SixSixOne Women’s Evo Compression Jacket and Shorts Review

The SixSixOne Women’s Evo Compression Jacket and Shorts are one of only a few in the market that have been designed specifically for women’s body shapes. Thankfully, it’s an area that’s seeing new additions on a fairly regular basis – when I previously tested the Leatt Impact 3DF 3.0 shorts, I couldn’t find any on the market that were shaped for women. Times are changing. Whoop!

• Brand: SixSixOne
• Product: Women’s Evo Compression Jacket & Shorts
• From: Upgrade Bikes
• Price: £180 Jacket, £100 Shorts
• Tested: by Hannah

Pros

• Everything in one place, no bits to forget
• No slippage or falling down of pads as you descend, or elastic ages
• Coccyx protection in the shorts is welcome, more would be even better

Cons

• It either fits, or it doesn’t – suit system trades convenience for adjustment
• Some poorly thought through skin contact points/discomfort
• In built chamois limits you to one day of wear before washing

The SixSixOne shorts come fitted with a fairly thick chamois. Removable D30 pads in the hips give protection there, while foam (non removable) sections on the outer thighs and coccyx give some impact protection in these areas. Padlock fastenings allow you to join the shorts to kneepads and the body suit, should you wish. The shorts are a fairly standard Lycra construction, with silcone grippers around the thighs. There’s a wide SixSixOne branded elastic waistband. In bottoms, I’m usually a UK size 12, veering towards a 14, and wore these shorts in a Medium.

The body suit has removable D30 pads in the back, elbows and shoulders. There are also foam padded sections across the breast/ribs, and hips. It’s a mesh fabric, with a zip up the front and Velcro straps around the forearms. Cut outs on the inner elbows and under the armpits are designed to give extra ventilation, and a port in the back allows you to carry a hydration bladder if you want. Padlock fastenings at the bottom allow you to join it to the shorts, and there are two small pockets at the back – perhaps you could stuff a gel in there if you needed.

In use

I have used the shorts on their own and in conjunction with the body suit. I’ve put them to use on self-uplift style ebike rides, a downhill race, and some shorter rides and photoshoots with a descent focus. The shorts are the more comfortable of the two, with the D30 feeling more flexible than the pads in the Leatt Impact shorts I previously tested, plus I appreciate the extra foam padded areas the 661s offer. Indeed, I wore them snowboarding, and after a massive crash onto my coccyx I ended up with a bruise perfectly shaped in the stripes of the foam padding. I can only imagine the outcome would have been much worse had I not been wearing them, and I think having even more protection in the form of actual D30 or a larger pad would be even better, and still comfortable.

I’m not overly keen on the waistband of the shorts – it’s not the softest, and has a large seam at the back. If you’re wearing them with the suit, you’re probably not going to have anything to tuck into your shorts to prevent rubbing here. The chamois seems pretty comfortable for the mostly minimal pedalling I’ve done in these, although I’d be happy to forgo the built in chamois. Unless you can get the shorts washed and dried overnight, you’re going to need some other impact shorts for day two of riding. In contrast, the Leatt shorts without pad allow for multi day riding with just the usual change of chamois/undershorts. While we’re on washing: getting the D30 pads in and out is a bit tight in places – getting them back in can be quite a faff, especially on the body suit. Luckily, the pads are all labelled so you know where each slab of orange goes!

However, if SixSixOne was going to go down the route of taking out the chamois, I think the fabric would also need to switch out from Lycra to some sort of mesh. In any event, I think that would be a good move – it’s pretty warm wearing the solid Lycra shorts with protective panels, and baggies or trousers over the top.

The top is made of a mesh fabric, but is still pretty warm. I’d certainly not contemplate wearing a base layer under it, or pedalling an enduro in it. And you’re going to want to put this on and keep it on – you’re not going to be taking it (and your jersey) off for climbs or uplifts. For descent focussed rides – or ebike laps on cooler days where your motor can keep the sweat at bay – it does however provide a reassuring amount of coverage. I’ve always struggled to find elbow pads that stay up, and it’s great to ride down a hairy descent knowing that your pads are still where they were when you started. However, I did find that I needed to attach the top to the shorts to stop the top riding up, which then leaves an uncomfortable exposed popper pressed up against your skin. I also found the lower sleeves a little tight – especially if you’re not in a ride position, but instead faffing with your helmet, or otherwise bending your arms. I certainly didn’t need the Velcro straps to keep the pads in place. On one longer ebike lap session I found the tightness was causing me extra fatigue in my arms, to the extent that I swapped out at lunch to my usual elbow pads and backpack with protector.

There are foam pads on the lower part of the suit that I think are well place to cover the upper ‘pointy bits’ of your hip bones – the ilium. I found the D30 covered the side/lower part, but not that upper point. However, the foam on the suit only covers the ilium if you pull it down over the shorts – ie, below the point the the Padlok system holds them together. I feel like the Padlok system and its positioning could do with a bit of a rethink for future iterations – it just doesn’t feel like it’s been fully real-world tested to iron out the details.

I suspect that I am not quite the right shape to get the most out of the suit. I’m tall, with a slim chest (no boobs) and waist, but fairly muscular triceps and broad shoulders, and I’m usually a UK size 10 to 12 in tops, depending on the cut. A Medium suit was a little baggy in the body, but a better fit in body length and arm tightness than the Small that I tested. If you’re ordering online, I’d suggested getting two to compare, then sending one back. It needs to be tight enough to hold the pads in place – but not so constrictive that you’re getting undue fatigue.

With so much variation in potential body shape/fit points, I feel like a body suit like this is never going to be as versatile in fit as something like a chest/back protector with lots of straps and adjustment points, plus separate elbow pads. However, if it does fit, the security of having everything attached so there’s no risk of slipping seems a great advantage. You also get shoulder pads in this suit – another advantage over just elbow pads and chest/back protection. After landing hard on my shoulder but only ended up with a tiny bruise, I feel like these pads may well have saved my collar bone – or at least an awful lot more bruising. A final advantage is that you never need to worry about leaving a pad behind – or picking up two left pads. Just grab the suit and know everything is there.

Overall

The SixSixOne Women’s Evo Compression jacket is a bit of a goldilocks number – if you’re the right proportions so it fits, I think you’ll love the security of all the coverage. The shorts are a bit more versatile and I suspect you’ll get more use out of them than the jacket, though they are a little warm. The jacket is really for those big descent days where you know you’re going to scare yourself. Hopefully with all this padding wrapped around your most vulnerable points, it’ll just be a scare, and not a scar.

Review Info

Brand:	SixSixOne
Product:	Evo Compression Jacket & Shorts
From:	upgradebikes.co.uk
Price:	£180 Jacket, £100 Shorts
Tested:	by Hannah for

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