Oliver Cousins and Jarrad Smith were your typical Melbourne, Australia cyclists. Longtime surf-skate industry vets, over the years they became more and more interested in cycling, racing, and just drinking a cappuccino off Beach Road in their kit.
But Cousins and Smith weren’t happy with their kit at the time. Because of their experience making more stylish and flashy surf and skate gear, the boys couldn’t help asking themselves if there was a way to get some kit that was a bit less… daggy.
So they made their own, and in 2014 MAAP was born. Some say MAAP stands for “Merging Aesthetics and Performance.” And it’s a fitting motto for the brand. Because not only was MAAP setting out to make better-looking kit, they also wanted to ensure it performed better, too. No worries, mates, Polartec can help with that.
To help MAAP achieve their goal, we’ve been outfitting them with the highest-performing materials this side of the Great Barrier Reef for years. From the breathable waterproof fabric NeoShell®, in their Prime Jacket and Vest—to the powerful, thermoregulating Power Grid™ in their Thermal Base Layer.
But MAAP also had ambitions beyond just road cycling. And to get where they were going, they knew they’d need a bigger MAAP.
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Question: What is Alt_Road?
A: Gravel? B: Dirt? C: Bikepacking? D: Cow paths? E: Holding your bike over your head during a waist-deep river crossing?
Answer: All of the above.
MAAP’s Alt_Road Collection is made to pry open your mind and let in the sparkling kaleidoscope of bicycle-power possibilities. Skidding to a stop at a neighborhood path to see where it goes. Grinning between salt-crusted helmet straps as you behold a desert sunset that fades into twilight miles toward camp. All while feeling as comfortable as possible (considering the circumstances).
The latest Alt_Road collection is built for wild schemes and exploring extremes. And the newest collection comes with the performance details to back up its ambitions.
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All-new for this season is the redesigned Alt_Road Ride Tee 3.0—the ultimate experience in upper-body comfort technology. It’s made for effective sweat wicking, quick drying, and intense comfort in the face of severe conditions.
MAAP just redesigned the Ride Tee to make it move better, and feel even more comfortable—extending the back hem, improving sleeve articulation, and revising the side panels for better anatomical movement.
But what you might not notice is actually the most powerful part: Polartec® Power Dry®. Our ultimate moisture management technology, Power Dry is built to effectively pull sweat from the surface of your skin and send it off to dry. All while maintaining optimal thermoregulation in both warm and cool conditions. It might just look like standard performance fabric, but this Power Dry is a highly advanced bi-component knit construction that places hydrophilic threads on the inside to capture sweat, which keeps you cool—paired with hydrophobic threads on the outside to disburse moisture into the air. In effect, the fabric is amplifying your body’s natural sweat cooling system. Just without the whole “now my clothes are soaked in sweat” part.
Also updated this season are MAAP’s highly versatile Thermal Vest and Thermal Jacket. They’re just about the best insulation pieces you can take into varying conditions, thanks to Polartec® Alpha® active insulation.
Alpha was designed specifically to provide the optimal warmth during temperature variations and stop-start activities. Take bikepacking as an example. You might be starting cold, setting out at dawn in freezing weather. Later on, you’re cruising along as the day heats up—your body nuking heat-waves. Maybe later you’re riding into camp, cold and cracked, as the sun goes down. Or sitting around a chilly campfire with the mates, looking for something to ball up for a pillow. Polartec Alpha works in all these scenarios because of its extremely unique, highly-lofted construction. Sort of like a really frizzy sweater, these fibers can trap air for warmth or move air to avoid overheating. So while the day heats up and cools down, you can wear the same garments longer without getting uncomfortable and pulling them on and off a million times. Plus it dries extremely quickly, so you can squeeze it into a ball and throw it in a bag without concern.
Taking Alpha into the bush is defo the right decision. Now for the tougher question: Sleeves or no sleeves?
