First impression

Wow, how long till I can wear this at my next training session?!?!?!

Construction

The material compared to the recent Strike Fightwear rash guard is very thin very much like a second skin feel to it which is perfect for every day training be it cold or warm yet is strong but I would not like to get velcro (Hook & Loop) material anywhere near this due to that fact.

 

 

Looking over the stitching there were a few loose threads and lines of material that were not lined up properly so would not benefit from the triple stitching process Manto use throughout this rash guard (except the neck line which only used a double stitched setup) not to much I’d say about 95% of the stitching is spot on but the bad sections are enough to be noticed. This was a shame but I managed to fix this myself in the main areas of wear I saw after the first use. The thread they have use is very fine which means if stressed does not hold up to well to extreme stretching which again is a big let down but more on the stitching later in the review.

 

 

Fit & Performance

The first thing I noticed when I put the on was the cut. I ordered a medium as normal and the fit is very different to the last few rash guards I have used. The arms and shoulder area is very tight so much so that when grappling the arms ride up very high which is not a bad thing but the worst part of this rash guard happens because of this. I will get to that shortly but want to explain why I would not go a size up. The actual body of the rash guard is quite relaxed that means it is not skin tight so kind of behaves more like a t-shirt which is not a problem but means I would not go up a size as this section would be to big for me. The body length however is perfect for me with no riding up at all.

Rolling wise the rash guard never interferes and keeps your body temperature at a good level.

So on to the biggest problem with this rash guard. The stitching they have used to get the structure for the side panels runs right along the fold of my armpit. This combined with the tightness in the arms means after my first roll in it my armpits were very sore due to the tightness and the stitching along this section rubbing on my skin. This is not what I expected from Manto as they have such a good reputation for their rash guards. I emailed them about this and even suggested ordering a size up but have not heard back from them in over a week which is a shame from a customer service point of view so maybe bare this is mine when you order this rash guard you might want to order a size up from normal. Having said this after a few wears and washes the stitching has seemingly softened a bit and as you can tell I really want to wear this rash guard but some may not be able to push through the pain barrier to get there

 

 

The biggest plus of the rash guard so far is the sublimated print this is Rupture good (Check my Rupture rash guard review) and the design is just incredible!

Pros
+Incredible aesthetics by far the best looking rash guard I have ever seen!
+For people looking for a more relaxed body style this will suit.
+Excellent material for training all year round.
+Perfect body length.

Cons
-Stitching along armpits chafes.
-Arms are quite tight and can ride up.
-Sub-par customer service.

Summary

I wanted this rash guard so badly I waited and waited till Manto finally put it up and ordered one straight away. When it arrived I was sooooo impressed and wanted this to be my new favourite rash guard and to some extent it is. However due to the arm issue I cannot recommend it over rash guards that have their panels setup different so to cause no chafing. If this could be implemented in the Beast 2 rash guard that would be great and would have this score a perfect 5 out of 5!

This review is my first ever 3.5 out of 5