Best BJJ & Jiu-Jitsu Belts Reviewed

What Do the Belts Mean in Jiu-Jitsu?

The belts in BJJ serve both a functional role and a decorative one.

The belt that you have correlates to your ranking within Jiu-Jitsu and tells people an approximate degree of your mastery of the discipline. The ranking system in BJJ uses the following belt colors from the lowest level to the highest. They are; white, blue, purple, brown, and black.

Like we just mentioned, the belts also serve a meaningful role in the martial art as well. 

Your gi is supposed to be well-fitted to your body, and utilises the belt to help keep your gi jacket closed.

Since they are on the mat with you while you are training, they need to be made of tough materials because they are going to get grabbed, pulled and even used to submit you.

How to Know Which Belt to Get

You don’t want to just snatch any belt that you can get your hands on and wrap it around yourself.

It's important to think about how that’s going to impact both your opponents’ ability to grab you and how it actually feels on you. Trust me, it's incredibly annoying having to stop training every 5-minutes or so to re-tie your belt.

All in all, there are a bunch of things that you have to consider when you are buying a belt, and we’re going to explore the important ones.

Size

The first thing that you will want to take a look at is the size of the belt that you are going to be buying.

Basically, you are going to want to match the size of your belt to the size of the gi that you are wearing. If you’re familiar with Jiu-Jitsu or martial arts in general, you know that you have to wrap the belt around you a couple times before knotting it.

The same thing applies in BJJ, but you have to consider the amount of length that is left over on either side of the knot. You don’t want the belt to slouch down on either side or it’s going to end up being grabbed. Best case scenario your belt comes undone and the worst case is someone pulls you into a very unpleasant grappling situation.

If you’re new to tying the belt, ask for help from more experienced people and they’ll help you get set up.

Color

Another thing that you are going to need to check out is the color of the belt.

After all, you don’t want to swagger into the dojo while wearing a black belt if it’s your first day. You have a belt rank so stick to it.

The other thing that you need to remember about the belt color is that you need to use a belt that has a distinct color. You don’t want to have a blue that is so dark that it could be a shade of black or purple, for example.

Look at the belt selection and make sure you can tell the difference with ease. Also, make sure you're happy with the shade of the belt, as each brand tends to go for their own unique shade of a particular color. 

Since a lot of the color has to do with the brand that you are using, we’ll check that out next.

Brand

Like any other marital arts equipment, there are going to be some brands that are just better than others.

The best BJJ belt brands use quality materials, have the name recognition and pedigree, and know what it takes to provide top-quality products.

These brands will make sure you can tell the difference between belts while also giving you products that are regulation size and powerful enough to stand up to some punishment.

Thickness

Thickness is the last thing that you are going to want to look for when trying to figure out which belt you want to get.

The thickness of the belt that is best is usually the one that feels best. That means you are going to want something that is comfortable for you when it is tied, but that isn’t going to slide out of its knot too easily.

Your best bet is to try on belts with different thicknesses to see which of them works for you and then make your purchase. You can do this by simply asking your club mates to try on their belt, and go with the same brand as theirs.

List of the Best BJJ Belts

Ok, now that we know what to look out for, lets take a look at some of the best belts for BJJ and Jiu-Jitsu.

Fuji BJJ Belt

The Fuji brand is a mainstay in martial arts, and there's a good chance that you have encountered them at one time or another. They deal in quality athletic apparel, so you should approach these belts with a pretty good feeling.

Alright, one thing that most people want to look at with belts is the price point. For this Fuji brand belt, you’re going to find that it’s right on the mark. It’s pretty inexpensive, especially when you consider the quality of the product. Basically, you aren’t going to have to worry about affording this one.

One of the parts that we really liked with this belt was the colors that they use. If you read the earlier parts of this article, then you know we value belts that are vivid and noticeable so that you don’t confuse the colors.

These belts come in white, blue, purple, brown, black, and many others for similar martial arts such as Judo. The blue looks nothing like the purple. It’s closer to a powder blue than a Navy blue, so there is no chance that you are going to somehow confuse one of the colors for another.

These belts by Fuji are made out of high quality cotton so they are a little on the stiff side.  They are moderately thick in the adult sizes, but they tie around easily enough. The belts were made to withstand plenty of mat time without losing their color or folding over and losing their shape.

One thing that we did notice was that the belts are able to hold a knot for a long time, probably due to the medium level of thickness and good materials making it so that the belt doesn’t just slip out of the knot.

All in all, the Fuji belt is a great addition to any BJJ practitioners set of gear. They have high quality materials, good prices, and offer a lot in the way of colors for youth and adults. The sizes tend to vary, but you can get them from A1-A6 and even in some other, less typical sizes.

Sanabul BJJ Belt

Sanabul is another familiar name to many when they are practicing BJJ. The company produces gear for a lot of different martial arts disciplines, so it’s no surprise that they are involved in making belts along with their other gear.

Right off the bat, you’ll see that the prices for the Sanabul BJJ Belt are on the low to medium range. They have options for cheaper belts that are smaller and more suited to younger users as well as standard size belts that are going to work for the adults.

