Product of the Week: Omorpho Vest and Weighted Apparel
The brand’s weighted vests and clothing can level up your everyday workouts with extra weight
Omorpho was founded in 2017 by Ben Williams and Stefan Olander, who had a goal to reinvent the prototypical weighted vest. Frustrated by unevenly distributed weight in vests, Olander and Williams developed a new vest with MicroLoad technology, where small amounts of weight are evenly distributed across all of its garments.
Now, Omorpho also makes G-Wear, which is apparel with built-in MicroLoad spheres throughout that can be worn alone or with a vest. The apparel is designed to level up strength training, runs, hikes or any other workout that could benefit from a little extra weight. Athletech News put both the Omorpho G-Vest and G-Wear to the test.
Pros
Omorpho’s G-Vest is form-fitting and flexible, comfortable even during long runs. For those who care about fashion, the vest also comes in multiple colors, like black, purple, blue and gray. Some colors even have a subtle trim of illuminated fabric for easy visibility in the dark. The G-Vest also comes in different sizes, which makes it easy and comfortable to add a little weight to your workout, particularly for someone on the smaller side.
It has shoulder straps and side-cinch pull cords that make it easy to tighten the garment against your body. The man’s vest is 10 pounds, and the woman’s is 5 pounds for the G-Vest and 6 and 3 respectively for the G-Vest Sport (the lighter version of the vest).
The G-Vest has built-in extra weight through small, raised spheres over the fabric. Despite the extra weight, the clothing is soft and stretchy enough for HIIT or strength workouts. I was worried about washing the items after sweaty workouts, but they can be thrown in the washer and dryer along with other clothes. The spheres did not hurt or rub against my skin, and overall I found wearing the items more comfortable than I expected.
Both apparel items were great for making your standard workouts a little bit harder. I have increasingly seen weighted vests on runners, and now I understand why–it’s an easy way to improve your strength and endurance. I also felt stronger wearing the vest during bodyweight workouts or strength training in a subtle but effective way. Neither the G-Wear clothing nor the G-Vest were bulky or unwieldy but I noticed myself feeling stronger after multiple wears.
Cons
The G-Vest’s premium price of $279 for women and $299 for men, is more expensive than many other weighted vests. If you’re newer to workout vests, you might be a little less ready to invest in such an expensive piece of equipment.
As for the G-Wear, although the clothing itself was soft and stretchy and the added weight evenly distributed, I found wearing clothes with spheres all over the fabric a strange sensation, particularly for the leggings. When I ran or did standing workouts, the spheres did not bother me, but during yoga or mat workouts, I found the spheres uncomfortable. I would prefer wearing a weighted vest over standard workout wear, but for those who are doing more dynamic workouts, the apparel could level up your goals. The apparel was more reasonably priced than the vests, ranging from $99-$150, but still more expensive than other weighted clothing.
Overall, if you’re ready to commit to leveling up your workout with a weighted vest, Omorpho’s G-Vest is a premium product that will help you increase your endurance, build strength, and improve your agility. If you want a little extra weight in your apparel and don’t mind a raised texture of your clothing, check out G-Wear.