2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

BLUESEVENTY

REACTION

£425TheReaction’stechhasbeenaround
fora whilenow,andmuchherehastrickled
downfromBlueseventy’stop-endHelix
suit.Butthat’snobadthing,astheHelixis
a triwetsuitclassic.TheReactionlooks
fantasticoutofthebox,is leanandlight,
andthefineformcontinuesinthewater.
Thecatchpanelsofthemid-decade
Reactionhavebeenreplacedwithtextured
forearmpanels(whichaimtoenhancethe
propulsionphaseofthestroke),andthe
1.5mmshouldersproducea rangeof
flexibility.With4mmand5mmsectionsin
thechestandlegsthere’sa goodlevelof
buoyancyandwarmth,andtheirV02chest
panelgenuinelyassiststhebreathing
process.Whilethebrandtouttheirlow
collarneckline,wedidhavesomerubhere,
solubeaccordinglyandtrybeforeyoubuy.
There’salsoa winningthermalversionon
offer for off-season swims.blueseventy.co.uk

ROKAMAVERICK

COMP II

£325ThepreviousCompwonthistestback

in 2017 – althoughwhenpricedat£250– so

is thelatestworththeextraspend?Yes,yes

it is.Muchofouracclaimstemsfromthe

brand’spatentedArms-Uptech(more

thanjustcannymarketingandconsistsof

thesuitbeingconstructedwiththearms

abovetheheadforincreasedmobility)that

reallydoesproducethemostnatural

experienceofallthesuitshere.Elsewhere,

the3mmofthecoreand5mmofthelegs

shouldprovidetheoptimumblendoflift

fora widearrayofage-groupersneeding

buoyancy.It’seasiertoremovethanthe

firsteditionoftheComp,andextrafeatures

includeSCScoatinganda comfortablelow

cutneck(butnotoneattheexpenseof

wateringress).Worthnotingis thatyou’ll

struggletotrybeforebuying,butRoka’s

newUKdistributioncentremakesshipping

much easier than before.roka.com

2XU

P:2 PROPEL

£380If theDhbAeronLabontestis defined

byitsbreakawayzipper,thentheP:2Propel

herestandsoutwiththeinclusionof2mm

thickcatchpanels,somethingwethought

hadbeendispensedwithbythetrimarket

inabout2015.They’renotasrigidasthe

versionsfromyearsago,butthey’restill

likelytodivideopinion(youcanprobably

tellwe’reunconvincedofthemeritsfor

mostswimmers).Yet,elsewhere,thesuitis

hugelyimpressiveasit borrowsplentyof

techfromthetop-endPropel,including

thewaterentrapmentzoneandrollbarfor

stabilisingthebodyposition.TheP:2is also

themostbuoyantof2XU’ssuits,with

39-cellneopreneandthicknessesranging

from1.5mmtothemaximum5mm(inthe

frontofchestandlowerback)toproduce

plentyofliftintheopenwater.Upperbody

flexibilityis enhancedbythe1.5mm upper

arm construction.2xu.com/uk

90

%

VERDICTSUPERIORARMFLEXIBILITY

ANDREACHPLUSASSUREDBUOYANCY

MAKE THIS SUIT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

82

%

VERDICTCLASSYTECHWITHPLENTY OF

BUOYANCYANDFLEX,BUTWE’RE

UNCONVINCED BY THE CATCH PANELS

85

%

VERDICTTHEPRICEHASGONEUPSINCE

2017,BUTIT’STILLABUOYANTANDCOMFY

SUIT; WATCH OUT FOR THE NECK THOUGH

June 201 9 / / 65

£250500 MEN’S WETSUITS

BEST

VALUE