Bo Arlander, 15-Time Kona Ironman, Puts Lumiton To the Test Under Hawaiian Sun

By Bo Arlander.  San Francisco, CA 

My name is Bo and I am an avid competitive triathlete who has completed the Kona Ironman World Championship 15 times. I have been in the sport for 22 years and have seen lots of innovation in gear and apparel introduced to the market. I was intrigued by Lumiton’s technology after I read about it in WWD and contacted the founders to see if I could test it out.

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of being in Kona spectating for a change and cheering my friends on. As usual, the weather was hot and humid, especially up on the Queen K highway where the sun was beating down on us. I decided to put my Lumiton prototype products to the test - a Lumia Red T-shirt and some calf sleeves - and I wore them all day from morning til night.

I was pleasantly surprised by the fit of the Lumiton shirt as I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was. And while not critical for me, I can see how the slight flare at the bottom will nicely accommodate many body types. Regarding the Lumiton fabric, I definitely feel it kept me cooler than normal and I didn’t get as clammy and sweaty as I usually do in that weather.  My only knock was that the fabric texture, while smooth to the hand, felt a little rougher after wearing it for hours on end so this might be something to refine. As for the calf warmers (or should we say “calf coolers”?), I appreciated the extra sun cover and support, though the compression wasn’t strong enough to warrant the wear from that perspective alone. Lastly, my friends appreciated the bright color as they could spot me a mile away!

Personally, in addition to the cooling technology, I am super excited about the potential performance and health benefits of Lumiton's red and near-infrared light technology and look forward to doing more wear testing back in the Bay area. :)