T Mat ProThere was a time in the not-too-distant past when the triathlon was regarded as an ultra marginal, extremist challenge for fitness freaks.
But it’s slap-bang mainstream now and like every outdoors activity, has sprung its own esoteric selection of gear, gadgets and toys. If you can’t shop to punish your body to the nth degree, what’s the point?
The T Mat Pro is about the simplest piece of kit ever featured here: it’s a 53cm x 75cm (21 x 30) neoprene mat with a non-skid backing. It’s for triathlon transitions, when the swimming stage transitions to cycling and then cycling to running. Not exhausted already, I hope.
Triathletes will know the feeling of getting out of chilly water, trying to pull off their wetsuits on the run and quickly find their own bikes in the midst of a cluster. The T Mat is garishly fluorescent which is perfect – you can write your name on it or even order a customised one if you’re very serious – and it not only IDs your space, but delineates it nicely too. And gives you a good dry place to re-gear as well as saving vital seconds.
It’s super-lightweight and rolls up tight with its own straps to fit neatly in your kit bag. Who’d have thought you’d ever need one?
Cost$24.95 (€17.46), from tmatpro.com
OneMoment Biodegradable ShoeWhat's the line between the patently rotting footwear of the teen male and a biodegradable shoes? Probably the bouquet.
Made in Spain, the OneMoment or as they more-frugally label it, the O1M, is a 100 per cent biodegradable unisex shoe.
Fashioned out of a degradable plastic using carbon-neutral, bio-polymer injection moulding, the sole is just 2mm thick and the uppers only 1mm. Yet they’re surprising robust and comfortable.
The inspiration was apparently an Amazonian tribe who paint their feet with latex from the Hevea Tree to give themselves protection during the rainy season. Sort of like fake tan here.
There’s a lightweight clogesque quality to them which wouldn’t exactly be the style of fellow Spaniard Manolo Blahnik, but then they won’t degrade your bank balance to the same extent either.
Whereas a pair of O1Ms will only last you about six months, in just another six months in the ground, they’ll be 80 per cent composted. And at a fiver a pair, they keep the eco in economy too.
Available in a range of colours.
Cost€5, from onemoment.es
VelEau Hydration SystemDesigned by US cycling specialists Showers Pass, the VelEau is a bike-mounted hydration system.
It’s like the Platypus or CamelBaks that hikers and skiers often have in their backpacks so they can keep sipping on the go without having to stop.
Here there’s a 1.24l (42 fl oz) reservoir that stashes neatly under the bicycle seat at the back, with a feeder tube that runs to the handle bars.
The VelEau tube is then attached to a retractable reel with three-ply nylon cord that lets you lift the mouthpiece, take a quick gulp and it snaps back into place thanks to powerful magnets.
No fiddling to get your bottle back in its holster and almost three times the average bottle capacity.
The VelEau is for the longer distance chain monkey, where the standard water bottle isn’t going to be enough – and a standard personal reservoir would just run too hot on your back.
And, of course, for those who like to get the latest gear before anyone else.
CostAbout $79.99 (€55.92), available from July