly more resilient to the abuse of the shipping process, the thick mil poly bag is actually preferred because it keeps out any moisture that might be encountered along the journey.
All it will take to convince anyone of this is to have a white gi that is packaged in a color-dyed cloth bag in a cardboard box get wet during the journey. Then that once-white but now purple (or red or green) stained gi will make you a believer too. And yes, this has happened to me. Besides, a gi is flexible and doesn’t require a hard sided box for shipping. There is nothing to break.
Initial Impressions
The first thing that stood out is the deep black color of the gold weave jacket. And of course, the same depth of color of the ripstop pants. No cloth bag was included with the gi, but hey, for $114 (gi) + $28 (shipping), or $142 delivered, who’s to complain? Besides, 99% of those gi bags have little use anyway, unless you don’t have a gym bag. And yes, I do know a few guys at my gym who actually use the gi bag to lug their gear back and forth; but I question their dedication to the sport. No gym bag!? What’s with that?
The jacket, at 550 GSM, actually felt lighter than expected. I have another 550 GSM gold weave jacket that I use on occasion, and that one is a bit heavier. And the 10 oz. pants give off a durable feel right from the get go. More so than you’d expect from 10 oz. pants.
Examination
Jacket
The jacket is constructed of 550 GSM Gold weave with a ripstop covered collar. The stitching, piping and seam tape area all contrast green throughout the jacket.
The back is a single piece with a reinforced layer in the yoke area.
The artwork on the outside of the jacket is plentiful. On the front adjacent to the left lapel is the word, “Wolfhound” embroidered in a large, silver Celtic/Gothic-style font (2” x 9” in size). At the bottom of the left lapel is a woven tag (1.5” x 6.25”) with the flags of Japan, Ireland and Brazil side-by-side.
Also along the bottom of the skirt there is seam tape, which is also green in keeping with the theme of the gi. In black lettering the word, “Wolfhound” alternates with a black image (with red eye) of a wolf. The seam tape is not scratchy like some, but also is not folded over prior to stitching.
On the back of the jacket, just below the neck area is the same silver Wolfhound embroidery as along the front lapel, except this is slightly larger at 11” x 2.5.” Immediately below that is the circular 5.25” Wolfhound multicolored logo.
At the bottom of the jacket skirt, 1.5” above the green seam tape, is the phrase:
Tada gan iarracht, also in the same Celtic/Gothic-style font (14” x 1.5”). This phrase means:
Nothing without effort.
Despite the abundance of branding on the back of the jacket, there is plenty of room for a large school patch or multiple patches of your sponsors.
The arms are fairly free of any design except for a two items. First, a 5” round Wolfhound, multi-colored logo embroidered on the right shoulder/upper arm area.
And secondly, green seam tape along the outside of the sleeve cuffs. Yes, you read that correctly, the seam tape is on the outside of the sleeve.
In turning the jacket inside out, the following is observed.
The green seam tape runs along the entire length of the ripstop covered collar from the bottom of one skirt to the bottom of the other. A sublimated lining along the yoke area is overlaid with the brand and size tags in the middle, neck area. This same sublimated lining (artfully printed with ranked, belted chess pieces) is also used adjacent to the green cloth piping that reinforces the skirt slits.
One noticeable aspect to the jacket is that ALL of the stitching is uncannily straight. And there are no missed stitches or hanging threads anywhere on or inside the jacket. Also, for those of you that think these matter, there are no armpit reinforcements as often found in Jiu Jitsu gis. We’re not judging, some people prefer them, others don’t think that they do anything other than add weight. We are merely letting you know that this jacket is sans any such reinforcements.
Pants
The main body of the pants is constructed of 10 oz. black ripstop material. The only immediately noticeable variation from that is the gold weave gusset. The stitching is a contrast green along all seams, including the knee reinforcements. The two belt loops, side-vent piping and drawstring rope are all green as well.
The rope is one that barely stretches (approximately 5%), came tightly pre-knotted with the ends surgically singed to prevent fraying of the rope during washing. This singed area is notably smooth with no rough areas. If you are wondering why this aspect has been pointed out, just have one scrape across your face or eye when your partner is on top in north-south and you’ll quickly know why a smooth burn on the ends of the pants rope is important.
Like the jacket, the artwork on the gi pants consists of the word, “Wolfhound” embroidered in a large, silver Celtic/Gothic-style font down the side thighs of both legs (1.5” x 8” in size).
The only other aspect is the circular 4” Wolfhound logo found toward the bottom of the left-front pant leg.
The location of this circular logo is right where the interior knee reinforcement ends, and 3.5” from the bottom of the pants cuff. This is mentioned because per the IBJJF uniform rules, a 15 CM (or 5.9”) area, when measured from the bottom of the pants cuff, must be free of patches. To view the IBJJF rules on Uniforms,
click here. According to Wolfhound, this logo is considered a “brand tag” which is allowed by IBJJF within this 15 CM area, and none of their many athletes have ever had it become an issue in any IBJJF event.
Upon turning the pants inside out, the following are observed.
- The brand, washing and size tag are found at the top of the pants, squarely in the center.
- The side split on both hips is reinforced with an extra layer of ripstop.
- All major seams are triple stitched (contrast green stitching)
- A small, triangular piece of ripstop material is used as a reinforcement in two places on the gusset.
- The knee reinforcements begin in the upper thigh area, run across the entire width of the pants, spanning 10”, are 15” long and end 7” from the bottom of the pants cuff. Most notably this reinforcement is made of a tightly knit, pearl weave material. Nice and think and represents some true padding.
