Really, Hayabusa?

 I've had 2 gi, both Fenom, for about 6 months now, and these gi are holding up just fine.  My ripstop pants have a few wear points on them that look like they are going to be threadbare any day now, but won't impact my ability to wear them.  I paid $65 for that gi, $85 for the other.  I wear them (and wash them) at LEAST twice a week, usually three.  This seems reasonable to me.

If I were to buy a really expensive gi, I would expect it to hold up really well. I would expect the company to back up their products in exchange for my copious amounts of money.  My instructor shelled out the big bucks for his "tuxedo gi" - a Hayabusa.  Four months later, during a very average roll, the pants ripped next to the seam.  This was a failure of the fabric, not the stitching.  We all thought "Wow, that's ridiculous!  Call them, they'll be so embarassed that they'll totally send you a new pair of pants." 

Not so. 

Hayabusa said that it had been four months, and it was fight gear.  What did he expect?

I expect an expensive gi like that to hold up longer than my cheap Fenom gi, especially when it's one of many gi in his rotation as opposed to my 2 that I rotate. I expect the expensive gi to last as long as my husband's lightweight Gorilla gi, which is the only gi he's worn in almost a year. I expect fight gear to be made to be tough and handle anything we can do on the mat.  I expect a company to back up their products.  This offended me so much that I'm posting it on my blog - and it's not even my gi!

Buyer beware, Hayabusa expects their gear to rip within 4 months.