From now on I’m going to being doing more of my reviews on
video, so that you can see the products in action, and I can describe their
performance real time.
So first up I’ve done a short video of a pretty tough hill
trail I train on, whilst wearing my Linebreak Compression gear. Clearly I need
to work on my camera skills as you don’t get to see much of the kit, but I’ll
get better with practice!
I also cut the video short inadvertently, so I’ve added a few extra
comments and a summary below, as well as some photos.
In essence, I’ve found all reputable compression gear to
demonstrate a similar level of benefit from a performance and recovery
perspective, both short term and long term. Linebreak is no exception to this,
and I have the added advantage of having done a lot of KMs in their gear,
giving it a thorough road (or rather trail) test. I’ve done over 1500kms in
each of my tights, shorts and calf guards, and they still feel as good as my
new sets. I don’t know how other brands
perform (having only tested out new items), but believe this durability to be
excellent. They are only showing minor signs of wear with a little bobbling on
the insides of my calves where my foot occasional drags across the other leg.
Given that I always wear them on the same sides, you could half this wear
effect on the calf guards by swapping them over every other run.
So if we assume that the compression benefits are equal
across different brands it comes down to 4 things:
The Look – Now
I’m not sure that you could say that compression gear looks sexy, especially
shorts and tights, but personally I think the Linebreak long shorts are
different from the other brands and look pretty good.
The Comfort – Of
all the brands I have worn I find the Linebreak to be the most comfortable
whether they’re new or you’ve done 100’s of KMs in them.
The Cost – This
is aligned with durability as together they constitute value. When compared to
other brands Linebreak are not just a little cheaper, but significantly so,
with frequent special offers and bulk discounts amplifying this effect.
I wore Linebreak gear for all of the 33 Marathons run |
Sadly there are still some people out there who perhaps, for
the sake of the rest of us, have a look in a mirror before they venture out in
their compression kit :)
Run Happy!
Andy
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go" - T S Elliot
Check out my other Ultramarathon Running Gear Reviews
The gear looks good, it's very important to invest in quality gear to complement your performance and to avoid injuries.
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