Overall Rating by Cyclop: 4/5
Athlos is a premium activewear brand, started in 2015 by Pravin Dhake in Mumbai, India. As a trail runner and trekker he noticed that despite the international brands available, he could not find activewear that suited his needs, and decided to “improve the landscape of athletic apparel one piece at a time.”
Sound like a David and Goliath story? Let’s see if this brand stands tall against the big brands, or even surpasses them! We had marathon runner Bhaskar Mittal share his unbiased review on testing:
Bhaskar is an active runner with 6 full marathons, and numerous half marathons and 10k runs under his belt; including the Spirit of Wipro Marathon (Half) 2019 in Bangalore, IDBI New Delhi Marathon (Full) 2019 and the Ladakh Marathon, which he recommends highly to all the runners. Mittal shares “I am very specific in choosing my running gear for training and events due to chafing issues for long-distance runs.”
NON-CHAFING, SOFT, STRETCHABLE FABRIC
“I found the fabric of the Athlos t-shirt and shorts to be different from the regular activewear I have in my wardrobe, especially in terms of the cloth. On trying it out, it felt pretty soft.
I tested the gear over a few runs of varying intensity, and was happy to note that there were no signs of chafing, even in the absence of a moisturiser. During my workouts as well, I found the t-shirt and shorts to be comfortable. I tried a number of stretches and exercises and the shorts allowed me to do all of them without resistance or pull. ”
FACT: The Zero Tee and Distance Running shorts by Athlos are made with Econyl, a performance fabric, completely made out of ocean and landfill waste. It’s high performance: super-light, silky soft and quick-drying and has high positive impact on the environment.
ODOUR-FREE WEAR
“Another thing that I personally noticed is even after leaving the apparel on after the workout, there was no smell in this gear, especially the T-shirt, which is not the case with my other pieces of activewear.”
FAST-DRYING FABRIC
“On one of my runs… 12km tempo run on the treadmill, the tee and shorts were pretty good in absorbing the sweat. They dried up quickly despite being completely wet post my workout.
The Tee comes with a mesh on the back, that really helped with extra breathability and most likely contributed to fast sweat evaporation.”
FACT: The Zero Tee t-shirt is just 110 GSM, which keeps things light. The mesh back gets rid of sweat fast, even in the rains and humidity of Mumbai.
RUNNER FRIENDLY FEATURES
“In these shorts, the pocket for the phone was in the lining of the shorts. This is good as runners are usually scared that the phone will pop out and fall, or will keep slapping against the leg. In the lining pocket, the phone was secure, but I wish it had been a little bigger to accommodate my 5.5” phone. I think it would be fine for a 5” phone, but mine was tough to fit in.
I also found a small slit at the back in the shorts for the earphones’ cord to travel to my ears. Quite a neat detail.
Worth a mention, the T-shirt would also work as casual wear for anyone. I can wear it with a pair of jeans for everyday life.
As for durability and the seam strength, I would have to test the products longer to comment on that. However, till now, the Athlos t-shirt and shorts feel lovely and give me a proud feeling of owning one of the premium activewear brands!”
IN A NUTSHELL
- Price in India: Rs. 2497
- Colours: Navy, Blue & Grey
- Use: Ultra Runs, Full Marathon, Half Marathon, Ironman Training
- Gender: Men’s; Women’s Tee coming soon as well.
The Athlos Distance Running shorts
- Price in India: Rs. 2497 for one, Rs 4500 for two
- Colours: Black, Grey, Navy, Blue, White, Red
- Use: Ultra Runs, Full Marathon, Half Marathon, Ironman Training
- Gender: Men’s, Women’s
- Pockets: 4 pockets in total including 2 side pockets for energy gel, 1 zipped back pocket to keep one’s keys, cards and cash securely, and a phone pocket in the liner to keep it from bouncing.
THE VERDICT
Overall, Athlos is designed for the sophisticated runner, who is going to put the apparel through heavy-duty use and is sensitive to chafing, odour and cares about breathability.
Performance: 5/5
Features: 4/5
Comfort: 5/5
Style: 5/5
Value for Money: 4/5
One of the biggest points for us at Cyclop is that these shorts and t-shirt are made from recycled material. And because of these shorts, a dolphin or turtle is probably swimming a little safer somewhere.
All information is up to date, as of Nov 15, 2019. For new launches and colours visit the Athlos site.