- There is seam tape at the bottom of the pants cuff. It is also green in keeping with the theme of the gi. In black lettering the word, “Wolfhound” alternates with a black image (with red eye) of a wolf. The seam tape is not scratchy like some, but also is not folded over prior to stitching.
- The stitching is very straight with only few loose thread ends that could be trimmed. There is one area of missed stitches that is noticeable. But other than that, the stitching is well done.
The Fit
At the time of testing of this Wolfhound gi I am 5’10” and a chubby 230 lbs. To me, the A3 gi fit really well for my height, and the pants fit and felt fine while drilling and rolling, but the jacket was a bit tight around my fat stomach. As to be expected.
In any discussion of gi sizing I have to address a major pet peeve of mine. And that is:
THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL SIZE CHART FOR BJJ GIS. NONE.
Each brand has their own cut and size chart. Sure, many brands do overlap where a grappler will fit the same size in each of those few brands, but that is user-specific dependent upon many factors including: height, weight, body type, fit preferences AND which brands we are talking about. An A3 CTRL fits a lot like an A3 Shoyoroll, but more like an A4 Scramble and A4 Atama.
So it is important to understand that not all gi brands are sized the same, and while you might be an A2 in certain brands, you are most certainly not an A2 in EVERY brand. Before any purchase it is of the utmost importance to examine that brands own size chart.
The important aspect to fit and sizine for a reviewer to consider is: how this gi fits per the brands size chart. So let’s take a look at that.
Wolfhound has a great size chart (see above,
also linked here). It is in both metric (cm and kg) and imperial units (feet and lbs.). So there is no need for anyone to do the conversion. Per their size chart the A3 gi that I received should fit grapplers of the following range of height and weight:
5’9” (175 cm) to 6’2” (188 cm) and 154 lbs (70 kg) to 243 lbs (110 kg)
From my experience, I would say that the true range of this gi is from 5’8” to 6’0” in height, and 190 to 220 lbs.
Now, if you like your gis to fit tight or smaller, then yes, if you are taller or heavier you can consider this gi. Or vice versa if you prefer a roomier gi or one that is a bit longer, then by all means if you are 180 lbs you might like this. Plus, I did not try and shrink the gi, I have never done that to any gi. It’s always been washed in cold water and line dried. So there is the possibility of additional shrinkage if you so desire.
Upon initial cold-water washing and line drying I did not notice any substantial degree of shrinkage and it appeared to be in the normal range of 3% to 4% overall.
The Feel
Overall I liked the feel of this gi. My preference is soft gold weave like the Dabilla Series 2.0, and this one did not seem to stretch during rolling like some gold weaves will do. I’ve always preferred rip stop pants, and these are no exception. The gold weave gusset is a nice touch, and my personal preference. The pearl weave lining in the pants acts as decent knee padding, compared to gis that only add an additional layer of ripstop or twill, which really isn’t much of a padding. And unlike a gold weave knee reinforcement, pearl is knitted tighter and less abrasive on the skin of your knees.
Despite being 550 GSM, the jacket did not feel overly heavy or warm during training or rolling. The pants never became loose or untied. I prefer a non-stretchy rope like the one in the Wolfhound gi over those that stretch a lot. I tend to find myself retying those stretchy ropes at least once during every class while the Wolfhound rope never needed to be retied and the pants never felt as if they were loose.
The only aspect to this gi that did not feel right to me is the seam tape on the outside of the sleeves. If I were to keep the gi I’d remove that. I often wipe my forehead while rolling/drilling (when I don’t have access to a towel that is with my gear bag), and the seam tape was a little abrasive after a while. But other than that, this gi feels great in every aspect.
As a side note, this feature (outside seam tape) will not be included on future production of this gi. So once the existing inventory is sold out, this will no longer be an issue. It's always nice when a brand owner continues to seek to improve their products. And that's the case here. Kudos to Wolfhound.
Durability
This is one aspect that can’t really be addressed in a review unless the reviewer comes back after 6 months and a year or more and updates the review. And that we will do. The gi is now in the rotation of a purple belt and it’ll be used every week, at least once a week. So over time we’ll come back to the blog and update this aspect of the review.
Future Updates & Observations
This space is reserved to provide feedback and updates from the grappler who is live-testing Wolfhound Fightwear’s Dabilla Series 2.0 550gsm Gold Weave BJJ Gi.
Disclaimer
Some photos were taken by the reviewer associated with BJJ New Gear, others were provided from Wolfhound Fightwear or hijacked from their website. The opinions, observations and experiences contained within this review are those of the reviewer only, and not of Wolfhound Fightwear or BJJ New Gear. Yours may be different. Hell, let's just say that yours WILL be different.
The purpose of this review is simply to provide the reader with some basic observations of this gi, and not to provide any warranty or guaranty of the product and how it will fit you or the intended party, or how it will perform on the mat. That all depends if you purchase the correct size, know how to wash and dry it, and actually know some basic jiu jitsu.
Purchase this gi, in fact purchase any gi at your own risk. The real risk comes into play when you put it on and hit the mat. And that, you do at your own risk. If this gi shrinks, tears, catches your toes or fingers in a hole or orifice, or bursts into flames, don't come back to BJJ New Gear and blame us.
By breathing while you read this review you have thereby waived all rights to sue or to hold BJJ New Gear or it's affiliated people responsible for anything related to this product, You are an adult and responsible for your purchase decisions. Oss.
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