It is about time for a new kit. I am no longer on a team, so not wearing a team kit. I used a few Ownway team kits in the past and they were fairly comfortable.
Looking for iron distance one piece trisuit for the heat. Will be using in hot summer races and also racing Chatt and IMTX.
Zoot, Wynn Rep, Castelli, Roka, Ryzon?
On the dark kits, do they stay cool in the heat? I have always stayed away from Black kits due to living in Texas, but some new ones look to use cooling black materials.
Regarding technologies like ColdBlack: They absorb all of the visible spectrum light (so they appear black), but are less absorptive of IR wavelengths (so they don’t get as hot as regular black fabrics that absorb all IR light in addition to visible spectrum). In practice they close about 40% of the gap between a white kit and a black one…so much better than traditional black, but not as good as lite/white.
Minutes Exposed to Sun
10 11 15 16
Black Under Armour Coldblack 89.7° F 90.9° F 97.6° F 95.3° F
Black Adidas shirt 97.8° F 100.0° F 107.1° F 103.1° F
Blue Under Armour Coldblack 83.2° F 89.8° F 91.0° F 90.2° F
White Polyester Tee 71.3° F 73.4° F 73.9° F 74.4° F
It is about time for a new kit. I am no longer on a team, so not wearing a team kit. I used a few Ownway team kits in the past and they were fairly comfortable.
Looking for iron distance one piece trisuit for the heat. Will be using in hot summer races and also racing Chatt and IMTX.
Zoot, Wynn Rep, Castelli, Roka, Ryzon?
On the dark kits, do they stay cool in the heat? I have always stayed away from Black kits due to living in Texas, but some new ones look to use cooling black materials.
Appreciate the help!
Everyone has their own opinion but, in mine, you aren’t going to do any better than a custom Ownway. I’m bigger and heat is a factor and my Ownway is most comfortable/best in heat (I’ve worn Zoot, De Soto, Castelli, Roka, Kiwami, among others).
De Soto was the first company to use Cold Black and we remain the only to use Skin Cooler because it is a fabric I personally innovated. If you would like info on our trisuits, please check us out here and PM if you have any particular questions.
Thanks for the response. I did my first ironman in a pair of Desoto Trishorts. They are the only set that I own that shows no sign of wear. I will check out the new stuff.
Do they do one offs? I do not have time to order a custom kit for Chatt. I guess i can contact them.
No idea what their turnaround time is these days. But all the stuff I ordered from them was one off individual orders of tri shirts, running shirts and tri suits.
During T100 London Frodeno was speaking about black suits. Without naming brands he highlighted, that many of the top end black suits have some form of fabrics (with teflon particles or whatever, can’t recall now), that cools you down. He meant Ryzon. There’re probably many more, but one other brand I know that has this feature is Huub.
I’ve had Ryzon Verge, Huub Anemoi I and Huub Anemoi II 22plus. All of them were super fast, all of them were dark and all of them had the built-in cooling-down properties. I could really feel it - the moment they’re wet and there’s wind you’re noticeably feeling the cool-down effect.
That’s about being fast and cooled-down. The Ryzon Verge broke for me in the armpit the same way it did for Frodeno in 2023 IM WC in Nice. The Huub Anemoi I unglued itself on my ass just after a 70.3 race. Now you get the full picture, from my PoV.
Wow… hopefully they warrantied it. Sounds like great fabric but shit QC or wear properties.
Assos came out with one i am intrigued by. Love their bibs, but I have not seen a single review on their trisuit.
The assos looks nice but $550 FFS.
I’m in the same situation looking for a new suit.
I think I’ll just get the Castelli San Remo - its on sale on their site for $180 (plus another 10% discount if you sign up to their spam service). I had the version 1 in the past, so I know its reasonably good quality and fits me OK. Not the most high end for sure, but although I can afford it, I just can’t bring myself to spend $350 on a something I wear once/twice a year.
During T100 London Frodeno was speaking about black suits. Without naming brands he highlighted, that many of the top end black suits have some form of fabrics (with teflon particles or whatever, can’t recall now), that cools you down. He meant Ryzon. There’re probably many more, but one other brand I know that has this feature is Huub.
I’ve had Ryzon Verge, Huub Anemoi I and Huub Anemoi II 22plus. All of them were super fast, all of them were dark and all of them had the built-in cooling-down properties. I could really feel it - the moment they’re wet and there’s wind you’re noticeably feeling the cool-down effect.
That’s about being fast and cooled-down. The Ryzon Verge broke for me in the armpit the same way it did for Frodeno in 2023 IM WC in Nice. The Huub Anemoi I unglued itself on my ass just after a 70.3 race. Now you get the full picture, from my PoV.
If the Ryzon and Huub fell apart on you, what are you using now, and do you like it?
I feel ya there. I have $200 in backcountry/competitive cyclists rewards. If they can get me that suit at a discount, it might be worth trying. Wish they carried more brands. but have Assos and Castelli.
During T100 London Frodeno was speaking about black suits. Without naming brands he highlighted, that many of the top end black suits have some form of fabrics (with teflon particles or whatever, can’t recall now), that cools you down. He meant Ryzon. There’re probably many more, but one other brand I know that has this feature is Huub.
I’ve had Ryzon Verge, Huub Anemoi I and Huub Anemoi II 22plus. All of them were super fast, all of them were dark and all of them had the built-in cooling-down properties. I could really feel it - the moment they’re wet and there’s wind you’re noticeably feeling the cool-down effect.
