After a bumper year of regatta-inspired sailing clothing in 2021, the pendulum has swung back towards bluewater cruising again. While there is still plenty of new gear for dinghy and keelboat racers, the bulk of the launches ahead of 2023 focus on full-fat foulies.
Musto, Henri-Lloyd and Gill have all tweaked their headline ranges, and it is encouraging to see that sustainability is taking root in this sector. Many of the novelties for 2022 relate to recycled fibres and non-harmful fabric treatments.
It’s been a busy 12 months for Musto, with new products aimed at pretty much every category of sailing, from dinghy racing to offshore racing and cruising. On the cruising side, Musto’s mid-range BR2 foul-weather clothing line has also been given a performance boost for the coming season. “Using innovations from our MPX and HPX offshore gear, the new BR2 products are packed with new technologies that will protect against any adverse weather conditions,” says head of marketing Nick Houchin.
The fabric is still polyamide, but it has been given a new two-part membrane to boost waterproofing and breathability. The result is a fabric with twice the performance of the previous BR2 line. And as ever, it is topped off with a Durable Water Repellent treatment to prevent the fabric from wetting out. In the new line, this DWR has a longer life
