Rather than a review of a particular piece of gear, this article is meant to point out a lesser known company that deserves our attention.  Even though Sugoi has produced some of the official IM apparel in the past, I don’t think they are nearly as well known as Pearl Izumi, Zoot, DeSoto, 2XU and others in the space.  Sugoi offers as broad or broader a product line as any of those that is of a very high quality and reasonably priced.

My first experience with Sugoi was in 2005 when I tried their tri shorts, bib shorts, a few jerseys and jackets.  That year, I also bought a pair of their knee warmers which I just pulled on for the first time this season this week (fall 2009).  They look as good as they did in 2005.  I am also still wearing one of the cycling jerseys I bought in 2005 as well and, though it’s getting a little ripe after five summers of use, it has held up very well.

Recently, an independent rep friend sent me three Sugoi cycling jerseys to try out.  One is a goofy beer truck casual jersey that is very nice but not really my thing.  It is well made and I use it for my occasional mountain bike rides or for riding on the rollers but I wouldn’t consider it a performance piece.  The other two are high tech pieces that I use use regularly.  The $95 Evolution jersey is one of the lightest I’ve ever felt with sleeves that transition to my bare arm as if it was painted that way.  Incredibly comfortable with moisture management as good as any jersey I’ve used at any price.  The $75 RS jersey is mostly mesh, allowing amazing air flow.  Kevin and I were recently talking about jerseys and wondered why someone didn’t make a jersey that was mostly mesh like some side panels are occasionally.  Well, Sugoi makes one and it’s very nice, reasonably priced and looks great.  I have two Evolution jerseys from a year or two ago that have been some of my favorite and this current version promises to be even better.

I also have been very happy with Sugoi bib shorts and tri shorts.  The tri shorts have held up well in training and are as comfortable as a tri short can be given the balance between bike and run comfort.  I’ve also been very impressed with Sugoi bib shorts over the years.  Most recently, I’ve worn the RS $160, Evolution $120 and Pulsar $95 bib shorts with very pleasing results.

While I haven’t personally used any of the women’s clothing, I know women who have and all seem quite pleased with the performance and value offered by the brand.

Styling is certainly a personal preference issue and, over the years, Sugoi styling seems to range from sedate to Transformer character absurd.  I lean toward sedate so I’ve always been able to find jerseys and shorts that fit my preferences - you’ll have to decided that part on your own.

Overall, Sugoi offers well made clothing for the multi-sport athlete at a very good value.  I encourage you to add the brand to your shopping list when the time comes for new multi-sport clothing.

Mark