How The FINIS Rival 2.0 Has Become Faster and Tougher
- 22 Feb 2019
The all new FINIS Rival 2.0 tech suit has been branded as 'A Suit As Tough As You' upon its recent release, which has generated a huge amount of buzz in the swimming world.
The FINIS team of Olympic swimmers including Olivia Smoliga, Anthony Ervin and Britain's James Guy have played a key role in the development of this next-generation competition suit.
This elite level racing swimsuit has built upon the success of the original FINIS Rival, with a number of exciting new features designed and developed at the FINIS Stroke Lab in California.
At the forefront of this revamp is the creation of an innovative new fabric called Shield-Tech™, but how exactly does it work? We examine five new features of the FINIS Rival 2.0 and find out how they have improved on the original.
5 New Features on the FINIS Rival 2.0
1) Tough new fabric
FINIS have developed a tough new fabric called Shield-Tech™, which has been developed using a unique weave method for extra strength. It features multi-directional stretch properties that move with your body.
2) Optimised gliding
The FINIS Shield-Tech™ fabric has a surface designed to retain a very small amount of water. This creates a shield-like effect for the suit to help reduce friction.
3) Vertical chest seam for kneeskins
A new vertical chest seam has been added to the FINIS Rival 2.0 kneeskins to provide compression and prevent air pockets. It forms part of a complete compression system which also includes oblique and lower abdomen seams that provides compression for the entire core.
4) Extra compression and lift for jammers
FINIS have added new seams to the back of the legs on the Rival 2.0 jammers. These seams increase compression, while helping to lift the legs to the surface and locking the swimmer into the perfect body position.
5) Single-layered inner thigh panels
The FINIS Rival 2.0 jammers and kneeskins both feature single-layered panels on the inner thighs. These have been added to enhance comfort and flexibility, no matter which stroke you are swimming.
FINIS Rival 2.0 - What the Pros Say
James Guy: "When you dive in, you definitely feel the freshness in your legs, because of the compression and tightness of the suit - it's like your legs are floating"
Olivia Smoliga: "With the way the seam wraps around the inner thigh, I feel like it brings a snap to my dolphin kick that really helps you at the end of a race"
Anthony Ervin: "The material is new, it's strong, it's flexible. It should really aid you staying tight and closed from the start of your race to the finish"
Mallory Weggemann: "The seam structure keeps the whole body position together in the water, and so it really helps your back and core feel higher in the water"
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