After twenty-something years of practicing Shotokan and getting fed up with wearing locally-made or Made-in-China dogi. I finally decided to invest in a proper Japanese make. Having seen the oh so handsome Tatsuya Naka _swoon!_ flaunt his Hirotas numerous times on YouTube, I decided to start off my online binge shopping of 'Made-In-Japan, Wash in cold water only' luxury keikogi with the MH-11.

This is my first exposure to wearing a properly fitted, generously-cut yet slim and handsomely-tailored, off-the-rack, proper made in Japan keikogi. The description says 'medium-weight' but in fact, it has a really good heft to the cloth. I'm currently using it for both regular training as well as for teaching classes.

On opening the package, I'm confronted with a gorgeous, blue-ish tinged uniform. Hirota does a really good job on the tailoring, you can see the lines are clean and stitching is spot-on. The MH-11 has surprisingly good snap, yet feels light and nimble during kumite. Living in Malaysia, with the humid, muggy weather, the all-cotton cloth feels really smooth and comfortable on the skin, and wicks away sweat really well. Our sensei is also a stickler for outdoor training too, and even though we spend a couple hours in 39 degree Celcius heat and 80% humidity, I hardly feel any stickiness at the end of the session.

I've worn it for about a month now, and it really is starting to get really comfortable that I can't help but wonder why on earth did I not get this earlier. So much so, that I just ordered another Hirota after a couple weeks of wear (different model, read about in in my next review).

The cutting is perfect for Asian-sized me, in fact I didn't even have to get it tailored at all. But I guess if you're a big-sized gwailo you might want to get something to fit your frame. I really recommend taking your time to read through the size and care charts.

So, the MH-11 in a nutshell:
1. Is it a good buy, and would I buy it again? Yes
2. Would I recommend this to someone else? Yes
3. Am I satisfied with the quality? Yes
4. Is Sizing perfect? Yes
5. Is it value for money? Yes