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Ciele Athletics SS15

Back in November we wrote a little piece on a new brand that we’d seen on the Insta-webs that had peaked our attention (sorry for the terrible pun)…Ciele Athletics.

In the last 6 months Ciele have gone from strength to strength, expanding on their initial product offer with the SS15 collection.

The SS15 collection builds upon the foundation of the GOCap )and the promise to deliver form, function and quality to running accessories) with 2 new silhouettes, the TRLCap and the killer FastCap Plus, both available in their signature strong colourways (why should footwear get all the fun).

We got our hands on one of each of the 3 silhouettes and decided to take them for a test, erm, run…

The GoCap – The Trill OG

Built with performance and durability in mind the GoCap is still the litmus test of running caps…the bar setter. Back in SS15 with even more mouth watering colourways, it’s equally at home in a queue for a coffee as it is on weekday training session.

I’ve taken the hat out for quite a few runs now and even more weekend trips to the coffee shop. It’s undoubtedly a Hypebeast head turner, but in my opinion it’s far more than style over substance. I’m very picky about what I wear on my head when I run…there’s only one Huf beanie (Which nearly resulted in divorce when my wife tried to wear it to work) and so far 0 caps (which is odd as I’m wearing a hat 85% of my time in civilian life). I instantly fell in love with the GoCap though…the unstructured construction and pliable brim meant that there was no digging into my skull and also no cheeky gusts of wind sending it sprawling into the Amstel River. It also kept the sweat away, and considering the amount of times I’ve worn it (lots) and the amount of times I’ve washed it (zero) it somehow has managed to avoid smelling like a cat bathed in it’s own piss.

However, Ciaran also took out the GoCap for a few spins and had this to say about the poppa OG of Ciele.

“It’s been hard not to pay attention to Ciele Athletics. Design wise, they burst through the monotony of black and neon green running products with a plethora of caps that seemed to span the entire trail-running colour spectrum.

When the GOCap landed on my desk, I was excited to say the least. Vibrant bursts of pink contrasted against hues of navy that make a statement that I can’t quite put my finger on. The actual construction is of interest too; a 100% polyester upper means that it is incredibly light to the touch, undoubtedly pliable and yet still holds it’s shape. The marriage between lifestyle and performance is one that’s hard to make, though, and once I started moving I struggled to leave it alone. A seemingly snapback style fit meant it was tricky for me to find this thing a comfortable home on my head. Facing forwards, the deep fit meant that if it wasn’t flush then there was a lot of fabric loose on top. Pulled down meant squashed ears and the peak pushing down against my eyebrows. Through most wears, I settled for rocking the thing backwards; pulled tight, the fabrics were soft enough on every side that it wouldn’t irritate the skin on my forehead, but that didn’t deter from the disappointment I felt. When it comes to accessories though, and headwear especially, these things really do differ from person to person. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly tricky to apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach to performance caps and make everyone happy… I lost out this time around (which shouldn’t really come as a surprise to many of you following my recent post on the quest for the ultimate performance cap…) but I’m still a big time supporter of the Canadian brand and everything that they have achieved over this past 12 months. On that note, I begin my patient wait for the AW15 season, and the new shapes that it might bring to the table.”

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The FastCap Plus – The New New

For the FastCap Plus Ciele built upon their learnings (maybe from similar feedback to Ciaran’s)  from the first round of GoCaps and developed a low profile, short brimmed thing of beauty designed for speed! Even more CoolWick for optimum breathability and a really unique looking sillhouete, halfway between 5 panel and cycling cap. A very good thing.

Alex, AKA The Bearded Runner,  got his hands on the brand new FastCap Plus…

“I love this hat. I mean, I loved the original GOCap too which I have in both ‘Chaka’ and ‘Jasper’ colours, so I couldn’t wait to try this shallower lightweight model. The main differences between this and the GO are really construction and fit. It’s like a cross between a running hat and a bike cap. For me personally, that works. As a result of the lower crown I found you gotta tighten it up more than the GO which you can let perch a little more… but that’s sort of the point. Designed to sit higher on ya brow it’s a little less steezy and a little more wheezy. So strap in and run FAST.”

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The TRLCap – The Steezy Trucker

Finally, the classic of all classic streetwear hats, the Trucker Cap gets a tech 2015 makeover. Mesh backed and unstructured, the TRL is designed to keep your bonce cool in a way your classic I LOVE NYC foam lined Trucker could never do.

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Ciele are continuing to do big things. Building products for runners by runners, and adapting and evolving with much better business smarts than companies 3 or 4 times their size. The way they take on feedback and develop it into a new product is admirable and we wish them all the best of luck for the rest of this season and beyond.

Ultimately they’re cut from the same cloth as PB and we can’t wait to watch them go on to do bigger and better…watch this space for more,