How important is kit to high performance?
Legs make the boat move and the brain makes the legs churn, like great steam locomotives. But what facilitates speed, fosters improvement and creates an environment suitable for a champion?
At Junior Rowing News, we’ve seen a lot of kit pass through the generations. Patterns, colours and themes have dominated the way we consume kit, with little to no consideration for the actual tenants of performance. What we wear is and has become a crucial part of the journey from inception to start line and many companies are now realising that creating top quality kit involves painstaking technical innovation and the cumulative feedback of hundreds who partake in the sport every day.
We represent some of the top schools and clubs in the UK, so where better for Mizuno to test their offering for the All-In-One space? The unisuit represents a rower’s must-have; the one bit of kit that they will feel the pangs of defeat and savour the highs of victory wearing. New to the scene, and having already produced pieces of finished quality for the Great British Rowing team, Mizuno are now turning their focus to the junior scene as they attempt to make commonplace the quality and attention to detail that has always differentiated senior apparel from grassroots kit.
As you can see, Mizuno made up custom technical kit for the JRN team, combining our preferred colour scheme and design with specific sizing guidance that can be adjusted to the individual. This isn’t a unique offering – Mizuno allow you to customise your kit via their online designer. Gone are the days where we’re forced to guess what our kit may look like when it arrives – the dynamic modeller allows you to design performance apparel unique to your club.
Here are just some of the comments from our team after receiving and field-testing their all-in-ones:*
“The material is really comfy and doesn’t get sticky or clingy when you start to get hotter. It fits well and is very comfortable around the shoulders and neck. It’s certainly a step up from any other boat club AIO I’ve had before.”
“The material is very soft and comfortable and the double lining on the bottom half seems to make it virtually sweat-proof, which is really useful when on the ergo.”
“The AIOs have a really aesthetic appeal and are very comfortable to wear in a training environment. I found the arm holes a little tight to get on initially but once in, it fits perfectly. The colouring and double layer of material on the legs prevents obvious sweat marks.”
“It is very comfortable and far more flattering than other AIOs I’ve tried. You can immediately tell that the finish is of a high quality and it seems to be more durable and resistant to wear and tear. The sizes comes up a little small, which makes it a tight fit, but that is something that suits some athletes.”
“I think it’s the most comfortable uni-suit I’ve ever owned. The inner fabric on the legs is very soft but doesn’t seem to ‘run up’ too much. It’s clearly suited and built for a competitive athlete and it has become my new ergo test suit.” 
“Overall, it’s an excellent AIO with comfortable material, tight fittings and a nice design. It is excellent for wicking sweat but can be a little tight around the shoulders so it might be an idea to put some elastic in to help this process.”
*Please note that we stressed to our team that we wanted objective reviews. We felt there was little point in reviewing a product with an agenda in mind – we wanted to offer a fair, accurate summary of Mizuno’s performance apparel.
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