SKINS RY400 TIGHTS
As a young athlete I’m always on the look out for products that are going to give me that little helping hand in both training and racing. Being a sport science student always makes me so interested in product development and tracking exciting product innovations. Over the past 8 weeks I have been putting the SKINS RY400 Recovery Tightsthrough their paces and my findings were pretty interesting…
The Fit
From my experience with these tights, specifically I found that the overall fit of the recovery tights were extremely accurate to the sizing on the website and boxes. Being a 6ft2 triathlete, finding kit that fits as well as these recovery tights do has always been a challenge but the SKINS RY400 Recovery Tights were perfect. SKINS offers a wide range of sizes with short, regular and long lengths so I am sure that most people will also be able to find the correct size in order to maximize the recovery benefits of the tights.
The tights fit tightly along the whole length of the leg with the main focus of compression around the key muscle groups. A very positive feature of the fit of these recovery tights, which I think sets them apart from others on the market, is that they do not bunch up behind the knee. In the past I have found this to be a recurring problem with compression wear. However, with the SKINS tights, the unique panelling and positioning of the seams around the knee allows a full range of movement without bunching or rubbing when moving around.
Recovery
I was interested to see whether the recovery benefit of the tights varied according to the type of session. First up is one of the toughest days on my legs in the week: a morning swim, followed by a long steady 40 mins run (off road), 20 mins gym sessions and a 60-70 mins hard interval turbo session in the evening. After eating, showering and stretching to finish this long day of training, I slept in the tights for approximately 9 hours. My recovery the next day was certainly a lot better – a good reduction in muscle stiffness and my legs felt a lot fresher on my ride. I noticed that in particular my calf muscles felt very fresh. After wearing the tights post-ride there was still some residual fatigue, but overall my muscles were noticeably less tight and sore. This made the following double swim day far nicer and more enjoyable. I would particularly recommend wearing the tights for any sessions which are most likely to result in finish very tight legs or more specifically sore calf’s – for example, hill reps or flat, fast, speed sessions.
I would also recommend using these tights for recovery runs. When its chilly out side or if you’re feeling pretty tired these are the tights to have. They are so warm, plus the silky nylon and spandex weave is just so lovely and smooth inside and out. The only problem with the impressive level of warmth provided by the tights is that my legs became very hot in the tights even with no heating or duvet. This is something that I found when travelling in the car and on trains too. If, for example, you wanted to wear them under a pair of jeans when you were out and about, you might find them too warm. On the other hand, the tights are very good at moisture management; my legs were hot but never became sweaty. Furthermore, heat does increase blood flow to the muscles so this adds to the recovery benefits of the tights.
Conclusion
Overall the SKINS RY400 Recovery Tights are a well made high quality product. Definitely a piece of kit that I will continue to use and would recommend people to buy a pair and give ago. I would particularly recommend wearing the tights after any sessions which are most likely to results in very tired legs or more specifically sore calf’s – for example, hill reps or fast, flat, speed sessions. Also I would wear them if you are travelling in a confined space (car/train/plane) for more then two hours (even though I found them too warm it would be a personal preference).
Ratings
Performance 4/5
Quality 5/5
Value for Money 4.5 /5
The SKINS RY400 Recovery Tights can be bought from the SKINS website at the Retail Price of £90.00