O.G vs. ComPadre: The Prana / Shoyoroll new pre-order Gi shootout

Ok, so I have had both my Shoyoroll ComPadre and my Prana O.G. for a few weeks now and have put some mileage on both. I'm going to post this as if it were a comparison, but really it isn't. Although the designs are similar they are each very different due in part to the fact that they each utilize different weaves, and fabrics throughout.

Shoyoroll
I purchased the Shoyoroll because at the time I really needed to- my faithful Atama was nearing the end of it's useful life. The collar was getting frayed to a level where a training partner could get a finger caught in it and be injured. It was time to replace it, and in the year since I had bought my Atama, Shoyoroll had surfaced as a brand with "the perfect fit" A3S. I'm 6'1 180lbs, so while a bit short for the A3S by sizing chart standards, I have been able to shrink them to an excellent fit. I ordered the Yank in A3S and the sizing has proved to be perfect. For this last batch- the ComPadre, and Americana it was the lesser of two evils as neither color combo really appealed to me. I like white Gis so I went with the ComPadre. I watched Facebook, and when the opportunity came to place my order I moved on it and sent $168.00 to BudoVideos.com. Then I waited.

Prana
I have seen some interesting web postings calling Prana "Shoyoroll Knockoffs" and then some other posts generally disparaging the brand- even mocking Prana's brand mark FloGo and calling them "Spermyoroll" (I admit I laughed)

Even though I knew this mockery was out there I went forward with an order of Prana's first Gi "The O.G." because I liked their Facebook postings, and I had a good experience ordering a T-Shirt. at $139.00 with free shipping the Gi was significantly cheaper than the Shoyoroll I ordered for $168.00 (inc. shipping) in May, and the wait was set to be much shorter. It also bears mentioning that while I like my Shoyoroll gis alot, the whole process of ordering, then waiting for several months for the Gi to turn up is generally annoying, and I was, and still am looking at alternatives to avoid it.

Hype
The thing for me about Shoyoroll is the fit. It is a matter of fact that the A3S is the right size for my body type. This is why I buy them. Sure, they are somewhat exclusive, but really I'm going to put this thing on and then roll around on the ground in it. Lets just keep that in perspective. It seems like there is a marketing coup here where BJJ players are coveting these things the way some ladies covet shoes or handbags to the point where aged SYR gis are going on Ebay for $400.00+ dollars. That is ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is laying out my cash in May to receive a Gi in October. It's tiresome. When Prana advertised a Shoyorollesque sizing chart featuring A3S sizing I figured this might be the alternative to that obnoxious process. I laid out my $139.00 and waited.

Review
Shoyoroll ComPadre $168.00 USD Shipped, wait time 5 months

The Shoyoroll is pretty much more of the same you would expect- A3S is a perfect fit, and the goldweave is light, yet very soft and comfortable. This was exactly what I was hoping for as my old Atama Goldweave is now retired, and all my other gis are pearl weave. I like having a goldweave kimono on the rack as it is the most comfortable material IMO. Given the 5 month wait, I was surprised that the Rebels seem to have fallen off on the details- for instance there is a silver lining on the inside of the lapels/collar just like there is on my SYR Yank, but on the ComPadre the stitching isn't as good, so the edges of that silver material were pretty scratchy for the first few washes.
here is a shot of the offending lining

It seems to be getting better now, but the quality lapse was disturbing.
The pants on the Shoyoroll are heavier twill material and they are absolutely perfect- these are the best Gi pants I own. The padding in the knees is great, and they feel incredibly durable- like rolling in blue jeans. they also improved their drawstring by using a narrower gauge cordage. It's a little easier to tie, and seems to stay tied better. All in all I really like the Gi, and sincerely hope the pants Shoyoroll offers moving forward are identical to these. The pants for my Yank are just too thin and feel too fragile.

Prana O.G. $139.00 USD shipped, wait time 2.5 months.

the Prana O.G. is a white gi with gray stitching, and grey/black badging
I am pretty impressed with the Prana Kimono. They got all the details right on this first attempt. It's a bit heavy compared to my SYR pearlweaves, but that is acceptable for a training Gi. All of the stitching is well done with nothing loose or scratchy like with the ComPadre, and it has something my Shoyorolls do not- it has fabric tape that covers the interior seams. This makes the kimono very comfortable to wear without a rashguard- and you need to wear it that way, because it traps bodyheat. I sweated like a beast wearing this Gi.
Here is the taping

No tape on the Shoyoroll


I bought the OG in A3S, and the pearlweave kimono sized out exactly like my pearlweave Shoyorolls- a few washes and drys and it fits like a glove.
The pants however seem a bit wide across the ass for an A3S sizing- they cinch up fine, but tend to bunch up across the back which goes to show they aren't cut from the same pattern as the SYR pants.
Here is a pic of my old ripped Shoyoroll A3S pants on top of the Prana A3S pants- the Prana Pants are a lot wider.

