Pro triathlete Kieran Lindars got a career-defining podium in Frankfurt last year, and the breakthrough star credited his tri suit sponsor – BornBound – with helping him to save a significant number of watts on the bike. But who is this challenger apparel brand, and how did they develop such an aero suit? We caught up with Global Brand Manager Mark Sinclair to find out more about BornBound and why their signature Skarvätten – Swedish for ‘cutting water’ – tri suit is just the start.
The fastest suit in triathlon?
At the start of this year, GB pro triathlete Kieran Lindars announced his continuing collaboration with sports apparel brand BornBound, stating on his Instagram feed: “I can confidently say that I have one of the fastest race suits in triathlon.” Sure, many a pro might claim, and have claimed, the same, but Lindars could well be right.
2024 was Lindars’ breakthrough season, which saw him end the year with silver in the European Champs in Frankfurt – having broken the British Ironman record in the process – and eighth in the world in Kona, Hawaii. Lindars had made the leap into the top echelons of the sport – and he credited his team of “life-changing” sponsors for helping him find the marginal gains required to mix it with the very best in the world. And tri suit brand BornBound has been integral to his ascent. But why, how and who exactly are BornBound?
BornBound set out to create the ‘Rolls Royce’ of tri suits
Founded in California by keen footballer and triathlete Kyle Dagan, the company launched in the USA and UK in March 2023. Capitalising on the number of former elite athletes involved in the brand, BornBound’s focus has, not surprisingly, been on performance, combined with a huge push towards sustainability.
“We believe there’s a place in the market for this,” says their Global Brand Manager Mark Sinclair, “but as we’re still young and running things on a relatively small budget, we’re simply focussing on what we can do at the moment to help our sponsored athletes and make some waves in the sport of triathlon and, gradually, the sport of running. We have a fairly unique appearance, and that is important, but ‘feel and comfort’ in apparel has the ability to influence performance.”
BornBound’s first tri suit was the Skärvatten, whose development started with the crucial choice of fabric. “We wanted to create the Rolls Royce of suits,” says Sinclair. “We wanted a compression and stretch-woven based fabric from the waist down, which gave good aerodynamics [they chose Payen, which also offered OEKO-TEX certification, which means it’s free from harmful substances].
“For the upper we wanted extreme breathability, good aero behaviors and a knitted textile for great comfort. I was also keen to introduce ColdBlack – the incredible nano-technology which stops the fabric absorbing radiant heat, so the wearer always stays cool no matter the colour of the fabric. So we opted for Eschler fabrics in the shoulders and arms and Miti in the front and back, all nano-treatment applied, which is introduced at the molecular level.
“It also helped that our developer in China is a very good age-group triathlete, so she was able to test the suit during its various iterations. It’s a really beautiful suit if you look at it in detail.”
Levelling up with the new Skärvatten Pro tri suit
The Skärvatten Pro suit followed for the brand, building on the success of the original. So what made BornBound decide to try and level up the aero performance?
“The Pro came about because we had sponsored athletes and teams, and we quickly realised that to get top-end guys wearing BornBound they needed their sponsor logos on the suits,” says Sinclair. “This required a suit that could take a sublimated dye process, which usually means a compromise in fabric quality.
“However, I’d already worked for many years with Nalini in creating the very best custom cycling clothing for pro teams, and they have a strong relationship with Taiana, who make the Kinetech range of aero fabrics. Nalini had already experimented with a tri suit so we took that as a template and gave it a significant make-over, utilising repeated feedback from Kieran and [fellow British pro] Jack Hutchens to adapt the pattern and fit, test various grippers and revamp the rear pockets etc. Kieran also assisted us with some pretty arduous aero testing!
“The suit tested incredibly well from the start, and we tested it against some suits whose manufacturers were making some very bold aero claims, but for Kieran [the Skärvatten Pro] was clearly giving him a far lower CD value [drag coefficient].
“We used a highly respected aerodynamicist and tested over and over again – the suit saved him 14 watts at 49kph vs the suit he’d been wearing the previous season, plus it also beat other suits. If the Skärvatten is the Rolls Royce of suits, then the Pro version is our stripped-out racer.”
The suit development coincided with Lindars’ own ‘30 Watts Project’ – an ambitious – yet ultimately successful – goal to save 30 watts during the Ironman bike leg of Frankfurt, in August last year, with the help of his sponsors. But it was Lindars’ love for the suit that also sparked another idea for the brand.
“In testing, Kieran said that he couldn’t believe a suit that was so easy and comfortable to wear, with just one single layer, could be so aero,” says Sinclair. “This made us realise we should make a version for sale. So we made a batch, we sold out, and we had to get some more made!”
RELATED: BornBound Skärvatten Pro tri suit review
Making moves in the running apparel scene
BornBound has also made the move into running apparel, targeting ultra runners in their pursuit for more marginal gains. But where to start in such a saturated industry?
“We knew we couldn’t reinvent the wheel in running apparel,” admits Sinclair, “but we also knew that no triathlon apparel brand was making beautiful running apparel, and we wanted to straddle both sports as there is such great cross-over.
“BornBound knew it could make some pieces that runners would feel to be a great investment, such as a favourite tee or singlet and short etc, and so many people have told us during our initial phase that these are now their favourite pieces. We now want to stretch further into the run apparel market with a signature fabric and textile feel of lightness and fit.
“The little details that we add make them feel special, for example the reflectivity built into the seam on the singlet comes from the brand’s Californian DNA – it’s hot there so many people run at night. This outlook gives us little details that other brands might not have.”
For long distance, comfort is key, so the brand has focussed heavily on the kit’s all-important abrasion-free seams.
“We knew we had to try and start with a very small range that suited athletes who wanted something good for speed and also over the long distances that do not chafe,” says Sinclair. “I think we’ve succeeded in that. We wanted thermo-bonded seams, unique cuts, and again we wanted super premium-feel fabrics.”
Not your typical running gear
The brand is also capitalising on the growth in marathon and ultra-distance race participation, which means, as Sinclair describes them, “sheer numbers of new runners getting involved who don’t have traditional views about run clothing”.
“The consumers are demanding a new approach,” he continues. “We use bonded seams and where there is stitching required, like in our inner pants, we use low-abrasion soft yarns. We take anything that rubs out of the equation. Our hidden pockets in the run shorts have no zips – they stay shut through elastic tension – which reduce any pressure points, and we use super soft fabrics. Critically, in the run shorts, there’s also no stitching on the leg hem to the thigh.”
As the boundaries of performance continue to be pushed within both the pro and age-group community, every single watt needs to count. As such, race-day apparel needs to work in perfect harmony with the athlete to provide the ultimate balance of comfort and performance. BornBound is in the vanguard, and with Lindars and co. continuing to race at the pointy end of the sport, it’s going to be fascinating to see how the brand will grow, what developments in tri suit tech we’ll see in the coming years and how that translates into finishing times.
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