“Disclaimer: I received a pair of Skins compression pants to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out Bibrave.com to review, find and write race reviews”
Let me start by saying, I am not a big compression pants wearing type of guy. I don’t know, maybe self-conscious about my “runner’s a$$”(although I have been told it’s nice). Lol. Although I don’t like to wear them, sometimes you just don’t have a choice. NC winters can get down to the teens at times and you have to have something in the closet to protect you on those winter runs. At the time, I had 2 pair made by 2 different brands and I was not crazy about either. Although they were both size Medium, one fit too snug and the other was too loose. Enter this opportunity to test out Skins new DNAmic pants. I hadn’t heard of Skins before, so maybe they could be the brand that changed my mind about compression pants.
Packaging/Eye Test
The DNAmic pants arrived in a cloudy see-through plastic pouch, complete with skins website and some of their social media hashtags imprinted on it. #RiseUP. For the eye test, I already told you I wasn’t a big fan of compression, well I am even worse when it comes to brightly colored compression pants. I like the more subtle, darker colors. The color I chose was specter mariner. The website made this color look somewhat mysterious, I couldn’t really tell if it was black or a shade of blue but either of those colors were fine. When I opened the package the pants looks black with some green design, I thought they were pretty funky. Imagine my surprise, when I first put them on and went outside….the color was actually a sort of tinted blue. I still liked the color, they passed my subtle test.
Wear
I was anxious to see how they would fit, since I mentioned the issues I had with the other 2 pairs of pants I own. Pulling them on there was some resistance, which I expected(they are compressions after all) but I got them on fairly easily. After I got them adjusted in all the right places, they didn’t feel bad at all. I wasn’t getting the too loose feeling I had with my other pants nor did I feel like they were “too” tight. They were snug but the range of motion I needed, seemed to be fine.
They felt good going on, but the real test would be when I took them out on the trails to see how they held up. I took this DNAmic compressions out on several runs, with the longest being 14 miles and they performed PERFECTLY. It was probably the closest thing you can get to running around naked. (true story) They moved with you, and when I jumped in the shower afterwards….no surprise screams. Lol. That’s right, no chaffing whatsoever on my inner legs, etc.
Specs
So how did Skins appear to make the perfect compression with their new DNAmic line, take a look at some of the product details and specs on these amazing compressions.
*DNAmic is one of the 5 products from Skin that are the only high-performance apparel to take into account compression levels needed to increase oxygen delivery to active muscles while in motion. Skins call this dynamic gradient compression.
*SKINS worked with the scientific and industrial research organization in Australia to develop a device capable of taking multiple readings of the human body in motion. SKINS athletes were hooked up for the first time ever, and they were able to accurately measure compression on the muscles in motion-as they change shape with increased levels of oxygen-fueled blood pumping through them. This is relevant because all previous compression measurements have been carried out on athletes that are standing still.
Recommendation
Sooooooo, you remember that guy that didn’t like compressions at the beginning of this review?? Yeah, he left the building. These SKINS DNAmic compression hit the mark on every category for me. They had nice color options(even for us subtle color folks), they fit very comfortable and successful capture your range of motion with no post-run chaffing. What more could you ask for from compression pants? So did I convince you? Are you ready to grab your own pair? Well, you are in luck, use my code 20BIBRAVE and score 20% off any non-reduced items at www.skins.net.
TMilesAndRunning 