Can This $225 Graphene-Printed Racing Singlet Help You Run Faster?

This article originally appeared on Outside

If there were a kryptonite for runners, it would undoubtedly be heat. Even the slightest sign of warm conditions impairs running performance. One study analyzed runners competing in seven marathons over multiple years and found performance declined by .9 percent for every 9 degrees Fahrenheit above 50 for the top three finishers. As marathon finishing times got slower, the effects of heat became greater. For the 300th finisher in each race, performance declined on average 3.2 percent for every 9 degrees Fahrenheit above 50. Another study looked at finishing times at the Stockholm Marathon from 1980 to 2008 and found similar results. For each 9-degree Fahrenheit increase above 50, a 3:30 marathoner would slow five minutes throughout the marathon, roughly 2.4 percent.

Of course, most runners don't need studies to know that their running performance declines in heat and humidity. All they need to do is spend a summer training or enter a race in hot conditions to know that heat wreaks havoc on their finishing time. But most runners don't know that performance declines can start as cool as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

This happens because of two mechanisms. First, as your core body temperature rises slightly, blood gets moved towards your skin to cool, which means less blood is available for your working muscles, which, in turn, causes you to slow. Secondly, an increasing core body temperature is correlated with an increase in the rate of perceived exertion (RPE)--in other words, it feels harder.

But what if you could reduce your core body temperature so that heat plays less of a role in performance? This is precisely what Tim Soar, founder of SOAR Running, a high-end running apparel company based in the UK, sought to do by developing a racing vest printed with graphene.

While graphene--a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice--may be new to running apparel, it's been used in sporting equipment and apparel for years due to its strength (200 times stronger than steel) and extremely light weight (five times lighter than aluminum). Inov-8, a running brand based in the Lakes District of the UK, uses graphene in its footwear outsoles to increase performance and durability.

What's most interesting about graphene for apparel purposes is its ability to conduct heat, transferring it from one place to another. By printing graphene on a racing vest, you could theoretically take advantage of graphene's heat conductivity to move heat away from the body, ultimately lowering the core body temperature and offsetting some of the heat-related performance declines. In fact, cycling companies have used graphene-printed jerseys for this very purpose for years.

The first product to come out of SOAR's proto lab is a racing vest printed with graphene. Soar says the lab spent three years developing the vest. "This is on the cutting edge of what we can do," he says. "This is still something that I would consider a prototype, but at the same time, I want to let this out into the wild."

One challenge was to find the best way to print the graphene on the fabric, and what type of fabric would best complement it. Through testing, Soar settled on a 75 percent polyester and 25 percent elastane blend singlet, with 12 to 15 percent of the fabric covered with the graphic imprint. Since the graphene acts like an electric circuit, any break in the circuit reduces its ability to conduct heat. Soar used a hexagonal pattern covering the whole singlet, with only a single seam along the back of the vest. This design makes the vest's heat-conducting performance optimal between 50 and 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit, based on a recent study that found the hexagonal pattern was the best for dissipating heat on its surface along the graphene circuit versus a spider web pattern, although less effective when evaporative cooling was in use.

There are two primary mechanisms by which the body attempts to cool itself: conductive and evaporative. Conductive cooling is the transfer of heat through contact with another object. In this case, the vest. Evaporative cooling is when drying sweat becomes the primary cooling mechanism. "Graphene is most effective when you’re in your conductive cooling sweet spot," says Soar. Below 50 F, you’re already in the temperature range in which you’re likely to run a personal best Above 66.2 F, the evaporation cooling system is predominant and the graphene no longer works to conduct heat.

SOAR Graphene Race Vest Review

I received a SOAR graphene-printed racing singlet in early October and have done several workouts in it, as well as a race. I've been training and racing in singlets since high school (I'm in my mid-40s now) and have worn nearly every brand and style over the years.

I find SOAR's running apparel some of the best-looking designs in the world, and the Graphene Vest is no different. The eye-catching hexagonal pattern of the graphene comes off more as an intentional design versus a functional feature. The vest has a decent amount of stretch and feels comfortable against the skin. The sizing runs extremely small as I usually wear a men's small vest, but a men's medium fits pretty close to the skin.

One thing I immediately noticed was how lightweight the vest felt. My men's medium came in just under 1.4 ounces. During one training run at the upper temperature range of the vest’s sweet spot, it wasn't like it was making me cooler, but I noticed I sweat less and felt better. However, once the temperature rose and sweating started taking over, the vest became saturated easily and felt like an average lightweight singlet.

In early November, I had the opportunity to race a 5k in the vest within its ideal window of 50 and 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit. I ended up almost effortlessly running my fastest 5k time in nearly seven years. The vest felt remarkably light and airy, like I wasn't overheating as much as I would have at that temp and effort, and it fit comfortably, not to mention being extremely sharp-looking.

Unlike today's super shoes, whose performance-enhancing powers have been tested in laboratory settings, it's impossible to know if the graphene's heat conductivity contributed to my performance, but after my race experience, I believe in the cooling benefits. And even if the cool feeling was a placebo effect, it worked. Besides the high tech, one thing is for sure: to quote Dion Sanders, “If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good." The vest’s aesthetics sure as hell made me feel good.

With a $225 price tag, this vest isn't for everyone. But for those who can stomach the high price, you'll get a damn good-looking racing vest with some cutting-edge technology built in. For those who are hesitant because they feel they aren't fast enough, Soar has a message for you. "It’s not about how fast you are. It’s about your approach to the race. If you’ve trained for it, you’ve earned it."

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