THE MOULDED, MULTI-DENSITY CHAMOIS
THE EXPERT JON KNOLL FORMER APPAREL DESIGNER FOR PEARL IZUMI AND SPECIALIZED. CURRENT CONSULTANT FOR SEVERAL APPAREL BRANDS
IN THE LATE ’90s, chamois were really primitive. They were made of either leather, or a synthetic leather with a foam backing. The synthetic chamois were three pieces stitched up the middle, and that seam was not great. Chafing was a real issue.
About the same time, saddles were getting lighter, stiffer, and frankly, less comfortable. So what once worked in your shorts wasn’t working anymore.
There’s lots of debate over who initiated the first one: from 1999 to 2000, Castelli had the Y-Cut chamois, Pearl Izumi had the PRT, which I worked on; and Assos had one, too. There’s no debating the improvement.
Two main technologies made foam chamois possible. The first was the ability to mould foam into an arc shape that fits neatly into your shorts. The second was being able to use different densities of foam to delineate parts of the chamois. That allowed us to focus the padding on the ischial (sit bones) or perineal area – the pressure points – without it feeling like you’re wearing a big fat nappy.
Take a modern chamois, cut it in half and look at the cross-section. There’s thin foam across the top. Then the middle saddle-shape piece is a heavier foam that doesn’t compress sas much. Right on ischium or perineum areas there are super-high-density inserts, because that’s where the pressure points are.
Multi-density foam also helped us make different chamois for women. Doing pressure testing we figured out that women needed different shapes and different densities. You couldn’t just cut a men’s chamois down to a smaller size. We were also able to make them more comfortable, with better air flow and moisture control.
Chamois make a huge difference in rider comfort. A good chamois, when you put on the shorts, yeah, you may feel it. But when you sit on the bike, it should disappear.