Nike gathered insights from elite and everyday athletes by doing wear tests and focus groups with women from all over the world, asking them questions such as, “What do you look for in a pant or tight? What is your favourite style? What do you love about the ones you’re currently wearing? What do you wish your pant or tight had?”
With the feedback received, designers worked out unique technical features that have the potential to improve workout experience. The designers also poured over each element of fit, from the ideal average length for a given activity, to making sure the waistband is high enough for coverage but not so high that it makes it hard to bend or move during a particular sport and so on.
Jamie Lee, Senior Design Director for Nike Women’s Training, said,
We know that many women do different types of workouts, and for each workout, there is something they need functionally from their tight or pant that isn’t the same across all the activities. So, now we have styles that are more for the studio, for traditional training workouts and even a team-oriented tight.
Beyond performance, determining what style is right for you can also have a profound effect on your workout motivation. Find out which style is right for you with these guides.
Nike Speed Tight: Channel Your Inner Track Star
When you’re sprinting, you have greater hip and knee range of motion than when you run at a moderate or slow pace. To help athletes feel swift and light during speedy workouts, designers removed the zipper pocket that is typically found on the back of the waistband of every Nike running tight to eliminate anything that could add unnecessary weight or be distracting.
Instead, they placed a sleek drop-in pocket slightly behind each hip. The bigger pocket on the right can snugly fits up to an iPhone 7, while the smaller pocket on the left can store your ID, cash and a key.
The mid-rise waistband offers more coverage and core support. For those who dislike the held-in feeling, the waistband can be folded down for a low rise. The polyester-spandex fabric is compression grade which reduces soft tissue movement in the quads and hamstrings, to help runners feel more locked in during a fast, intense run.
Nike Epic Lux Tight: Log More Miles Hands-Free
From Nike’s research, it was found that more than 70% of runners take something with them on their runs. Therefore, the designers created secure storage options in three easy-access and distraction-free pockets on the Nike Epic Lux Tights:
- A zipper pocket on the back of the waistband with a vapour barrier on the interior to keep your stuff dry when you get sweaty.
- A new drop-in pocket on the right (behind your hip bone) with snug fabric that prevents your phone from falling out.
- A small drop-in pocket at the front of the waistband to store your fuel for long runs, card, cash and a key.
On top of that, Epic Lux is designed with a supportive wide waistband lined with a cool-touch material that reduces itchiness, soft sheer panels behind the knees wrap around the calves to keep you cool and dry, curved hem to accentuate the Achilles and flatter the smallest part of your leg.
Nike Swift Pant: Run Easy
The idea for this pant came when Nike designers received feedback from women in the focus group who mentioned a need for running pant. So, they set out to design Nike Swift Pant.
Swift Pant has light and loose fabric that helps to prevent chafing, tapered cuffs that you can pull up or down depending on your preference, flattering and slim fit even though it’s not a tight. The goal of the Swift Pant was to give you more flexibility so that you can go for a run or to the grocery store and still feel comfortable.
Nike Power Tight: Push, Pull, Lunge, Squat, Bend and Rotate
When it comes to making training tights, designers focus on the six core movements: push, pull, lunge, squat, bend and rotate. Joslyn Thompson Rule, a London-based NTC Master Trainer, said, “I find it very important that my tights can go through all of those movements without me trying to adjust or pull them up. Because even minor adjustments can add up to missed reps.”
The Power Tight has a new bonded waistband that provides more support while still being flexible so you won’t feel restricted during core exercises. It’s midrise in the front and curved higher at the back to keep your butt covered during deep squats and deadlifts.
Powermesh fabric provides moderate compression, feels smooth to the skin and keeps you dry and cool through the most intense workouts. Small pockets on the sides of the thighs are able to fit your phone.
Nike Pro Tight: Hit the Turf
The Nike Pro Tight was designed to help you take on any demand — from practice drills to agility work to lifting heavy — by making you feel like you aren’t even wearing pants. It’s the lightest style in Nike’s line, and you can wear it on its own or as a base layer under shorts if you prefer a little more coverage.
Nike Pro Tight uses lightweight cooling fabric and mesh panels to provide targeted ventilation around your legs, and minimal seams to reduce distraction or discomfort.
Nike Fly Tight: Get Your Spin On
In a spin class, the vibe is typically intense. You alternate between heavy seated climbs where your torso is lengthened forward and standing climbs where you raise your hips and shift them back over the saddle while reaching for the end of the handlebars. You sprint, get in and out of the saddle and sometimes even pick up light weights.
The Fly Tight is built to provide a tight but unrestricted fit for high mobility workout, with the exact length that spin class consumers prefer, which is just below the knee but not too far down on the calf that it constrains her movement.
The designers also used a new stitching to minimize any chance of irritation or discomfort once you heat up. The tights are highly breathable thanks to large mesh panels at the back of the knees, which designers called the highsweat zone.
The waistband is lower in the front to prevent bunching and rises higher in the back to keep you covered and comfortable when you’re on the bike. There’s a bonded internal waistband pocket for you to slip a key or card in.
Nike Bliss Pant: Move to Your Own Beat
Contrary to what you might expect, not all movement is best served by a tight. In fact, sometimes a looser pant is the best solution, especially when the workout requires unrestricted, multi-directional mobility such as dance or boxing workouts.
Nike Bliss Pant offers versatile lightweight coverage by using relaxed fit and four-way stretch woven fabric, the type needed for smooth transitions from one shape to the next.
Nike Sculpt Tight: Flow, Pulse or Plie
When you’re doing workouts that focus on posture, such as yoga, Pilates and ballet, you want to get as much length through your spine and to feel grounded in your feet. The hi-rise waistband of Nike Sculpt Tight holds in your core while graduated compression provides full lower-body sculpting.
Powermesh on the back improves ventilation. There are no side seams, so you can move freely and feel flexible. A small external pocket on the back holds your essentials.
Nike Flow Pant: Practice Your Poses
Designed for yoga, Nike Flow Pant provides 360 range of motion. The jersey knit is soft and super comfortable. The draped silhouette is loose and facilitates sweeping movements like dancer’s pose and half-moon, while the fitted bottoms let you pull them up for positions such as tree pose and keep them from slipping over your feet during inversions. Flow Pant is a really versatile, lightweight option for a variety of activities.
Here’s the bottom line. Even though each of these silhouettes was designed with specific sport features top of mind, none is truly right or wrong for any workout. “Personal preference is something even the most elite athletes listen to,” added Lee.
All nine pants and tights are available from 16 October 2017 on nike.com. Select styles will be available at Nike stores and retailers globally.