The pants are very well made though, they are a heavier rip-stop material. These pants have great padding in the knees, and the crotch gusset is well reinforced. I prefer the twill pants from my Shoyoroll, but since Shoyoroll doesn't offer additional pants I decided to go ahead and order a second pair of these Prana pants which I intend to use with my Shoyoroll Yank for training, this way I can save the fragile navy blue Yank ripstops for comps or whatever.

Overall I am extremely impressed with the Prana, I think I'm going to get a lot of life out of this gi as it is built to last using heavy materials, and superior manufacturing- every seam is reinforced.

So there you have it, I have 2 brand new Gis to go roll around on the ground in. I like both of them quite well. If I have to pick on value, I'd go with the Prana. It is a well made Gi, that is built to last. The fit is very good, and no corners were cut in it's manufacture. If I were choosing based on materials, then I'd say the Shoyoroll is the more comfortable of the 2. The scratching from the lining went away after the 4th wash or so, and i just love the gold weave. Also- the SYR pants are exceptional for this batch.

Knockoff?
Let me say this- if you had never seen a Jiu Jitsu Gi you might think the Prana is just a knock off of a Shoyoroll, but since I own both I'll put that to bed right now. They aren't the same. Similar in the basic design, but materials and manufacture are quite different. Trust me on that.

Asthetics, and Exclusivity
Since a lot of people are buying these things based on exclusivity / vanity- I will also say the Prana wins for aesthetics. White with the grey stitching looks great, and the badging is all stitched in rather than a patch that is sewn on. The first time I wore it one of my coaches commented how nice it looked- so if you are into that sort of thing, Prana has it goin on.
Word is out, and SYR isn't nearly that exclusive anymore. When I first wore the new SYR I walked into the academy and saw 3 ComPadres and 2 Americanas during black belt class. At another lesson at the Boulder school I saw 4 people wearing SYR gis of various batches. As far as I know I am the only student at my academy rolling in a Prana. Doesn't get much more exclusive than that since we are a big school with 5 branches. Not like that matters, but if it does to you, then there it is...

Who knows, maybe Prana will take off and the prices and wait times will go up like they did with Shoyoroll- for right now I'll enjoy the fact that I have found another manufacturer of gis that has my fit right. I look forward to their future offerings, and hope for a Prana Goldweave sometime in the future. For what it is worth, Prana has already acknowledged that their pants run bit big. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see that remedied in the next batch.
  
Additional Questions
A reader requested some additional info on the Gis, as is specific to the A3S sizing. The conversation is in the comments, but i am reposting here for anyone who is curious. Reader request a measurement from cuff to cuff.

I spread each of the Gis out and measured from cuff to cuff across the chest. My measurements were taken in inches

Please bear in mind that all my Gi's have been shrunk intentionally using warm water and hot cycles in the dryer

Shoyoroll Yank (Pearlweave) 71"

Shoyoroll Compadre (goldweave) 68.5"

Prana O.G. (pearlweave) 69.25"

Rag Doll

I had a real hard lesson the other night, I dropped in to the Tuesday Intermediate class which is normall pretty heavy with blue belts and I got smashed by a guy who had at least 30lbs of muscle on me. I have to admit I took it pretty hard. I was definitely kicking rocks the whole way home replaying how easily he was getting advantages. The guy was obviously more committed to it than I was, and it showed- not just in how he used his strength to crush me, but also in the way he frustrated my attempts to play him into my strengths. I got a few good escapes from armbars he attempted, but than I needed to capitalize on position, and just didn't. So basically I just got beat up for 10 minutes to finish out the class.

It totally sucks to go out like that.

Over the last 2 days the frustration I experienced has helped me start mentally formatting a game to deal with the situation- because it could happen again, but next time I want to be better prepared. honestly, I have done more deep thinking on Jiu Jitsu over the last two days than I had in the preceding 2 weeks.

My feelings about the guy who "did this to me". He is just there to train. It was all clean work- although his shoulder pressure felt a little too enthusiastic at times. At one point I tapped because he was basically about to dislocate my jaw... He is just there working his game. What should i have expected? for him to let me win?