You’re going to want to take a look at the colors that you are able to get for these belts to make sure that you are going to have consistency throughout your training.

You’ll be happy to know that the belts come in all the important colors for BJJ including white, blue, purple, brown, and black. The colors are much differentiated from each other, with the blue resembling a Royal Blue color and the purple being nice and dark. They aren’t too vivid, but they will get the job done for you.

The belt has an IBJJF competition-approved thickness to it. It’s definitely going to be the right thickness for you.

However, you should remember the fact that the thickness goes hand in hand with the stiffness. By our measure, this belt is pretty stiff and might take some time to work it down and get it to tie easily. These belts do have a tendency to come untied a little easier than others, but if you use the right knot you should be good to go.

The material for this belt is made to be durable so it can take all the punishment of rolling on the mats for as many years as you need to progress. The belts have anti-shrinking material in them so you can feel comfortable washing them and maintaining them without losing valuable inches off the end.

A final thought about this belt is that it has a cool feature: a ranking sleeve bar that you could slip stripes into if you need to. Of course, this depends on your club and how they offer their rankings, but it's a decent feature nonetheless.

Overall, the Sanabul BJJ Belt is another good entry into the company’s line of martial arts gear. You can expect high quality for a good price with these belts as well as standard sizes for kids and adults up to an A6.

Gameness BJJ Belt

Gameness is a brand that might fly under the radar in some circles, but provides quality gear in the realm of BJJ. 

They make their gis and their belts out of the same high quality cotton, ensuring that both will last a long time while reducing the prevalence of damage to them. Now, you might notice that these belts are a little bit higher on the price point than some of the others.

That tends to happen when you are dealing with high-end products that have this kind of attention to detail in them - something that Gameness specialise in.

The belts come in a lot of different sizes that will help practitioners find the one that serves them best. Specifically, you can expect them to appear in anything from an A1 to an A5, so that should cover most of the people out there.

The color scheme for the belt is something that is really nice with the Gameness BJJ Belt. They have all the standard BJJ colors of white, blue, purple, brown, and black. Yet, these colors are really vivid and designed to stand out against the gi that you would be wearing the belt on top of.

That makes it easier to discern what rank you have attained and makes you appear more prominently. The design of the belt also takes into consideration the need for stripes and gives you a 4” sleeve bar for them, too.

You will also want to think about the stiffness of the belt and the thickness when you’re buying them. This particular belt is pretty thick, so it might be tough for you to tie at first. That being said, the belt is not going to show its damage no matter how much work you do on the floor.

These belts are made to last long and maintain their bright color. Since the belt is made to stand up to punishment, it’s going to be a somewhat stiff. Give it a couple washes and it will get a little easier to manage over time, but it’s going to stay tied for you.

At the end of the day, this is easily one of the best Jiu-Jitsu belts, despite it's price.

Elite Sports Pre-Shrunk Belt for BJJ

The Elite Sports brand is another great entry into martial arts gear. The name is recognizable in BJJ and other disciplines as well for their quality gear and inclusive approach to making gear for as many different people as possible.

The prices that you’re going to see for this product range pretty wildly from low-end of the spectrum to pretty high. That’s all to do with the various belt sizes for children as well as the quality of the belts being undeniably high. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the belt and see what we’re dealing with.

To start off, the colors on the belt are numerous but a little on the bland side as far as things go. You will see all the most important belt colors of white, blue, purple, brown, and black. Like we said, the colors aren’t anything too remarkable, but the company does do good by having alternate colors available for children and for other disciplines. You’ll also find that the belt has a stripe bar that you can use to show off whatever degree you are in the belt, if that's something your club offers.

The double stitching on the belt is made to be tight and durable, providing the wearer with a fit that isn’t going to turn into a big loop of frayed ends. The material that is used with the belts is 100% high-quality cotton, which means the belts are tough and aren’t going to shrink up on you when you wash them.

In terms of the stiffness that you can expect out of the Elite Sports, we thought that the belt is average. It’s not too hard to work with but it’s not going to fold over itself and become a mess from a little bit of use. Another aspect to think about in terms of the belt is the thickness. It’s an IBJJF approved belt so it is pretty thick in terms of competition-level equipment, but it’s not going to come undone on your waist too easily.

All in all, this is a very good belt option for people that are into BJJ. It is going to be sturdy, comes in plenty of colors, and has a price point that most people will find satisfying.

Hayabusa Unisex BJJ Belt

The Hayabusa brand is one that most people will know because of their history of making quality gear in MMA. In terms of the BJJ belt that they have developed, it’s clear that they are continuing their trend of excellence in their products.

The first thing that you are going to see with these belts is that they are on the high end of the price spectrum for belts.

They’re not going to break your bank account or anything, but they are probably more expensive than what you are used to for belts. That’s not a bad thing, though, because you are getting a lot of high quality out of design that will make up for the extra money.

The Hayabusa Unisex BJJ Belt has all the traditional colors for BJJ including blue, purple, brown, and black. They don’t have any other colors tossed in there, so you can see that they definitely made these belts with BJJ solely in mind.

