Gear Experience: Metal, Inzer HPHD, Inzer Phenom, Titan Katana A/S (All single ply)
Equipment being reviewed: Titan Super Katana A/S (Single Ply)
Pros: Very good carryover, good support through the whole lift, comfortable and adjustable. Very durable. The cut keeps shoulders more stable.
Cons: Harder to touch in than anything else I’ve ever tried. Very stiff, and extremely hard to lower weight quickly in once it locks up. Gives very little outside of the groove compared to in it.
Comparison:
The neck size and arm position have been changed over the regular Katana. It’s much easier to get an IPF legal touch in than the Katana, and much MUCH easier to keep your shoulderblades and shoulders in position. The flip side of this is that since you are locked in a better position to get more out of the shirt, it’s harder to touch. Also, it’s much harder to drift the bar, compounding the problems of a bad touch, since it gives even less than a Katana outside of the groove.
It’s easier to use properly and get maximum carryover than the Katana, but you don’t have the same leeway with dumping the bar at the bottom portion that you once had.
More expensive than Inzer shirts, but still cheaper than the better Metal offerings.
Thoughts:
Not a beginners shirt. And I’ll say it again; not a beginners shirt!
It is a really good shirt - addresses all the problems with the original Katana that made it so hard to touch a bit higher, tweaked the sleeve angle and neck so you can hold your shoulder and elbow position without having the back strength of a silverback gorilla, and seems to give 10-20lbs more carryover vs the same size Katana. It’d probably be a dead heat in terms of carryover if you can use your Katana perfectly, but it is still easier to use and will save your shoulders getting trashed when you struggle to touch.
That said, if you’re an inconsistent bencher it is not the best choice. Nothing seems to touch quickly or easily, and if you fuck up the touch the rebound is absymal. Drifting the bar up or down once you’ve gone too far in either direction is either slow or impossible, even with relatively light weight.
It’s not as bleak as it may seem. For me there’s roughly a 4 inch area where I can touch and get really good support, and it is very easy to adjust by lifting or lowering the shirt. Top end support is directly related to how close the sleeves are to my elbow.
This isn’t bad. To be honest, it’s probably as good if not better than most shirts I’ve tried in terms of sweet spot.
I’d recommend it. It’s definitely not a first shirt, and probably not a second shirt unless you’ve got a few experienced people around to guide you, but I think it’s worth a try at some stage for anyone who considers themselves a serious single ply bencher. For IPF guys using regular Katana’s, making it easier to control while touching higher makes it worth the price of admission in my book.
I honestly think this is the best single ply shirt on the market.
(Most people I know have been going one size up over their normal Katana and transitioned fine without losing anything on their bench, whereas the harder touches have caught out a few who kept the same size.)
