Superdave is our new Craft rep. Today he brought in this huge box of samples. We looked at a lot of different fabrics, cuts and designs. Here are some of our noteworthy impressions: The fabrics aren’t generic. They are unique weaves with specific moisture transmission and air space characteristics proprietary to Craft. That makes the apparel unique and different from other apparel. This is good for us because it builds a “story” into selling it- you have unique and valid reasons for a person to buy it. The fit was good, with very long sleeves and a number of cuts from very performance oriented (snug fitted) to casual apres-ride/ski cuts you could wear all day. Lots of interesting accesories such as a unique wind front, ultra-thin under helmet hat and balaclava and unique wind-front base layers that significantly upgrade the comfort range of existing garments allowing you to wear them “colder” than before for longer periods without soaking the fabric. The stretch chamois pad in the shorts, the “E.I.C.” or Elastic Interface Chamois is really an incredible comfort upgrade. Basically, the pad is “sucked up” against your skin by the cut of the shorts and the flexibility of the chamois. The pad stretches and moves with you. There is no feeling of wearing a diaper or some big, thick, nasty thing in your trousers. It feels more streamliner and natural but provides great cushioning, better moisture transfer (since the pad is held against your skin to pull perspiration away more efficiently) and is cooler in hot weather than the big, thick, wide, oversized and over-thick pads from previous non-stretch pad shorts. Fabrics in the tri clothes and shorts are extremely bizarre. The weave is micro-tight, with an odd, “silk-like” glossier hand that is very luxurious. It feels light and unrestrictive. The fabric also appear much more durable becasue of its density or close weave. Very interesting.
Any way, we bought some. Craft has had rotten deliver performance from our experience but this is said to be better now with lead times lower and more product comng into the pipeline. If you have a Craft retiler near you, check it out. It is premium stuff.
craft is the staple of my run, ride and layering performance apparel. i really think they have built a better mousetrap. i have craft stuff that i got in the norsk country three years ago and it still looks new. well worth the price.
i really like their light run jacket and the courier vest. lightwieght with adequate waterproofing. very reasonably priced. however, in a downpour you will want something meatier.
Hmmm. Honestly, I have no idea. We looked at the layering pieces and some performance cycling tri wear. We all bought hats too. I got some S3 wind front tights for this sub-zero weather we are having. It is 9 degrees Fahrenheit right now with the wind chill at -5 Farhenheit. Those conditions put a lot of demands on your clothing.
I have a new wind-front balaclava I will be running in tonight. Only 4 miles though.
Well, I think there are two reason Craft has some momentum to gain, maybe three reasons: As you can see in this thread, there are some customers who don;t feel there is valur in prrfromance apparel, or who don’t differentiate between a $29 triathlon top and a $110 triathlon top. For some of them, there is not the valur- to them the $29 piece provides all the function of the $110 piece. They are not Craft customers, never will be. A couple years ago Slowman did an article on here about how to dress for winter riding for pennies. He advocated the use of cottom fibers, etc and did just fine with it. That is a different customer. Craft is for the customer- few and far between- who looks at their performance apparel the same way they do the rest of their equipment. They want fine-tuned, high performance, no compromise race gear that optimizes every aspect of performance. The big job for us guys- the retailers- is to tell the story of why someone would want to spent $110 on a triathlon top instead of $29. That can be a an uphill battle. My experience is that once someone actually tries it, they usually see the value. Craft has trouble delivering things on time. At least they have in the past. “At once” orders have taken 3-6 weeks to land here. I’m told that will speed up this year. Craft will need to establish brand identity along with (or above) Pearl Izumi, Assos, Castelli and the other marqee’ technical clothing makers. They have overwhelmingly done so in nordic skiing, where they are the de-facto cutting edge of apparel. The challenge now is to see if they can do it in the incredibly fickle and bizarre cycling apparel market. I’ve tried the stuff. I think they can. It is on par with everything except perhaps an Assos, who unquestionably stands at the top of the cycling specialty apparel food chain and only does cycling apparel, no cross-over.
I see the tri shorts have gone up approximately 25%. What gives with such a price increase. Is it the new design of the pad? I wanted to get a pair but can’t find a store with the shorts except the craft-usa web site.
The reason the price went up is because they are more expensive. Like Zipp wheels. Everybody acts like this is a surprise. I was trying to convince people this would happen last year. I couldn’t get anyone to listen.
I’ve got 3 articles of Craft clothing, so far. Tri-shorts, long-sleeved base layer, and the Courier jacket. I’ve been very pleased with everything. Wore the shorts for my first 1/2 Iron, very comfortable. (Not sure if these are the same shorts you just saw, Tom? Bought mine last August). And the base layer I wear almost every (cold) day, running or riding. Rode last weekend in 25F (that’s cold for us down South)–top layers consisted of: Craft base layer, SS jersey, Courier jacket. That was it. The pricetag is a bit hard to swallow, but just keep watch at your local retailer for sales. No way I’d paid full price for any of the above items…and I doubt that I will in the future. That’s why I only have 3 pieces so far Good luck.
Where “down south” are you? I’m in DFW, TX area and I’ve never seen this line of clothing. Is there somewhere near Dallas where you can fondle this stuff before you buy it?
Good luck.