that may relate to their performance, Snellgrove also admits to being cautious about change. ‘I’m often nervous about doing
of a tolerance, but it is a one-design class and if you start in front of people and hike hard, especially if it's breezy, you will win races. So, as Micky says, it is the fundamentals and the basics that make the biggest difference and as soon as it gets over 10 knots, hiking effectively is one of those fundamentals.’ To create hiking pants that could
deliver this kind of advantage to the sailors turned out to be a complex affair. ‘We have used six different types
of neoprene in the pants which makes it tough when you come to match up the hiking battens because each piece of neoprene stretches in a different way, but you also need to make sure that the battens stay in precisely the same place,’ says Brayshaw. ‘To achieve this the battens are laminated between the neoprene layers and then that panel becomes the seat of the product. On the back of that panel we've got a hard-wearing Kevlarmaterial. Then, on the inside there is a comfortable lining material. ‘Making sure all of this is
integrated correctly is especially important for ILCA sailors to ensure that they aren’t catching any bumps or any seams that could restrict movement or rip the pad off the seat. And there’s more. ‘One aspect of feedback from the
sailors was that they wanted to be a little bit higher off the deck so there is the option to fit removable, high density foam internal pads.’ Yet, like many of the top sailors who are focussing on every possible detail
after
four years of intensive development with some of the UK’s top ILCA sailors, Musto’s new hiking pants incorporate six types of neoprene with different stretch char- acteristics, battens laminated precisely in place, and removable high-density foam padding
anything differently because the margins are that small,’ she says. ‘So, feeling good straight away when you’re trying something different is very encouraging. I’m 6ft 1in so I have always struggled to find hiking pants that fitted properly, but with these I felt I could move more freely straight away. ‘Warmth is also an issue and
again these were really good from the off. And if there is one clear visible sign that they are working, it’s that I’m getting a lot fewer bruises than normal. Basically, I tried them for the first time and knew that they would be good without having to engage in any kind of debate.’ British sailor Sam Whaley was
also at the event in the ILCA7 fleet and echoes Snellgrove’s views. ‘I have been very impressed with
the stretchy material and the ease with which you can put them on,’ he says. ‘Getting hiking pants on can be quite a struggle sometimes and even then, it doesn’t mean that the battens are going to be or stay in the right place. ‘Another detail that I like is that
they are actually bit longer than normal. Other hiking pants often stop quite high above your ankle, which means that there's a gap where you can get cuts and bruises. If you're not careful you can get infections here too fromthe little cuts, so it’s nice to have that protection.’ Allowing for this range of leg
lengths and customisation without compromising the durability of the pant required more detail. ‘Some of the ILCA sailors like to wear a high boot and they don't want the wet suit bottom to be overlapping or tucked in,’ says Brayshaw. ‘Our answer was
to include stitching bar tacks up the ankle so you can trim the leg down just below the bar tack which will stop the seam from unravelling.’ When it comes to quantifying
performance against of a new piece of clothing, in many areas of the sport the judgement will be rather subjective focussing on perhaps on being warmer, drier or able to move more freely. Rarely is it possible to make the direct link between certain wet suit material and a win. Yet, perhaps unsurprisingly, in the ILCA world, where every detail counts, Beckett found no trouble in recounting a recent example as he reflected on this year’s Princesa Sofia Trophy. ‘I was in a qualifying race and I
was really focused. I'll admit that during the race I wasn't thinking about hiking development, this only occurred to me in hindsight. But the race was with Matt Wearn, who won the last Olympics. We both got quite a good start, we were first and second and taking lumps out of each other for about 40 minutes the whole way around the course and we had a bit of a gap behind us. It was a proper good dogfight, a proper good race, which I won by about a quarter of a metre in the end. It was a stressful race but I really enjoyed it and I was thinking, it's quite cool to start a development on a piece of race kit five years ago and have been so involved in it and be wearing it in a race that culminated in a win. I’m sure Matt will forget the race fairly quickly, partly because he came second and partly because it was just a qualifying race, but I was happy with that and it’s such a good reminder of how small the margins are, what you need to do to succeed and the need to focus on the fundamentals.’
www.musto.com
❑ SEAHORSE 59
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