I don't have a grudge afterwards- in fact I'd like to roll again and try out my "big guy game plan" i have been formulating- you gotta do that man. If you want to progress, you have to challenge yourself.

If you avoid the people who can beat you, whether it is by strength, or by technique then you will never learn to beat them.

I don't know about you guys, but given time to absorb the lesson, I actually got quite a lot out of getting rag dolled like that. I wish the same for all of you.

Coach John Boyle demonstrating the "Helicopter Choke"

That right there is some Jet Li shit...

Getting it done- Intermediate, Randori, Blackbelt

Last night I was able to scramble and get to the school in time to make the 5:30 intermediate No-Gi class. We worked side control escapes with some positional drilling at the end of class. I then stuck around and spent the next 30 minutes rolling with one of our Purple Belts. He had a knack for snaring one of my feet into half guard and I spent a good deal of time working my half escapes. To try to explain, this guy is almost my perfect antithesis we weigh nearly the same, but where I am long in body, and limb, he is stocky and compact. It was like trying to submit a beer keg! We had about 4 great rolls during the 30 min, most ending with me in a loop choke (gotta watch those arms damn it). It was the kind of fast, aggressive but friendly and educational rolling that you really look for with a training partner. I was grateful for the time spent, and the lessons learned.
Once you have been active in Jiu Jitsu for an hour and a half, another hour doesn't seem so bad so I stuck around to train in the advanced level class instructed by the school's 2nd Degree Black belt founder Professor Amal Easton. I found the lesson to be very drilling intensive, and as there were 2 Black Belt Professors present we recieved a lot of great feedback and guidance on some of the finer points of the technique.
over all a good training session, with lots of new material to dedicate to memory, and drill drill drill into consistency.

Black Belt session

The Monday Black Belt training session is going to be part of my permanent training schedule. It was a mutual experience of whoop ass. I gave nearly as good as I got, but then this is the "upper classman's class" so I had to expect that. The newest thing fro me was remembering to go for the wristlock when the opportunity was right. Also, taking people over my head from my guard seemed to be working pretty well.

I think more of this sort of high level practice will continue to add dimension to my game. It's time to push myself and grow.

BREAK OVER

In the end of September I re-dedicated myself to training BJJ on a full time schedule of 3x classes per week minimum. Throughout much of July, and the first part of August I was only training 2x per week. My training consisted of being an Oki during private lessons, and thus getting free private lessons with a Brown Belt instructor, and a loosely formatted positional drilling session on Wednesday nights. I was helping a buddy prepare for tournament, and I was having a problem with my low-back which kept me from really pushing too hard during that time-frame.

Excuse time is now officially past. For the next 2 weeks i will be rigidly sticking to my 3x training schedule Attending Black Belt class on Monday, Intermediate Tuesday, and Intermediate Saturday mornings- after that Shannon is done with Softball and Thursdays will again be open for BB training. I am still a bit Ronin from my normal schedule, as I have been working out sessions at the South School Intermediate level classes as well as attending at my home academy in Denver. I like the crowd in HR, and I like to train down there so I am splitting time.

As I am returning to class I am also working in a lot of the things I had been working on in the private sessions, and drilling- mostly sweeps. Last week I got a lot of good results from the pendulum sweep, which feels very natural to me.

I was pleasantly reminded last weekend of just how effective BJJ is against the uninformed opponent- I swept a guy at will while training with a Fundamentals / Intermediate group in Boulder. This guy had at least 50 lbs on me- was bigger / stronger ect- totally helpless in my guard. Of course sweeps become less and less effective once you are rolling with someone who actually knows some BJJ, but it was heartening to realize how simple it was to work game on an unwitting opponent. I saw a guy fight in a UFC prelim over summer who said of BJJ "I don't believe in it" He was a striker, and apparently hadn't come up against a real BJJ player yet. He won his fight due to strikes and seemed to reinforce his belief. This past weekend during the UFC prelims I watched a solid BJJ player- a record holder having finished 7 fights in a row by triangle, and then the next 3 via heel hook to be 10-0 in his MMA career. He finished his opponent via heel hook- and you KNOW his opponent knew it was coming, but just couldn't get away from it. Tell THAT guy you "don't believe in BJJ" and I predict a life altering outcome for you...

BJJ is intelligent, and resourceful. It's fighting, but it is also methodical, thought provoking and strategic. It is an art.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - The Ultimate Reinvention of Fighting

Remembering why I do this. Time to get fired up and start kicking ass again!