Monday, August 01, 2022

Daehlie Elite Singlet & Shorts, Intensity Jacket Reviews

Article by Sam Winebaum

Singlet Elite ($70), Shorts Elite ($70), Intensity Jacket ($90)


I have been a huge fan of Dahelie not only the brand but its namesake founder Bjørn Dæhlie, winner of a staggering 29 medals in the Olympics and World Championships in nordic skiing. Needless to say the brand has focused on winter, equipping many national teams including of course his own home country of Norway.

Nordic skiers also train many many hours in summer: running, cycling, hiking, and roller skiing. And Norwegian runners have excelled in track and field using the same training principles as the nordic skiers. In the recent I have tested items from their winter run collections, all exceptional in their functionality and clean modern design.


As such Dahlie continues to expand its fair weather collections under the RUN 365 banner.

Daehlie’s brand identity colors are described as follows: “The brand colors are black, white and vibrant orange. White represents snow, black symbolizes high performance and orange embodies our urge to always do better”.  


Daehlie was kind enough to send me the Singlet Elite and Short Elite as well as the Jacket Intensity and the timing couldn’t have been better as it has been hot and humid here in New Hampshire, except maybe for the Jacket as has for sure it has not been jacket weather here for a few months but soon…


Singlet Elite ($70)

The Singlet is exceptional in fit and performance. I often find singlets over snug at my usual medium or overly baggy but less clingy at a large. For example, Nike’s Aeroswift where neither size works well for me, too snug at medium, baggy at large.  Here the fit is a perfect medium for my 5’9” / 176 cm  height and 162 lbs / 74 kg weight, and unlike some medium for me, kind of flattering me with too many fine New England IPA and all.

A big part of the fit and comfort secret of the racerback design here is the rear mesh. It is not only exceptionally breathable but very “slippery” almost teflon like in feel when moved between the fingers and both wet and dry. 

While the front is a very thin more closed mesh the fact there is no rear friction or cling keeps the front moving and never sticky. 

The collar is rounded and not overly high so it is not neck clinging and snug while the arm holes are large enough, chafe free but also not baggy and loose.

The fabrics are light that is for sure as my medium singlet weighs 50g /1.8 oz. The knit mesh is exceptionally breathable and moisture wicking helped by the non-stick non-cling overall design and that rear mesh which moves so well with the body.  All seams are bonded with the singlet fabric itself over itself so never any chafing here. 


Of the many singlets in my collection it is the one I have reached for most frequently for all manner of runs this humid warm summer as regardless of the conditions I have always been comfortable and relatively cool with the singlet drying very fast after. Highly recommended.


Shorts Elite ($70)

The Shorts have a 5” inseam and a nice not overly extreme split. 5” is my go to and here the shorts in no way look as long as some 5” due to the long gradual angle towards the split.

The color is a dark gray “Obsidian”, not the usual basic black which contrasts nicely and compliments the lighter gray pattern of hexagons and circles of the singlet.  


The fabric is a superlight 4 way stretch microfiber.

They have no pockets but a wide comfortable stretch mesh waistband with ventilation holes. 


The medium as with the singlet fits my 33” / cm waist perfectly with no over snugness but also no sag even when I “clip” my iPhone 13 Pro with its Otter Box PopSocket to the inside of the waistband. No pressure, no slip or bounce and no drawstring required to hold them up with the phone on board or otherwise even when wet. All a rarity. 


The brief is a somewhat textured mesh. I recommend washing them once before running in the heat and humidity as the brief was a bit scratchy when new and unwashed during my first run.


The Singlet Elite and Shorts Elite are a great high performance pairing for training or race day. Fit is impeccable as is comfort.  At  least for me the combinations look sharp, modern, and not overdone with colors and patterns yet with a touch of Daehlie orange excitement and gray geometric patterns  in the mix. 


Intensity Jacket ($90)

This is one super light jacket. As soon as I tried it on I thought “wind shirt” more than a jacket. 


Made of a slightly stretchy, very thin, quite closed  material it has a multitude of laser cut holes for ventilation at the front, back and sleeves. 

This tells me it will retain some warmth yet let the heat out when needed, so an ideal combination for.. Intense runs with some chill in the air or for before or after workouts come fall. 

It packs into its own rear pocket whose zipper is trimmed with a healthy amount of reflective material. 

I am not a huge fan of rear “cycling” type pockets as things such as phones tend to bounce back there but one can easily tuck the rear of the jacket into shorts or tights if need be as it is relatively long and overall generous in fit. 

The elastic cuff sleeves are generous in fit so I expect not much of the dread arm stick with short sleeves underneath and they can be easily rolled up, something I often do even below freezing.


You’ll notice the word “expect” above. Well it has been so warm every day and even at night that I have yet to really test the Intensity.  As soon as things cool off I will update the review as I am certain this will be the first jacket I reach for when there is any kind of first chill and breeze. And its stying, at least for me, will make it a nice after run out to dinner option. The pricing at $90 is fair for such a stylish and expected high performance jacket.


Shop Daehlie Run 365 at Daehlie HERE

and at our partner Backcountry HERE

Samples were provided at no charge for review purposes. RoadTrail Run has affiliate partnerships and may earn commission on products purchased through affiliate links in this article. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content. The opinions herein are entirely the authors'

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3 comments:

roy hampton said...

Many thanks for the review Sam. Great insight on the singlet and very helpful the way you described fit and given your personal measurements. Enabled me to choose the best fit for myself when making a purchase.
As a sidenote, have you tried the Soar racing singlets? Very comfortable and similar weight to Daehlie elite singlet.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Roy! Fit is fantastic here. Haven’t tried Soar. You?

roy hampton said...

Yep tried both singlets out on long runs. Daehlie is nice, Soar is nicer. Soar feels better because of how it fits under the arm.