So last year I was super lucky to be able to have the opportunity to review some items from Helly Hansen’s Autumn/Winter 2015 training collection – I know we are now well into spring, something that I am super embarrassed to admit. But, thankfully our weather is still miserable over here in the UK and you’ll also be pleased to know that you can buy the items featured with 50+% off as they are now on sale. Helly Hansen’s Autumn/Winter range featured its ground-breaking new reflective fabric technology – Norviz. Norviz was inspired by Norway’s beautiful and exhilarating Northern Lights, and the range was designed to keep runners safe and confident on dark roads during the gloomy winter months.
The fabric used in the Norviz range has an embedded reflective layer which is invisible to the naked eye, meaning that in the daytime they look like your everyday running gear but at night they reveal a hidden reflectivity when exposed to light sources – this really is the most functional and fashion-forward design out there at the moment.
About Helly Hansen
Helly Hansen was founded in Norway in 1877, by Helly Juell Hansen. Helly had been at sea since from the young age of 14 and in 1877 Helly and his wife Maren Margarethe began creating oilskin jackets and trousers, made from a coarse linen that had been soaked in linseed oil. In their first 5 years of production they sold around a whopping 10,000 pieces! In 1878 Helly Hansen won a diploma for excellence at the Paris Expo, and began exporting its products worldwide. In 1914 the company was passed down to son Leiv Helly-Hansen after Helly’s death.
Today Helly Hansen continues to develop its quality apparel through a blend of modern Scandinavian design and finds its inspiration from some of the harshest environments on earth. The brand represents a combination of performance, protection, and style and continues to protect and enable professionals making their living on oceans and mountains around the world as well helping to keep us consumers safe and dry.
To find out more about Helly Hansen’s heritage click here.
The Review
Women’s Aspire Norviz Tights
The Women’s Aspire Norviz Tights give were designed to provide you with ample protection during cold weather training sessions. The tights have a relatively wide waistband with drawcord, and a supportive stretch and water repellent main fabric which Helly Hansen has used body-mapping technology for the ultimate fit. I feel like they have just the right amount of compression to them and because of the body mapped fit they almost feel insulated – they actually feel fleece lined.
The body mapping also helps to support certain areas of your lower body meaning they make any butt look pretty much perfect! I’m not joking it’s a Brazillian butt lift in a pant – genius. I found the wide waistband to be really comfy – which I was really surprised by – I opted for a size Small and they’re quite snug fitting (I’m 5’8″, 27.5″ waist, and 39″ hips) so you might want to go up a size depending upon personal preference. On any bloated lady days I did find that they were initially a little uncomfortable, until I got moving, but the drawstring can just be left loose anyway and so it wasn’t really such an issue. The drawstring itself is such a great feature – you never see this on running tights these days. I always change waist size throughout the month and so when I lose weight I won’t need to buy another pair I can simply tighten and tie the drawstring.
The Norviz tights also boast Helly Hansen’s X-COOL™ fabric – a quick dry, breathable fabric that draws moisture away from the skin helping to dry it completely. I have to say that I am quite the sweaty Betty and I haven’t once come home from my run with sweaty thighs – true fact.
Of course the main feature of the Norviz range is its 360 degree reflectivity. However, I don’t feel that this was the case with the Norviz tights – only the pink fabric at the back of the lower leg and a section at the hips reflects light and helps to keep you visible in darkness. There are a couple of reflective strips dotted about and I will say that the reflectivity is more than ample but just not what I would call 360 degrees. It’s certainly a must have when running outside on the roads – cars definitely will be able to spot you and if you’re trail running late at night the light from people’s headlamps will keep you illuminated.
The zips at the bottom of the hem make for easily slipping the leggings on – even with my big chunky thighs and calves it’s no problem getting these bad boys on. It also means that when the weather hots up a little you can undo your zips and get some extra air to your gorgeous pins.
The little sweat-proof back pocket that’s waterproof lined is great for little electronic devices such as an MP3 player, your keys, and even money for a post-run snack. The last thing you want is to pull out a soggy fiver at the end of your run!
So just to re-cap here are the key features:
- X-COOL™ quick dry and supportive main stretch fabric.
- 88% Polyester, 12% Elastane
- UPF 40 treated fabric to protect from the sun.
- All-over reflective fabric details.
