Girl Gear: Jiggy Skirt with PowerBalance

Inside Triathlon assistant editor Susan Grant reviews Jiggy Skirt with PowerBalance in this week’s edition of Girl Gear.

Running skirts are one of those girl gear items that people tend to loathe and want to set fire to, or embrace by running out and buying 400 of them. I had straddled the fence on this polarizing trend, having run in a Moving Comfort one a while back that I genuinely enjoyed, but others that I found more cutesy than functional. I’m not about cutesy. I don’t want to be whistled at while running down the street, I want to pass guys on the trail and permanently damage their egos. Yes, I have issues.

The Jiggy Skirt ($55) isn’t cutesy- it’s damn hot. With two front pockets and a back pocket, it’s also perfect for longer runs where you need your keys, gels and some cash. The shorts underneath the skirt are seamless so they won’t ride up, and they come with a reinforced crotch lining for extra comfort.

What really sets the Jiggy Skirt apart from the competition isn’t so much its fit or flare, but the technology inside of it. Sewn into the back pocket of every skirt is a dime-sized hologram with PowerBalance performance technology. PowerBalance holograms are embedded with naturally occurring frequencies found in nature that react in a positive way with a person’s energy field. Sound a little hippy-dippy to you? Well, I thought so too, until a Jiggy Skirt rep did a balance and strength test on me while I held the hologram in my hand. Not only could I balance better than without it, my strength and flexibility improved dramatically. It was almost spooky. With or without a skirt, the PowerBalance technology is worth checking out.

I took my skirt out on a rocky, uneven trail to see if my hologram could get my uncoordinated ass through some of the dicey sections a little easier. Right away, I felt a little stronger than normal heading up the first hill on the trail. I had just come from a monstrous Masters workout, so not having jelly legs for the first mile was a welcome change. One of the more difficult sections of the trail is a half-mile stretch of baseball-sized rocks mixed with deep sand and generally uneven terrain. I definitely felt like I glided over that section a little easier, which I really do think had to do with the PowerBalance in the skirt.

Running skirts aren’t for everyone. I admit I felt self-conscious with the short cut of the skirt, but as far as movement, comfort and performance (thanks to the PowerBalance), this skirt is definitely a new take on the still emerging trend of skirted athletic apparel.

For more info on Jiggy Skirts, go to Jiggyskirts.com. For more info on PowerBalance go to PowerBalance.net.

Let’s face it: It’s often a man’s world when it comes to triathlon gear. In order to help bridge the gap, web editor Liz Hichens and staff writer/editor Susan Grant bring you women-specific gear and clothing reviews that promise to focus more on the important facts and less on the presence of pink bows and flowers. Girl Gear is a weekly feature that will appear every Tuesday at Triathlon.competitor.com. This week we feature Jiggy Skirts.