That’s about being fast and cooled-down. The Ryzon Verge broke for me in the armpit the same way it did for Frodeno in 2023 IM WC in Nice. The Huub Anemoi I unglued itself on my ass just after a 70.3 race. Now you get the full picture, from my PoV.
Huub unglued for me as well. Great suit. But I can’t pay $400 for 2 races
I still have Huub Anemoi II 22plus, it hasn’t unglued itself yet and I have a custom made top of the range Q36.5, with my triathlon club branding. It’s super comfortable, but I didn’t mention the latter because it’s of no value to you - you can’t have the same one. In 10 days I will be racing IM Frankfurt in it.
Regarding technologies like ColdBlack: They absorb all of the visible spectrum light (so they appear black), but are less absorptive of IR wavelengths (so they don’t get as hot as regular black fabrics that absorb all IR light in addition to visible spectrum). In practice they close about 40% of the gap between a white kit and a black one…so much better than traditional black, but not as good as lite/white.
Minutes Exposed to Sun
10 11 15 16
Black Under Armour Coldblack 89.7° F 90.9° F 97.6° F 95.3° F
Black Adidas shirt 97.8° F 100.0° F 107.1° F 103.1° F
Blue Under Armour Coldblack 83.2° F 89.8° F 91.0° F 90.2° F
White Polyester Tee 71.3° F 73.4° F 73.9° F 74.4° F
White or light colors are definitely significantly cooler when there is no airflow and no moisture, like in Runner’s World’s test linked above. But once you introduce airflow and moisture, evaporative cooling comes into play and the differences between light and dark kit shrink considerably. I found https://www.theproscloset.com/blogs/news/does-kit-color-actually-keep-you-cool to be a good read. From a cooling perspective you can’t really go wrong with white/light, but in real-world conditions for cycling/running it probably doesn’t make that much difference.
I personally opt for a darker kit (navy blue Wynn suit) for a purely practical reason – it’s easier to keep (looking) clean. My first trisuit had baby blue and white panels, very pretty. But it was more or less ruined after 1 rainy race, with a big dark skunk stripe up the back from road splatter, orange splotches from splashed Gatorate, etc. Considering how expensive top-end suits are, I want mine to last and look decent for as long as possible.
Regarding technologies like ColdBlack: They absorb all of the visible spectrum light (so they appear black), but are less absorptive of IR wavelengths (so they don’t get as hot as regular black fabrics that absorb all IR light in addition to visible spectrum). In practice they close about 40% of the gap between a white kit and a black one…so much better than traditional black, but not as good as lite/white.
Minutes Exposed to Sun
10 11 15 16
Black Under Armour Coldblack 89.7° F 90.9° F 97.6° F 95.3° F
Black Adidas shirt 97.8° F 100.0° F 107.1° F 103.1° F
Blue Under Armour Coldblack 83.2° F 89.8° F 91.0° F 90.2° F
White Polyester Tee 71.3° F 73.4° F 73.9° F 74.4° F
White or light colors are definitely significantly cooler when there is no airflow and no moisture, like in Runner’s World’s test linked above. But once you introduce airflow and moisture, evaporative cooling comes into play and the differences between light and dark kit shrink considerably. I found https://www.theproscloset.com/...tually-keep-you-cool to be a good read. From a cooling perspective you can’t really go wrong with white/light, but in real-world conditions for cycling/running it probably doesn’t make that much difference.
I personally opt for a darker kit (navy blue Wynn suit) for a purely practical reason – it’s easier to keep (looking) clean. My first trisuit had baby blue and white panels, very pretty. But it was more or less ruined after 1 rainy race, with a big dark skunk stripe up the back from road splatter, orange splotches from splashed Gatorate, etc. Considering how expensive top-end suits are, I want mine to last and look decent for as long as possible.
The difference in radiative heat absorption doesn’t change, but to your point there are more significant heat transfer mechanisms (convective, evaporative) that come into play. This is why no one complains how hot their black bike shorts are whilst riding. Since there is an (albeit minor) benefit, I go with the lightest color that won’t get see-thru when wet. In cases like aero calf sleeves (where translucency doesn’t matter) I opt for white over black (the two most common options).
It gets hot down here for races (also can be freezing, but that’s another story). I’ve been using the DeSoto all my tri ‘career’ which is over 20 years now. Initially the 2 pieces, but last 5 or 6 in Forza 1 piece. I tend to feel the heat more than the average (I was born in north England and didn’t see the sun until I moved to NZ aged 35).
i have a few, but the geometric grey/white just works, with the ‘flattering’ black short area. For long distance the kit is exceptional with the leg pockets as well as normal back pockets, and then the fly just makes it really ‘useable’.
Just be careful on the fit. I’m tall, but all legs, and so based on total height/weight the carrera model was a bit loose. I’m still thinking I may size down in the next Forza I get, although to be fair that’s probably going to be in 10 years time so who knows, they last so bloody long.
Another vote for DeSoto, they are good in the heat but they are exceptional in duration. I use 2 pairs of their shorts in normal rotation and they are about 10 years old. I think I bought their trisuit in 2019 and it looks like it is brand new.
and I have a custom made top of the range Q36.5, with my triathlon club branding. It’s super comfortable, but I didn’t mention the latter because it’s of no value to you - you can’t have the same one. In 10 days I will be racing IM Frankfurt in it.