No, that’s not Spiderman coming out of the gates, it’s an Olympic athlete in a Spyder suit. Said to shave “precious hundredths of seconds from racers’ times,” Spyder’s new speed suit is all about milking aerodynamics — no matter how minute.
The company’s new nameless speed suit will debut at the 2010 Winter Olympics. It is to be worn by the U.S. and Canadian Ski Teams, Spyder says.
Spyder’s sole focus was to create a smoother surface fabric that reduces drag. But for protection, the suit uses d30 lab’s technology, a system that replaces Spyder’s old pad technology. d30 uses “fluid molecules” that move with your body, the company says. But on impact, the molecules lock together to protect you — or the Lindsey Vonns of the world at least.
On the company’s slalom and giant slalom suits, those pads were also moved to an under layer to reduce the amount of thread, seams and needle holes exposed. To the average skier and recreational racer, that seems silly. But Spyder says it works.
While the new suit will debut at the Olympics in February, it won’t be available to consumers until 2011. Price is unknown. www.spyder.com
—Ryan Dionne