Another way that you can tell that the Hayabusa Company decided to make these belts specific to BJJ is in the materials that they used in the belt construction. They know that the belts are going to take a lot of damage on the floor, so they made them really strong.

You can count on seeing double-stitching throughout the entire belt which is made out of 550-gm gold spec-weave material as well as 12 oz twill cotton. This is very strong material that also lasts a long time. It’s very impressive to see this level of protection woven into a belt, which is not a piece of gear that people put a ton of thought into a lot of times. 

This belt is known for being lightweight, and part of the reason that they are this way is the materials that they used to make it. The stiffness of this belt is not all that severe. You can definitely tie it pretty well and bend it around, especially after a wash or two.

Overall, there is not much more that you could ask for in terms of a belt. The brand uses quality materials, offers plenty of colors, and asks for a moderately high price, for belts, in return. If you’re looking into a quality product, you could do a lot worse than this... that's for sure.

Hypnotik Pearl Weave BJJ Belt

The Hypnotik is a pretty well-known company for making a lot of boxing and MMA gear, so it should not be a surprise to anyone to see them making BJJ belts.

We know that the first thing you’re going to do is see the price and wonder why they have such a high price point. The most significant reason is right there in the belt name.

They use pearl weave fabric that is top-notch quality and is highly resistant to any damage that you are going to get by rolling on the mats. It's also incredibly lightweight, yet insanely strong, which is why we see some of the best BJJ gi's in the world made of out the very same pearl weave material.

The belt is a little thinner than most at 1.5 inches wide. It won’t make a huge difference, but you might notice it if you have been using a standard or thick belt. It’ll be a little lighter from using less material and there will be less of it to wrap a hand around.

The belts come in the standard colors, but may not be the same shades that you are used to. We’re telling you right now, the blue stands out because it looks like a color you would see people wear at Easter celebrations. That isn’t too much of a problem on its own, but the fact is that you will stand out if you’re wearing one and might get some odd looks from people working with you.

The belt comes in a lot of different sizes, providing everyone from an A0 to an A6 with the chance to get their hands on one of these great belts. As you might imagine, these belts are not that thick and they’re really not that stiff, either. They’re easy to tie and they tend to stay tied once you have them in place. You do have to watch out when you wash them because they will shrink a little, but the belts are slightly oversized to compensate for that.

All in all, these belts are high quality and stylish to boot. They have their signature Hypnotik labels embroidered on the belts and they are really good for people looking for a belt that is low-key and subdued.

Gold BJJ Jiu-Jitsu Belt

Another great name in all things BJJ is Gold BJJ. Just as you can count on a lot of their other  equipment, you can be sure that their belts are going to be high quality, too.

Although their belts are priced in the moderate to high range, their design, quality and build make them a fantastic investment.

The belts are made of some pretty serious material, 100% heavyweight cotton. That means the belt is going to last, won’t shrink upon it's first wash, and has protection against wear and tear. The Gold’s belts have a double-stitching in them that makes them even more capable of keeping intact despite the intensity of your training.

You can get the belt in all of the standard colors for BJJ including white, blue, purple, brown, and black. They are designed to be kind of plain, with only the Gold BJJ logo on the end, and you have a rank bar for stripes on it. It’s not going to be flashy, but it is going to get the job done. I personally love the logo of Gold BJJ and think these are some of the best looking belts going!

You’ll also be able to get this belt in a lot of different sizes too, so you could get a belt from A0 to A5, which will fit all but the biggest people out there - sorry you A6-ers! 

You'll also  be happy to know that it meets the IBJJF standards for competition in terms of thickness. Speaking of thickness, it’s moderately thick and kind of stiff when you first get it, but with a little breaking in it will tie well.

All in all, the Gold BJJ Jiu-Jitsu Belt is a good choice that has high quality and  nough variety in terms of colors and sizes that it can be used by any BJJ practitioner for both training and competitions.

Ronin BJJ Belt

The Ronin BJJ Belt is a great option to try out because it has a good price and a lot of quality built into it. 

Of course, we’re going to start out with the price, which is a little on the high end but not so much that it is going to cause you to avoid it completely.

This belt is a little flashier than many of the ones that are out there today because each belt features a patch and a pretty distinct color. They have all the basic BJJ colors so that you can keep buying a new belt as you go up in rank. The blue on this belt is a sky blue, so it’s a little lighter than other brands. However, the purple is a really deep shade, so you can count on standing out a little bit.

The materials used for this belt are also pretty good since they are a mix of poly and cotton with a cotton core. The stitching is heavy duty, too, so you aren’t going to have to worry about your belt ends fraying. The ends are even sewn so that there are even fewer places where you can get damage on the belt.

The sizes come between A1 and A5, so that covers most users. The belt is lightweight, but thick which you might think would make it hard to keep tied, but it breaks in easily. The knots hold well and the stiffness fades to a moderate to low feeling over time.

All things considered, this is a pretty solid belt. It’s flashy and the colors are going to stand out, but if that’s what you are looking for in a belt, then you got it right here.

How to Tie a BJJ Belt

If this is your first time getting a belt, the chances are you'll be unfamiliar with the tying process. No worries though, check out the video below, which will walk you through the process step by step.