Ocean & San not too long ago debuted a brief video titled This Is Driving, which depicts two pals having fun with an idyllic afternoon of biking alongside the Central California coast. The surroundings is gorgeous – a mixture of dense forest, rugged shoreline, and dreamy roads. The pair rides swiftly by means of the grand panorama. They’re match and succesful cyclists who take pleasure in pushing one another, however additionally they look like in no hurry in any respect, stopping to fulfill a lovely horse, wade throughout a river, and shoot images, on movie, no much less.
Eager observers could discover one thing else that may be a bit totally different, which is that each riders look like carrying t-shirts…extra on that later. The video’s narration underscores what it reveals, which is that using bikes could be very totally different from racing bikes. “We’re executed measuring watts, kilojoules, and coronary heart charges, and we’re executed using aero to the espresso store,” the narrator says, in a decisive, relaxed tone.
I’ve most likely watched this video a couple of too many instances, principally as a result of it’s a fantastically produced piece of media and conjures up me to journey my bike. However there’s extra than simply magnificence to be discovered right here. Ocean & San is reminding us that biking is about exploration, not competitors. For a lot of, biking is about creating moments, not saving seconds.
These are concepts that well-established biking manufacturers are likely to keep away from, as a result of, frankly, they don’t align properly with promoting merchandise to tens of millions of individuals. That’s okay, although – it appears extra becoming for the message on this video to be coming from a brand new, small, and considerably mysterious model like Ocean & San.
And what of this California-based biking attire firm? There’s lots to love. First, Ocean & San has a minimal number of merchandise. I like that as a result of it tells me that they aren’t making issues simply to seize a slice of a product section. There are only a handful of choices on the Ocean & San internet retailer, which embody unisex socks and hats, the high-performance Signature Bib Quick – out there in each cargo and non-cargo variations – and the flagship All Day Shirt, in each lengthy and quick sleeves.
Apart from a helmet, footwear, and sunnies, you don’t want anything to journey and have a good time. Each Ocean & San merchandise is out there in each males’s and girls’s suits, which must be a given with biking attire however isn’t essentially all the time the case.
Ocean & San can be likable for what they aren’t doing. O&S attire isn’t “quick vogue” that’s simple to supply and market, however too low cost to final. To paraphrase the Ocean & San web site, the founder’s frustration with quick vogue was an enormous a part of the inspiration to start out the corporate. They knew from the beginning that O&S merchandise can be made in Los Angeles, and so they took the time to seek out the correct factories and folks to fabricate their merchandise to fulfill their requirements.
Positive, it’s a lot inexpensive to fabricate abroad, however Ocean & San feels that the flexibility to fulfill face-to-face with the individuals concerned and manufacturing regionally permits them, and their prospects, to really feel extra related to the merchandise and to the individuals who make them.
Evidently, I used to be stoked when a package deal of Ocean & San clothes arrived at my home, with some California-esque climate within the forecast. These are impressions after using about 100 miles in what I obtained.
The All Day Shirt
Whereas it definitely seems to be extra like a “t-shirt” than your typical biking jersey, I solely known as it a “t-shirt” within the open in order that I can now level out that it’s far more than that. The All Day Shirt ($79 no graphic – $86 with graphic) succeeds effortlessly due to its pure, non-technical really feel. Whereas it’s a DryRelease cloth, comprised of 85% polyester and 15% cotton, it feels identical to a cotton shirt that’s been well-loved through the years, however with a way more exact and purposeful match. There is no such thing as a static cling, no plastic-y, irritating nonsense occurring with this materials. Should you put on this shirt all day, meaning it was a damned good day.
The match is spot-on for the appliance of street and gravel using. I’m 6’0”, 165 lbs, and examined a dimension medium in each quick and lengthy sleeves. The torso size is ideal, extending simply previous my tailbone and resting simply off my hip flexors in entrance whereas I’m using. Standing upright, the All Day Shirt is only a tiny bit longer than most informal shirts, however is properly proportioned and appears nice off the bike.
The graphics are partaking and eclectic in type, providing you with a couple of totally different vibes to select from. I really like the NFR (Not For Racing) version as a result of it has an unobtrusive, classic have a look at first look, and lots of content material within the graphic upon nearer examination. There are presently six graphic choices to select from together with three graphic-free variations of the All Day Shirt in each quick sleeve and lengthy sleeve.
The climate in the course of the preliminary take a look at interval was preferrred for using within the All Day shirt, within the excessive 70s to mid 80s with low humidity. The one time I can ever recall feeling very heat carrying it was whereas I waited within the direct afternoon solar at an enormous visitors crossing. Every time I used to be transferring, the polyester mix cloth and relaxed match saved airflow plentiful and what little sweat did switch to the All Day shirt truly appeared to assist with cooling, as a substitute of feeling moist or clammy, like cotton, and even itchy, like some “technical” materials can.
