Pinkie Boyfriend shorts in the sunshine

Fighter Girls has made a lot of changes to its online shop and catalogue over the past year or so. This includes both an increased offering of great women’s martial arts and fitness apparel, but also a clarification of the different cuts of its women’s MMA shorts; their board shorts are notorious as awesome and as particular in cut and fit. Fighter Girls are the premium purveyor of women’s fight wear and they do a great job of creating goods for women, however their stuff, while good value, isn’t cheap and they can be tough to wear for some body shapes. By categorising their women’s shorts as styles 301, 302, 304 and 305 it is easier to choose the right kind of cut for your needs.

I treated myself to a pair of the Pinkie Logo Hottie Boyfriend shorts and asked the readers of MegJitsu on Facebook what did *you* want to know about these shorts. What came across loud and clear is that women want to know exactly how the different cuts fit and how they compare. So, in addition to a review of the Pinkie Boyfriend shorts themselves, I’d like to give you guys a round-up comparison of the 301s, 302s and 304s. I hope I can help you find the right shorts for you and if you need more info, please comment below or get at me on Facebook.

Fighter Girls Long Board Shorts Size

I have three pairs of Fighter Girls women’s board shorts:

  • All Around the World (301)
  • Punk Invasion (302)
  • Pinkie Logo Hottie Boyfriend (304)

You can see photos of the front, back and side of each of these shorts at the bottom of this post as well as fuller details of the 301s and 302s in my review of the All Around the World shorts. In all cases, I wear the US7/UK10 and the following table gives a break down of the size differentials between the shorts.(1) These measurements are post-washing on a warm 60°C cycle; the great synthetic, sweat-wicking, slightly stretchy fabric of the board shorts is very resistant to shrinkage or fading and my black shorts have held their colour well over the past year.

Style A (cm/in) B (cm/in) C (cm/in) D (cm/in) E (cm/in)
301 43/16.9 30.5/12.0 39/15.4 20.5/8.1 28/11.0
302 45.5/17.9 31/12.2 40/15.7 20.5/8.1 29.5/11.6
304 45.5/17.9 29/11.4 40.5/15.9 20.5/8.1 28/11.0

Fighter Girls Long Board Short Fit

I enjoy wearing all of these shorts, but, for me, the Pinkie Boyfriend shorts hit the sweet spot in terms of cut and fit. For me, the 304s combine the advantages of the 302s and the 301s while avoiding their disadvantages. The Pinkie Boyfriend shorts (304) include the longer leg of the Punk Invasion (302) and have a slightly more generous cut, somewhere between the 301 and 302 measurements, which results in the more flatteringly tailored fit of the All Around the World (301) without that cut’s slightly restrictive construction. While the Around the World look great on, they are ever so slightly tight through the crotch and I’ve preferred the Punk Invasion for training (I rock the All Around the World on the beach more than the mats), the Pinkie Boyfriend cut is not quite so baggy and shapeless as the Punk Invasion and this ‘Goldilocks cut’ is my new fav. What makes the Fighter Girls shorts so great is, in part, the low rise cut which is much better for lady-shapes than the cut of men’s MMA shorts as it doesn’t create bulk around the middle and is made to sit better on a woman’s hips. However, these babies are very low rise and I’ve had several readers query about rash guards, compression shorts and other strategies to ensure the clothes are solidly on the bod so that a lady-grappler can get on with the job at hand! I find these shorts very easy to wear and do not feel distracted by what may or may not be on display during training. Here’s how I approach the low rise.

Wearing Fighter Girls Long Board Shorts (Rash Guards and Rashtards)

I’ve never had a need for compression shorts under my Fighter Girls board shorts and have found that long line rash guards or what I call the ‘rashtard’ (a lycra dance leotard worn under the shorts) works perfectly and doesn’t expose my fish-white belly during no gi training. I’ve had a great luck with Nike’s Pro range. This line of compression tops are very long long (well past my bum pulled all the way down) with a rubbery inner hem to help it ‘stick’, though without discomfort. The Pro tops are much cheaper than many ‘proper’ rash guards and take a serious beating in terms of wear and washing; mine have always been discarded due to age and emerging funk rather than being worn through. Under Armour’s range of compression gear is also very long line and performs well in training with these shorts (I’m wearing their compression tank in the pictures below). While I prefer the fit and feel and the UA top to the Nike Pro (and they are similar in price), the Under Armour top is showing early signs of pilling after only a few weeks’ wear, so the Nike tops may have the edge in toughing out grappling-training.(2) Between tightening up the shorts with Fighter Girls’ thick shoestring-like inner drawstring and a long line top, everything stays put as I would like. However, the absolutely most carefree combo is the rashtard + shorts. I’ve got a couple cheap lyrca dance leotards in black that work a treat. Comfortable, not as heavy as a swimsuit which I know some women like to rock and very tough wearing. While the FG shorts are very secure when rolling, with a rashtard you know that the top won’t ride up and that any pantsing incidents will not be particularly embarrassing. Anyhow, I have been trying to convince any manufacturer that’ll listen that the rashtard is what the women want, but no joy yet; would be awesome to have one that looks ‘proper’ rather than with the ballerina vibe.

Conclusions

The Fighter Girls long board shorts are hard-wearing, attractive and recent massive expansion to their catalogue means more options in terms of size and more subtle designs to match their more blinged out offerings. I would recommend these shorts to anyone, but they may have disadvantages for A-shaped and X-shaped women; I hope the measurements and pictures are useful for you in deciding if these can work for you.

(1) For reference, I am what is considered a ‘V’ shape with wider shoulders than hips and thinner legs; I am 5’4.5″/163cm, 130lbs/60kgs and have bust, waist and hip measurements of 34″/86.4cm, 27″/68.6cm and 36″/91.4cm. I usually wear a 27″ jean, size 10UK trouser and extra small leggings. My thighs have a circumference of 51cm/20″ at their widest point.

(2) For better or worse, Nike’s Pro range is very much in flux, so whenever I go to get a new top they’ve changed the styles and colours available. Sometimes the sizes can be hit and miss but overall is a good option, especially if you can try on before you buy.

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