the dominance of Capapie shooting suits

[bluetentacle]

In recent years Capapie has almost become the only thing that top shooters wear. What makes their products preferred over traditional brands like KT and Sauer?

[Th.]

Good marketing. Presents at all major events

[KabalMSU]

Price and ability to produce LOTS of clothes in short time.

[Tim S]

Those are certainly good reasons to chose Capapie, especially if you are looking to upgrade or kit out a team. Although I don't think either fully explains why so many International shooters switched from Thune, Sauer, Kuestermann et al in 2018/2019. If you already have a new bespoke top quality, why change?

[pfiori]

In recent years Capapie has almost become the only thing that top shooters wear. What makes their products preferred over traditional brands like KT and Sauer?

The same thing that has historically led to this, some manufacturer introduces something that gives an advantage in performance and everyone at the top switches to it in order to remain competitive. Then, herd mentality takes over in the lower levels as everyone else starts to switch because everyone at the top uses xxx. Then another manufacturer introduces something new that provides a performance advantage over the current favorite and the cycle starts over.

[Martin H]

I found the fit of my Capapie jacket is much better than all four of my previous KT jackets. This is due to the factory being able to translate my measurements into a coat that has fitted me well and gives a very stable sling position.
And although my Sauer coat fit was also fantastic and I shot very well with it, the left arm lost stability after 20000 shots (2 years) use. So I decided to try a Capapie jacket.
Cheers Martin

[Martin Catley]

Great comments Martin. I have only seen one in use and he is very happy with it. I am currently using a KT and totally agree with you, as you say the measurements didn't get translated very well! I am using one of the K10 mats and very happy with it. Great for my old bones.
Martin C

[bluetentacle]

Here are comments from a friend who wears Capapie:

"The material of the Capapie maintains its rigidity better than anything else while still barely passing the Equipment Control stiffness test
"While most jackets will show 3.0mm of deflection in the material almost immediately on the testing machine, the Capitex will do so but after giving the material the full 60 seconds allowed to reach 3.0mm in the regulations
"The side affect is now it takes a lifetime for everyone to get through Equipment Control
"My lower back pain shooting standing disappeared once using the Capapie"

[shuidandan]

Any suggestions on where to buy Capapie? I emailed ishootconsulting.com twice but never receive any responses. I am in USA. Thanks!

[pfiori]

Sent you a PM with some information.

[400driver]

I am just beginning in 10M after spending most of my time in pistol and AP. I saw that Capapie had a good reputation and I was on business in India and decided to drop in for a fitting ! They were surprised as I dont think they get many expat visitors.
It did cause a bit of a problem as I am from another country and despite me picking up the suit in India , it took a while for all the ' admin' to be sorted.
It was worth it, the buy once , cry once always rings true.
I will definitely never live up to the quality of the suit , but I am very happy with my purchase.

[bluetentacle]

I'm seeing other manufacturers introducing new product lines featuring new materials to compete with Capapie. So I emailed one of them to ask how their material compared with Capitex. Their suits were worn by three of the eight competitors in the recent Doha women's 50m 3P final. (The rest were all Capapie.)

While their new material isn't as stiff as Capitex, they argue that:

- Capitex is so stiff that it passes EC only through extreme bending. This could prematurely wear out the material and cause it to crack, necessitating a new suit.
- Capitex gives shooter little feel for the position, and causes the shooter to over-rely on its properties. The result is that, if the material ever breaks, the shooter can no longer make hits.
- Capitex is produced in an environmentally unregulated manner.
- By contrast, their own material is stiff while still giving the shooter a feel for the position.
- Their material is environmentally friendly and 100% made in _____

[Dmaryakh]

Ginny Thrasher switched from Capapie to Hitex and mentioned somewhere in one of her posts that actually the stiffness of the suit was a contributing factor to her injury (if i remember correctly).

It is also more aggressively priced that others which is probably also the reason we see a lot of them on the line

[markvulture]

Just an idle question 400driver, but when you visited India how long did they take to make your jacket etc?

[Th.]

Seonaid Macintosh said in a video interview with Heinz reinkemeier that a suit shouldn’t be so stiff that it dictates your position . It only should support it.

[400driver]

Just an idle question 400driver, but when you visited India how long did they take to make your jacket etc?

It was about 4 weeks before I went back to collect it. As a non Indian national, it is not as easy as I thought it would be given they have signed distribution contracts with many areas.

[justadude]

Interesting discussion:
To recap a few things here, Capapie is stiff and compared to European offerings somewhat cheaper.
The Capitex material is somehow magical in that it seems to be just barely able to pass EC but always seems to squeak by.
Yes, Ginny Thrasher sustained a back injury that was attributed to the stiffness of the Capapie suit she was using at the time.

I traded in an older Sauer jacket and Thune pants two-ish years ago for a Capapie. I expect that after this quad I will go back to a European suit. Why? I don't think the fit is as good as my old Sauer. Materially, the jacket is not really holding up with zippers breaking, button holes pulling out and some stitching showing earlier than expected signs of wear. I think the suit is TOO stiff. Lets go back to Seonaid McIntosh's statement about the suit should support not dictate. I feel my Capapie leans more toward the latter and dictates the position, especially in kneeling.

I think pfiori nailed it when he mentioned the herd effect. A junior gets started in high school, maybe middle school. As they start to get their own kit, the older more experienced kids have a Capapie so that is what they get. Just getting a new custom suit, scores likely go up so the kid is convinced it is all about the Capapie suit. Who knows, with a European suit, they might have seen double the increase? Not the type of thing where you go buying multiple suits just to try them all out. Most juniors will not be in the sport long enough to start trying suits from multiple manufacturers.

In the last 2-3 years there are offerings from Europe that seem to include a material to compete with Capitex but to Ginny Thrasher's and Seonaid McIntosh's point are just a little more flexible. Additionally, you are seeing European suits starting to make it back into finals. This trend will likely continue until the next big thing comes along, whatever that will be...

My 2 cents
'dude