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The Born Bound Skärvatten Long Distance promises high performance without compromise on comfort or freedom of movement. With the weather turning wintery in the UK, writer and long course triathlete Jenny Lucas-Hill has been putting the tri suit through it’s paces during her indoor training sessions.
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Born Bound are a relatively new brand on the triathlon scene. Founded in California, USA, the small team also have firm links to the UK – specifically North Devon – with 1% of UK sales going to the charity Plastic Free North Devon. As you might gather, sustainability features highly on Born Bound’s list of priorities. But that doesn’t mean compromising on performance. After spotting some of the up and coming PRO triathletes wearing Born Bound gear – including Kieran Lindars who finished 2nd in IRONMAN Frankfurt and 8th in Kona. We were keen to get our hands on some of the kit ourselves to see how it compares to other tri suits we’ve tested this year.
Summary
Overall the Born Bound Skärvatten tri suit lives up to its premium price tag, offering a strong balance of comfort and performance. The design isn’t as ‘out there’ as other brands, but if you’re looking for race kit that’s sleek and subtle without being boring, the Skärvatten will suit you well.
For those shopping with sustainability in mind, this tri suit is going to tick plenty of boxes too. BlueSign and Oeko Tex fabrics have been used here. And while the brand acknowledges the challenge that can come hand in hand with incorporating recycled, sustainable materials into high performance garments. They’re already committed to using sustainable textiles where possible, alongside responsible sourcing and considering postage and packing materials too. And they’ve hinted that future product launches will move towards becoming fully sustainable, using materials recycled from ocean plastics.
The all-in-one construction combined with the slightly less stretchy material on the lower half of this tri suit could make sizing a little tricky for some. And for me, I’d like to see a few more pockets (such as on the hips) to offer more nutrition storage options for full Iron distance racing. But for middle distance racing, this tri suit ticks plenty of boxes.
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Initial impressions
From the outset, Born Bound’s efforts to create more sustainable triathlon apparel is noticeable. There are no annoying plastic swing tags, and the packaging is made from widely recyclable plastic. It’s a small detail that can often be forgotten. Seeing other brands using sustainable materials and then undoing some of that work with heaps of plastic packaging is always a little disheartening.
As for the tri suit itself, on first impressions it feels well-made and premium. It’s an all-in-one design with two rear pockets. The deep blue colourway is even nicer in real life than in images and the design on the sleeves adds a nice bit of flair to what is otherwise a fairly sleek and simple-looking tri suit. It stands out, without shouting about it.
The material on the upper body is silky smooth and feels like it has plenty of stretch, which bodes well for freedom of movement on the swim. And what’s interesting is the addition of silicone dimples on the outside of the chamois pad to help you get a bit of grip on the saddle. What is at first look, a fairly simple tri suit – does actually have plenty of well thought out details.
I’ve been testing this out through October and November, and with the weather steadily getting worse, sadly that has meant the time to be riding and running outside in a tri suit has long gone. But now my indoor training sessions are ramping up as I spend the off season working on improving my thresholds, there’s been plenty of opportunity to put this suit through its paces on the turbo and the treadmill. And let’s face it, without the distractions of the outdoor world – sometimes indoor training can be the best way to really stress-test new kit, because you can guarantee if anything’s not right you’ll notice it far sooner!
FIT
Based on the size guide, I opted for a size small in this tri suit and I’d say it’s true to size. The fabric on the upper body moves really easily and doesn’t feel restrictive. But the shorts are made from a woven, compressive fabric treated with Cold Black®. It feels similar to the sort of material you get on a swim skin. As a result, the lower half of this tri suit is really supportive, but it does mean there’s a little less stretch.
With the all in one construction some body types might struggle to get the perfect fit. It just about works for me – I’ve got a little extra room around the waist and shoulders which means spending a bit of time making sure the fabric isn’t bunching up in these areas. But the sleeves fit tightly just above the elbows (important to ensure they don’t roll up and create drag) and if I were to size down the shorts would be too tight. I think I’d be fine to race the middle distance in this tri suit, but I can imagine if I were to wear it for a full Ironman race the leg grippers might start to dig in a little because of the compressive fabric.
It’s good to see that Born Bound have got sizing from XS-2XL available, which is more inclusive than other triathlon apparel brands out there.
Comfort & PERFORMANCE
On the whole, Born Bound have covered off both the performance and comfort elements well. The chamois pad is an Elastic Interface pad – the same that you’ll find in the TRI-FIT EVO 2.3 tri suit which I wore for both my full distance races this year without any issues.
Almost all of the sewn seams, and the inside of the main zipper, have a sort of taping around them, which keeps the seams flat and eliminates the risk of any chafing. That’s not something I’ve seen other tri suit brands do, but it really does make a big difference. There aren’t any mesh sections on this tri suit (compared to the TRI-FIT EVO 2.3 for example) but so far breathability hasn’t been an issue even while training indoors. The fabric is also Cold Black® treated, which means it won’t absorb heat from the sun and helps to manage your temperature.
So far, this suit has performed really well and I don’t have any major concerns from a comfort point of view either. The only thing that knocks it down a fraction is the slightly too compressive shorts material and the leg grippers. The thicker material on the shorts means they’re not as stretchy, which I can imagine might start to feel a bit claustrophobic over a full distance race. And the folded/bonded seam on the leg gripper means there are no annoying sewn sections to chafe. But that does mean the fit is a little tighter around your leg. Not a problem so far, but again something I’d want to test on a longer training ride closer to race season before committing to racing a full Ironman distance in this suit. It’s also worth knowing the new Skarvatten Pro version of this tri suit recently launched by Born Bound solves this issue with stretchier fabric on the shorts.
DURability
Given the $346/£295 price tag, this is a tri suit you’re going to want to be confident you can get plenty of use out of. Some premium suits majorly compromise on durability in favour of all out performance. Fine if you’re a sponsored PRO, but not great if you’re an age-grouper who can’t justify forking out for a new suit every few races. Thankfully Born Bound have quite literally woven durability and practicality into the construction of this tri suit. As mentioned, almost all of the seams are reinforced with taping – it feels like there’s pretty much no risk of this suit splitting on you.
The compressive material on the lower half of the suit in particular feels really durable. There’s unlikely to be much risk of this suit turning see-through which is important for preserving your dignity while riding in the time trial position.
As ever, time and a full season of training/racing will tell on the durability front. But so far this is a tri suit that feels like it’s made to last so you should be able to get several seasons worth of use out of it.
VERDICT
Overall, I’ve been impressed with how the Born Bound Skärvatten tri suit has performed. The brand might be fairly new, but the expertise behind the scenes is made clear by the thoughtful attention to detail – from the silicone dimples on the outside of the chamois to help you stay put in your TT position, to the taped seams to all but eliminate chafe.
It’s good to see Born Bound doing the leg work to move towards the most sustainable sourcing and manufacturing too – as well as donating 1% of their net UK profits to Plastic Free North Devon. Many brands will do the latter, without addressing the former. It’ll be interesting to see how the use of sustainable and recycled materials develops as Born Bound expand their ranges.
Performance-wise, while I haven’t raced in this tri suit yet, it’s coped with turbo sessions and treadmill runs perfectly well. I’d more than happily go and race a middle distance triathlon in this tomorrow if I needed to. But I’d probably reach for one of my other tri suits with a little more stretch around the legs and a few more pockets for full distance racing.