On the similar time, the All Day Shirt is simply heavy sufficient to stop it from flapping round like mad above 20mph. This was very true of the sleeves, which stayed put near my elbows and didn’t journey up my triceps the best way most t-shirts will at excessive velocity. The long-sleeved model of the All Day Shirt is healthier for barely cooler situations, with temps topping out within the excessive 70s.
I could make just one tiny nitpick of the All Day shirt, associated to its three rear pockets that mimic a conventional jersey. The center pocket is zippered, which is an effective alternative, because it’s probably the most purposeful of the three pockets. It’s probably the most purposeful as a result of except each exterior pockets are loaded with equal weight, the All Day Shirt will shift towards the heavier pocket given its looser, extra informal match.
So, I put my (previous and small) iPhone within the middle pocket and was capable of situate it lengthwise, so it wouldn’t shift round. Now, I needed to take away the case to do that, which is ok. Nonetheless, I think that the majority smartphones are too lengthy to sit down upright or sideways on this pocket whereas additionally using the zipper.
Is that this an enormous deal? To me, not likely. Initially, cargo bibs, just like the Answer Cargo from Ocean & San, are nice for storing your huge pocket pc, and plenty of different issues. And naturally, there are countless different locations to retailer stuff on bikes as of late. So, to conclude my solely small critique, I hope that perhaps an up to date All Day Shirt of the longer term could have a center zippered pocket giant sufficient to accommodate large telephones plus their case, or one thing else substantial like perhaps a sandwich.
Should you’ve all the time needed a extra informal shirt for using, however had been delay or upset by choices from different manufacturers, I implore you to offer this concept one other probability because the Ocean & San All Day Shirt nails the execution and it’s particularly profitable in a very powerful criterion, which is consolation.
Answer Bib Shorts
Ocean & San affords the Answer Bib Quick ($245) as properly, and whereas these complement the All Day Shirt properly, additionally they take a unique strategy, absolutely embracing supplies and applied sciences that apply to all kinds of using, together with racing. Whereas I hope that ultimately, O&S affords a extra informal wanting some sort, I maintain that bib shorts are one biking garment that must be technically sturdy, as a result of, in any case, we’re nonetheless using far and quick(ish?) and want the anatomical assist and safety of a legit pair of bibs.
The match is great, with the perfect leg size for almost anybody to feel and appear good. I’ve extra-long femurs and the shorts finish about 6” above the highest of my patella, proper the place they need to. People with shorter legs may need the underside of the leg a bit nearer to their knee, but it surely shouldn’t create a match concern. The pad is an opulent triple-layer elastic interface akin to what you’ll discover on any bib within the mid-$200s value level. The straps are minimal, gentle, and have a pleasant stability of stretch and maintain and lay completely flat throughout the chest, shoulders, and again. I used to be notably eager to look at the straps as a result of this method of All Day Shirt + Answer Bib Shorts appears designed for using with no base layer. I used to be proud of how the straps felt towards my pores and skin and had no irritation from them in any respect.
The Answer Bib Quick is out there in each cargo ($255) and conventional/no-pocket kinds, with two shade choices – navy and black, in each males’s and girls’s. They’re nice bibs with no shortcomings that may have you ever coated on any kind of journey whether or not you’re hopping locked gates and making pals with horses or not. And, having examined most of the greatest biking bib shorts available on the market, I can confidently say that they’re an ideal all-’rounder that’s aggressive with choices from all the key gamers.
In Garments-ing
Whereas I didn’t get into any using as wonderful because the Central California Coast, I’ve loved all of my time using in Ocean & San tremendously, largely due to a sense of rest and persistence led to by using in clothes that’s #NotForRacing. Pals needed to speak concerning the All Day Shirt and I’ll have transformed a few them to the laid-back West Coast using philosophy that the narrator of the This Is Driving video espouses so convincingly.
“Let’s not overlook, the journey is supposed to be loved.”
In my function as a contributor to BikeRumor, I obtain lots of package to check, assessment, and preserve. Most of it finally ends up being given to pals as a result of I’m tremendous choosy and don’t have a ton of house to retailer issues I’m not utilizing frequently. Moreover, I’ve begun to embrace the concept of minimalism in my biking wardrobe.
So, I’m gifting away extra stuff that’s good, however not nice, or perhaps simply doesn’t get me excited to journey once I see it within the closet. I’m conserving a small variety of issues that I attain for repeatedly as a result of they work completely for me and make me joyful.
That’s the correct method to construct a wardrobe, in my view – with issues that mirror who you’re and what you worth, and that make you probably the most snug model of your self. I believe Ocean & San goes to be a kind of manufacturers for me. Once they launch one thing new, I’ll no less than take into account including it, as a result of I do know they’ve an actual inspiration for creating it, and that it will likely be of the very best high quality.