- 360 degree reflectivity.
- Sweat-proof back pocket for essentials such as money, keys, and a small MP3 player.
- HH® logo on thigh.
- YKK® quality zippers on bottom hem.
The Helly Hansen Women’s Aspire Norviz Tights RRP at £65.00 but are currently on sale at £29.00 which is an absolute bargain so absolutely snap a pair up ASAP!
Women’s Aspire Norviz Long Sleeve Top
The Helly Hansen Women’s Aspire Long Sleep Top is a lightweight training top designed for those colder days. The advanced fabric reflects light, shining to keep you visible during your training when darkness arrives. Again it’s made from Helly Hansen’s super soft, X-COOL™ quick dry fabric, preventing overheating for optimal temperature regulation. The fabric has also been treated with DWR (durable water repellent) to help shed both wind and rain. There’s just enough stretch in this top, and it’s that lightweight, it feels like you’re wearing a second skin, it’s literally the comfiest training top that I have ever worn – no lie.
I’ve been popping this over my compression layer and I haven’t felt like I have needed anything warmer to wear at all. The X-COOL™ fabric definitely does the trick – I haven’t felt cold during my training due to over sweating and it definitely repels any wind or light to medium rain. I can see this top being suitable from winter right through to the beginning of summer.
The 360 degree reflectivity fabric on this top is insane – in the daytime it looks like a regular training top but at night any light from headlamps or car lights makes me light up like some sort of super hero – yes I really am geeking out that much but as you can see in the picture above it’s crazy. Unlike the Norviz tights this really is 360 degree reflectivity. There is also a little reflective strip on the back too for extra reflective fun.
This top also features a chest zipper so that you can zip up to keep extra warm or fold down and it’s quite stiff so it doesn’t flap around like most tops. The autolock on the zip is great but I did find that when you’re trying to run and unzip it it was a little faffy. The top also features thumb holes for extra warmth. Sadly my arms are far longer than your average lady and so I can’t utilise the thumb holes to their full capacity – it kind of digs into my hands. I could tell however that if you have regular length arms that this would be so comfortable and not in the slightest bit irritating.
I went for a size Medium in the training top purely because I have a very broad back and shoulders, but a tiny waist. I’d say that this top fits a little smaller than is true to size as normally a medium would leave quite a lot of excess fabric around my waist but this seems to fit almost perfectly.
So let’s recap the key features:
- X-COOL™ quick dry fabric treated with DWR.
- UPF 30 treated fabric to protect from the sun.
- 92% Polyester, 8% Elastane
- 360 degree reflectivity.
- Thumb holes for extra warmth.
- HH® Logo on chest.
- YKK chest zip with autolock.
The Helly Hansen Women’s Aspire Long Sleep Top RRP’s at £75.00 but is currently on sale at £34.00 (55% off) which is an absolute bargain so absolutely snap this up before it goes!
The Verdict
The Helly Hansen Women’s Norviz range is probably one of the best sports ranges aimed at female athletes out there – it’s perfectly catered to running in the city, on the roads, or out in the elements when trail running. The Norviz running tights offer a great degree of reflectivity and have been body mapped to fit to perfection, supporting certain parts of your lower body. The long sleeved Norviz tech top boasts incredible 360 degree reflectivity and DWR material to shed rain and protect from the wind. I absolutely love mine and I cannot live without it now. The thumb holes and neck zipper help to keep you extra warm too.
The range is so durable and has been dragged through muddy fields without getting damaged, the 360 degree reflectivity hasn’t washed out either and I cannot count the number of times that I have washed the tights or top. Even at full price this gear is more than worth it. My only qualm is that the tights have a little bit of pink on them – I’m more of the ninja stealth sorta lady but I really have grown to love those reflective pink patches, after all they are keeping me safe.
So I now look super stylish thanks to Helly Hansen, all whilst staying safe on my late night runs. It’s the perfect gear for the serious yet stylish runner, it’s feminine without being too girly, and I really couldn’t give it a higher recommendation!
If you’re a guy don’t worry you can bag the Helly Hansen Men’s Pace Tights and Helly Hansen Men’s Pace Training Top which are the male equivalents to the products that I have reviewed and are also currently on sale.
If you’d like to keep up with what Helly Hansen are releasing next, why not check them out on one of the links below:
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