In this blog I’ve explored a lot of things from belt colors and their meanings to injuries and how to work with/through them.

I don’t think I’ve really written about equipment. So when I say that the Mooto Extera uniform wants to make me throw away every single other uniform that I have and drop a whole bunch of cash on my credit cards to replace them should be taken in no small terms.

The Uniform Itself:
This is Mooto’s top tier uniform. Supposedly, Mooto, is a very large and long standing martial arts company that has supplied martial arts gear in Asia for a very long time, essentially a Century Martial Arts like company that we have here in the United States (large manufacturer of clothing, training equipment and weapons) They offer several types of uniforms for Taekwondo, Karate and Judo amongst training and demo supplies.

At first view of the product from a far away, this uniform looks just like all others:

The Extera is the top tier uniform they make for Taekwondo practitioners. The basic marketing they use to tell everyone about its pros are in the picture below (click for a larger version):

I will not joke around, this uniform is expensive. I’ve paid as much as 70 for an Adidas AdiChamp uniform (I know, I know… I got hosed). I urge you to make sure you do not have high blood pressure before reading the rest of this line because this uniform tops even that price having an MSRP of $99.95.

Impressions:
Everything about this uniform is screaming class, including the bag that it comes in. Instead of the basic clear plastic bag that most martial arts uniforms are put into, this has a design of silver among the plastic bag that sets it apart as a beginning. To the touch the material used in the uniform is cool and smooth and remarkably has an interesting elasticity to it. After putting it on the uniform felt a little big to me (I’ve got an interesting body shape so this is a usual feeling for me, however, I never had it with Mooto’s basic uniform).

After training with the uniform on I can tell you that it is amazing. The fabric does indeed stretch when needed so there is a great deal less resistance when moving. The material is unbelievable light and literally feels like wearing a very light sheet. Also, the material does a great job of not catching itself on other portions of fabric as you throw kicks and move. Again, this uniform makes me wonder why I would buy anything else.

An interesting note to this uniform is that the fabric used in the area of the shoulder/arm pit area is of a different texture that allows for more airflow. A very nice touch. Scene in the top right of the picture below (click for a larger version):

The End:
The real question people should ask when someone reviews a product is “why should I buy this?” I’ll tell you that if you have the means, there is no better uniform around, but does that mean that you should run to your closest Mooto sales person or their website and buy this uniform. It won’t make you run faster, jump higher, or be truly better as a martial artist (though Mooto does claim that it allows for a 0.1 second faster kick) so I really shouldn’t suggest that you purchase it for an everyday training uniform.

I know that I myself will be purchasing more of them because I do go outside of my school to spar and compete in forms competitions. I do also believe that this uniform will make a wonderful testing uniform because (and I can only speak from my experience) a uniform that wicks moisture, is lighter, and breaths is exactly what I want during my most grueling times as a martial artist.

My final recommendation is to grab one of these uniforms for your collection. If you are like me training more than 4 times a week and extra uniform is very nice to have around. One that has this much, function class and style is hard not to want to have…so why fight it?