Arena Breaks Down the Carbon Air, their fifth new racing technology

Arena launched its new Carbon Air tech suit in early February, adding a third suit to the popular Arena Powerskin Carbon series. And this week, SwimOutlet.com just launched our Arena instant savings promotion that gets you $50 (women) or $30 (men) off on an Arena Carbon Pro or Carbon Flex tech suit with a qualifying purchase of an Arena training suit. So we thought this would be a great time to speak with Arena’s Product Line Manager Debra Talbert about their full tech suit line and other performance products for 2015!

SwimOutlet.com Blog: Arena now features several different product offerings within the Carbon line, what was the idea behind the new Carbon Air debuting this month?

Arena: The Carbon Air is our fifth new racing technology in the last three years. It’s a completely new application of our carbon technology, and features a heavy focus on comfort without sacrificing the technological benefits of intelligent compression. The new Carbon Air fabric utilizes actual strands of Carbon Fiber woven horizontally in the fabric to create a system of Carbon Bands. These bands provide the swimmer with maximum support where they need it most in a fabric that is actually 30% lighter than Carbon Pro and Carbon Flex – so it feels like a second skin. It’s a massive victory for both performance and comfort.

SB: Is it possible for a swimmer to have multiple Carbon suits for different uses or is the idea that there is one ideal suit for each person with the differences between the Air, Flex and Pro?

Arena: We know all swimmers are different. Every individual, every stroke, and every distance present unique challenges and vastly different requirements to the performance of a technical racing suit. Many brands offer a “one-size-fits-all” approach – with price, fabric, and performance as the main differentiation between suit technologies. At Arena, our team of engineers and product innovation experts study the actual needs of athletes across the entire range of their competitive environments, and have designed the Carbon Series specifically to address these needs. We know there are some incredible swimmers out there able to swim a variety of distances and strokes at an elite level – and each suit in the Carbon Series offers unique benefits that can absolutely work with a particular stroke or event. That said, we leave the ultimate decision up to the swimmer – and we created these technologies with an abundance of input from our professional and collegiate athletes and coaches. We feel it’s important that each swimmer make that decision for themselves based on the variables most important to their comfort and performance. Of course, there are specific benefits of each Carbon suit that can help guide that decision. The Carbon Flex provides maximum mobility and freedom of movement in addition to all of the Carbon Pro’s proven technologies such as the Carbon Cage, Power Return Construction, and Arena’s exclusive Intelligent Compression. The new Carbon Air is an ultra-lightweight, second-skin-like fabric that offers all the benefits of Intelligent Compression, in a suit designed to offer unprecedented comfort. The super sleek construction and new technical elements, such as the SmartStretch Shoulder Straps make the Carbon Air incredibly easy to wear and one of the most comfortable high-performance technical suits ever created.

SB: You’ve made such a splash in the high-end tech suit space the past few years, what about other product categories? Has the technology trickled down to training suits?

Arena: Absolutely. Arena is committed wholly to aquatic sports – and that is where we spend ALL of our time, energy and expertise. With training suits, we’ve long prided ourselves on manufacturing our suits from the finest Italian fabrics, including our new MaxLife technical poly-blend that offers highest quality, longest-lasting suits in the business. Swimmers are often surprised at the incredible hand-feel of our fabrics – not your typical stretchy, spandex-like suit, but a carefully-constructed, high-quality garment that stands up to the extreme demands of daily training. We’re particularly excited about our new Spring/Summer 2015 collection and the Carbon-Inspired training-suit product range. Carbon is not just in Arena’s DNA, it’s the most basic building block of life and one of the most abundant elements in the universe. The new Carbonite and Polycarbonite product ranges feature a unique geometric print that’s inspired by a microscopic view inside the carbon molecule and look as good as they perform (almost). We feel it’s important – if you want to be the best – that you train in the best, and that’s what our training line is designed to deliver.

Arena interview is courtesy of SwimOutlet.com.  Read the rest of this swim industry Q&A here at the SwimOutlet.com Blog.