arena is proud to announce the launch of a comprehensive Powerskin range of carbon racing suits for 2020 to satisfy the diverse needs of all swimmers. Introducing two brand new suits – the Powerskin Carbon Glide and Core FX – the range also includes the Carbon Air2 and Carbon Duo, which had successful releases earlier this year, thus giving competitive swimmers four options, each featuring different attributes and benefits.For over 45 years, arena has worked in collaboration with the world’s top athletes, universities and innovation centres to develop highly technical suits so that the swimmer can at their very best when they need it most: during the race. This modus operandi has enabled the company to develop a keen understanding that each swimmer’s needs are unique, and that they deserve to compete in a suit that reflects this diversity, whether they are looking for superior glide, outright power, supreme lightness, or women in search of something that’s “just right”. Underpinning the company’s mission is the fundamental objective of aiding the athlete in striving for their ultimate goal: the feeling of victory.
“With the Olympics now just 8 months away, we want to give swimmers time to prepare for the Games in the best suits for their own needs,” said Giuseppe Musciacchio, arena co-CEO. “Our Powerskin Carbon suits are designed to cover specific swimmer preferences according to stroke, race distance, body type and personal choice. These are all things we’ve worked on with our own champions, and the result is a range that we believe will help to make heroes in Tokyo. We’re proud of the fact that it’s without doubt the widest range of top-performing suits on the market.”
The result is arena’s most comprehensive technical swimsuit range ever, allowing the athlete to choose whichever is best for them as they reach for the wall, victorious. All four suits in the range include arena’s trademark Carbon technology with Intelligent Compression, through which the fabric’s interwoven carbon fibres lock down when a critical stretch level is reached, maximizing compression on over- extended zones, and increasing support and control when and where it’s needed.
The most advanced, sophisticated racing suit arena has ever designed, the Carbon Glide gives the swimmer a sensational underwater glide and feeling of speed unlike any other suit. This feature is delivered by two new advances, Hydroglide fabric and the Carbon Extreme Cage, which combine lightness and compression to deliver the ultimate experience in racing performance. Covering the front and lower back, the ultralight, low-profile Hydroglide is smooth to the touch, giving it incredible glide and speed, while also reducing drag and turbulence in critical zones. Covering the legs and lower torso, the similarly ultralight, low-drag Carbon Extreme Cage has carbon fibres woven into the fabric in a tight grid-like pattern surrounding specific muscle groups, providing exceptional muscle support and improved body hold to enhance performance without restricting mobility. The result is added stroke power and stability with optimum durability, flexibility, and efficiency. The suit also employs a unique taping structure, with carbon strategically infused into the woven lining to activate major muscle groups, thereby enhancing the swimmer’s feeling of support and body hold.Also being launched as part of the 2020 range, the Carbon Core FX features the latest improvements to the highly successful Carbon Flex VX, and is the most compressive suit of the four. Providing a powerful locked-in feel along with exceptional core support, it uses the same Carbon Cage technology as its predecessor, delivering a high level of durable compression across all areas of the body. For these reasons the Core FX is likely to appeal to sprinters for its high level of compression and range of motion.
The Core FX features a new Twin Taping structure on the back of the legs of both women’s suits and men’s jammers, providing a lifting effect on the legs that helps the swimmer to hold a high body position even when fatigued, giving maximum hip height in the water. In addition, the internal carbon fibre-infused lining on the women’s suit has been extended up the side of the suit with an incision just below the chest, providing multiple benefits: maximum compression and locked-in feel through the legs and torso; an additional, evenly- distributed pressure profile across the body; further improvement of core stability for an enhanced body position in the water with lower form drag; and improved upper body mobility, without compromising overall compression and support.
Launched in 2019, the Carbon Duo is revolutionary: it is the first two-piece racing suit designed exclusively for women. Employing an advanced, patent-pending system that combines separate top and bottom pieces, it allows women racers to put together a suit that fits them perfectly, while also offering customizable compression for the upper and lower body. The result is a high-performance suit with multiple sizing options, greater comfort, optimum compression for different parts of the body, and a better range of motion.
The suit delivers these benefits using two different fabrics for the top and bottom parts of the suit. The bottom utilizes arena’s proprietary fabric with a Carbon Cage for high compression in key areas, providing better core support and hip positioning in the water. In contrast, the top’s extremely lightweight fabric allows maximum freedom of movement, while its horizontal carbon bands deliver a lighter compression that feels snug without compromising the swimmer’s ability to breathe comfortably. In addition, the internal lining is designed with two separate lightweight panels to provide greater flexibility. In the water, the two pieces combine as a single system. There is less pressure on the shoulders and upper body, and with the top’s light flexible fabric, the swimmer has full range of motion. During bends and flexes, the system moves with the athlete like a joint, its two parts sliding smoothly over each other.
An added advantage of the Carbon Duo’s two-piece design is that it is faster and easier to put on than a one-piece suit. The athlete first puts on the bottom piece, and the top then slides quickly and easily over the bottom. Special silicon bands lock the two pieces together cleanly and snugly to prevent water seeping between the two pieces while swimming, and reduce any potential for drag. When the two pieces of the Carbon Duo are combined, it has the look and feel of a single suit.
With 49 different sizing combinations, the swimmer has plenty of options to find the perfect fit for their body shape. And by sizing up or down on the top and bottom pieces, they can adjust compression and fit to suit their own personal preference. Top and bottom pieces can be replaced separately – a particularly useful feature for teenagers as their figures change over time – while swimmers can also mix-and-match top and bottom colours for a truly personalized look and feel.
As its name suggests, the Carbon Air2 is the lightest suit in the range with a one-piece construction that makes it feel like a second skin. Launched in early 2019, the suit features two main improvements to its predecessor, the original Carbon-Air. First, the internal lining is designed in 3 separate panels, which affords greater freedom of movement with less weight. In women’s suits, this means less compression across the chest, making breathing easier and allowing the swimmer to move more freely. For jammers, there is less pressure on the hips, which improves flexibility around the hip flexors. And with less internal lining, both women’s suits and men’s jammers are lighter and absorb less water, thereby reducing drag. Second, it is made from just one piece of fabric which gives it a better fit, and with only one bonded seam at the back, it is super comfortable with less restriction of movement, since there are fewer pressure points on the body. The Carbon Air2 features horizontal carbon bands that provide a comfortable level of compression that feels “just right”.
Powerskin Carbon Air2: available now
arenawaterinstinct.com/carbonair2
Powerskin Carbon Duo: available now
arenawaterinstinct.com/carbonduo
Powerskin Carbon Core FX (in black): available from 10th December
Powerskin Carbon Core FX (in blue): available from the end of December arenawaterinstinct.com/CarbonCoreFX (online from 27/12)
Powerskin Carbon Glide (in blue): available from the end of December
arenawaterinstinct.com/CarbonGlide (online from 27/12) To find more information regarding all arena racing suits, please visit:
arenawaterinstinct.com/Powerskin2020
Swimming news is courtesy of arena, a SwimSwam partner.