2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

BESTON

TEST

KIT ZONE

56 / /June 2019

ELLEMENTRI

MUDDY REBEL

£130 Is thisBrittribrandwortha gander?

T

hisnewBritbrandhasjustlaunchedtheirmen’s

collectionand,whilethepaintsplashdesignwill

divideopinion,it standsoutonraceday.The

materialsusedandthepanelconstructionis bangupto

date,withchunkyinjectedpowerleggrippersthatkeep

thebandsinplace,breathableSPF50fabricanda

decent-sizedchamoispadthatdoesn’tsagontherun.

Therearenomeshsections,andthezipperopens

downtothemidriffratherthanthefullyopening

formationsthatyouseeonsuitsthatcatermorefor

ironracing.Thesinglezippedpocketacrossthe

middleofthebackis easytoaccess,andusefulfor

fittingbulkyitemslikeenergybarsinasopposedto

suitswithtwosmallersidepockets,thatwillonlyfit

a smallgelpacket.Thearmgrippersareonthesmall

sidebutdidn’tcauseanyirritation,andthefitstretched

inalltherightplaces.

Whilewe’dwantbreathablemeshpanelsforracingin

hotterlocationsandanIronman-friendlyversion,the

priceis reasonableandthesuitis builttolast.It’sa

differentpropositiontoOrca’scutting-edgeoffering,but

narrowlywinsthehead-to-headthankstotheeasyfit,

durability and appealingprice point.JSellementri.co.uk

ORCA

RS1 DREAM KONA

£249 Doesthepro-endorsedRS1haveAGappeal?

T

hisis thelatestiterationofOrca’stop-endtri-suit

aswornbyproathletessuchasformerIronman

worldchampSebastianKienle,andhasa hostof

aeroandhydrodynamicfeaturestoshavesecondsand

keepyoucomfy.Orca’sAeroSkin2materialonthefront

and3Dtexturedfabriconthesleevesandbackhavebeen

refinedinthewindtunnel,andOrcasaya vest-type

constructionstopsthesuitfromcreasinguptomake

themostoftheaerogainsonthebike.Thisalso

makesit moreflexible,whichmeansyoushouldn’t

needtorolldownthetophalfundera wetsuit.In

thewaterit feelsflexibleandwe’venoconcerns

aboutopen-waterswimrestrictionina race.

Anotherneattouchis thetwotackypadsattherear

tohelpkeepyoufixedintheaeropositiononyoursaddle.

Thelowscoopednecklinemakesfora slightlyawkward

fit,andwefeltrestrictionwhilerunningwiththezipper

fullyfastened.Unzippinga littlealleviatedthis,and

elsewherethetechyfabricmovedwithusandkeptuscool

thankstothehighlybreathablemeshsidepanels.We’d

suggesttryingbeforebuyingif youwanttosplashouton

theRS1and,if it worksforyou,thenthesuperiortech will

provide a race-day aero advantage.JS orca.com/gb

84

%

VERDICTFUNKY,FAIRPRICED

SUITTHAT’SBESTFORMIDDLE

DISTANCE AND BELOW

82

%

VERDICTTOPAERODYNAMICS

ANDFLEXIBILITY,BUTENSUREIT

FITS YOU BEFORE BUYING

men’s

sleeved

tri-suits