PressCamp2014: Sombrio and Sugoi

Sombrio

Back in December 2013 we heard that famed Canadian clothing company Sombrio was closing its doors. An overenthusiastic expansion plan had stretched it a little too far, so the company was put on hold, hoping for a buyer. In January, we reported that other Canadian clothing company Sugoi had bought Sombrio with plans to breathe new life into it.

Existing stock of Sombrio is still available (apparently Chain Reaction Cycles bought just about everything that was left of the old stock) but for 2015, some of the new Sugoi influenced clothing is going to start appearing. Sugoi hasn’t been known for its radical mountain bike gear, so it was interesting to see what they were going to do with the brand.

Well, long time Sombrio fans needn’t have worried. On first look, it appears that Sugoi has used its experience in technical fabrics to bring some more tech to the clothing while still keeping the North Shore aesthetic. The range has been slimmed down a little, but staples like the Pinner short remain, only updated with slightly lighter and more water-shrugging material.

One way in which the Sugoi influence shows is in the revamped Charger shorts, which are full-on DH race shorts. Using a new four way stretch material, with DWR finish, Sombrio claim to have the world’s lightest DH race short at 376g.

The Corridor jersey is a ‘throw on for a quick spin’ kind of casual jersey, with a single rear pocket and a long, short sleeve look.. Ideal for that summer we’re getting…

Sombrio has many female fans (including our own Jorji) and they’ll be pleased to hear that the women’s line is still big – and bright, with clothing for disciplines from XC, casual to DH. Here’s the Silhouette jersey and V’al shorts.

 Sugoi

Sugoi too hasn’t been loafing around. It has developed things like this Zap commuter jacket – looks like a smart riding jacket in the daytime, but the surface of the fabric is covered in millions of tiny glass beads that all light up like cats’ eyes under headlights at night.

There are jerseys made with a Zylotol-infused thread. (That’s the stuff they put in cool-mints) that cools you when you sweat. (So about four days a year in the UK then?) and a bib and baggy combo where the bib has tabs sewn in where the outer short can attach. So, lots going on. And the best bit about the Sugoi buyout of Sombrio is that Sombrio will now be brought in by CSG UK (distributors of Cannondale, GT and more) so the availability should be widespread in the UK.

Here’s the RSX suspension short.