APTONIA LD SHORT SLEEVE

Is this Decathlon suit a bargain buy?

We ventured into a Decathlon recently for the first time in years and were surprised to discover such a high volume of tri-specific gear. From Aptonia’s Bento boxes to tri bags and nutrition, it was like a treasure trove for the budget-conscious triathlete. And the major benefit over direct sellers such as Aropec is that you can try before buying at one of their 20+ stores nationwide. So would we buy the LD?

Visually, the attractive colourscheme and design scores far higher than the Aropec, but we wish more attention had been paid to the race-day performance. The pockets are a chief frustration, with the opening of the two rear ones being far too small for easy access and the leg pockets too tiny for anything except a Jelly Baby or two. The neck lets in a fair amount of water ingress in the pool and, onto the bike, we could feel the seams through the chamois on a 50km ride. Decathlon pitch the pad as suitable for Olympic and Ironman events, but we’d seriously question that unless you’re intending to spend half of your race out of the saddle. Positive points include the silicone leg grippers and the minimal guard on the zip is just about effective enough. decathlon.co.uk