2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

June 201 9 / / 63

£250500 WOMEN’S WETSUITS

ZOOT

WA H I N E 2

£350Continuingtheconfetti-esquedesignof
itspredecessors,thelooksofZoot’sWahine
2 willaddplentyofcheertoracemorning.
The 2019 versiongetsanupgradeto39-cell
neopreneanda broaderspreadof
hydrodynamiccoating.Thisis a spacious-
lookingsuitandit’seasytopullon,sothe
Wahine2 surpriseduswithjusthowwellit
fits– it’sontheroomierside,yetsnuginthe
rightplaceswitha watertightresult.In
action,theAQUAliftpanelraisesthehipsto
encouragea stablepositionwithoutpushing
thelegstoohigh.Thearmshavebeen
slimmedto1.5mm,whichresultsina
flexiblestroke,yetthereis somerestriction
intheshouldersandthisledtofatigueover
longerswims.Overall,though,Wahine’s
stand-outfeatureis stillitsGLIDEflex
panellingforchestexpansion,whichwe
founda comfortinthecolderwater
especially.zootsports.com

ORCA

3.8

£449OurpriciestsuitontestsitsinOrca’s

‘progressiveswimmer’range.Theaimof

the3:8is maximumbuoyancytoelevate

withoutcompromisingflexibility– andon

this,it delivers.It’sa slickpieceofkitthat

glideseffortlesslythankstotheassisted

positionandpanelling:3mmacrossthe

chest,4-5mmonupperlegs,anda thinner

1.5mmacrossarmsandshoulders.The

lattergivestotalfreedomofmovement,

bolsteredbystrategically-placed40-cell

neoprene(secondonlyinflexibilityto44,

asseenina 220 BestonTest,Orca’sAlpha).

Thesupplefabricgivesa naturalfeel

throughthewater,withstifferleg

materialsfora correctedkick.Thefitis

closeenoughfora water-tightswim,but

stillcomfortable.Onecatchonthefit,

though,is thesleevesarereallylong,soif

you’vegotshorterarms,theelbowstability

panel could end up displaced.orca.com

YONDA

SPIRIT

£349TheYorkshire-madeSpiritfromYonda

(whowonourtop-endmen’stestlast

issue)is intendedforbeginnertriathletes,

andit’scertainlybuoyantfromtoptotoe

andcomfortabletowear– withsome

unusualfeatures.It’sgota reversezip,

whichpreventsaccidentalunfastening,

thoughit’snearlyimpossibletosecure

withouthelp.Butitsstand-outfeatureis

thelong,thinfabriccatchpanels.While

theydidincreasewater-feel,theyalso

increasedchill– a drawbackinspring

training.Otherwise,it’sa cosynumber,

snuginalltherightplaceswitha wide,soft

neckthatcreatesa tightsealwithoutthe

hintofa rub.Theflexibilityis good,too,not

ourbestontestbutwefeltunrestricted.Its

‘Y-Kick’smoothliningmakesit everybitas

fastasclaimedtoremove– thoughthe

wristsaretiny,andtooka goodbitof

wriggling over cold hands.yondasports.com

93

%

VERDICTSUPPLE,SUPPORTIVEAND

EASYTOREMOVE,THE 3:8 IS PRETTY

HARD TO FAULT

80

%

VERDICTABUOYANT,COMFORTABLE

ANDFLEXIBLESUITWITHPOTENTIALLY

DIVISIVE CATCH PANELS

86

%

VERDICTAFLEXIBLESUITWITHA

DAZZLINGDESIGNTHATDELIVERS

A STRONG BODY POSITION

BESTON

TEST