Expert: Arvin Sloane - 10/13/2008

Question
I'm about to purchase my first aikido gi and after looking at some websites have come down with two options as to which gi I should buy.
The first one is from e-bogu (Butoku Aikido single weave gi) please take a look at it at
http://www.e-bogu.com/Top_Quality_BUTOKU_Aikido_Uniform_p/tak-aik-uni-1layer-whi...
The other is from Nine Circles (AG3 Deluxe aikido gi) please take a look at the site
http://www.ninecircles.co.uk/product_details.asp?ProdID=303&CatID=28
Which of these two do you think I should buy?  I am looking for a light/medium weight gi as in Malta the weather is quite warm, however I would like the gi to be specifically tailored for aikido and to fit good and of a good quality.  My budget is about 60 UK Sterling.

Answer
Hello,

I am not really a specialist on uniforms. All I can say is that I would buy from e-bogu for two reasons:

a) E-bogu have a good reputation as a gi seller.
b) "Nine Circles" gi has a cheap "look", and has a spelling error in the very first sentence of their product description. In addition, some of their "features" seem to be a way of upselling the shortcuts taken in production.

Regards,
A.