2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

72 / /June 2019

KIT ZONE

ZONE3

VA P O U R

£42.50TheZone3Vapoursareaninstant

visualhit,withsomeneatTimDon-

themedgraphicsandanattractive

colourscheme.Thegoodtimescontinuein

thewater,withthephotochromaticlenses

adaptingtoa varietyoflightconditionsin

theMallorcanmorningsunlight(and

indoorsif youwearopen-watergogglesin

thepool)andreducingglare.Thesizeable

siliconegasketsaresoftandlargelyprevent

gogglemarksaroundtheeyes,andthey

alsoprovidea sealthatstaysleak-free.The

peripheralvisionis impressiveandthey

optfora buttonmechanismfortightening

thesplitstraps.Althoughnotasheavyas

theHuub,the54gweightputsthematthe

higherendhereandtheycanfeelheavyat

thelaterendofenduranceswims.You’ll

alsowanttoforkoutanextratennerfor

Zone3’sprotectivecaseasthelenses can be

prone to scratching.zone3.com

86

%

VERDICTSTYLISH,SECUREANDSOFT

ONTHEEYES.BUTALITTLEBULK YFOR

THOSE WANTING HYDRODYNAMIC GAINS

ROKAR1

AMBERMIRROR

£35ComparedtotheZone3andHuub

especially,theRokaR1AmberMirrorsare

likea poolandopen-watergogglehybrid,

witha hydrodynamicdesign,leanweight

(38g)andrelativelylimitedgasketcoverage

thatsitsclosetotheeyes.Thelatterwon’t

pleasethoselookingforendurancecomfort

overswimspeed(andwedohaveconcerns

ofthembeingknockedoffinthewashing

machineofraceday),butthisisthepairon

testthatshouldpleasethepointy-end

speedstersoutthere.Thekeyfeatureis a

patented‘retroscopic’lensangle,andthis

providesa widerangeofvisionforsucha

minimalistpairofgoggles.Wedidhave

someinitialfoggingona bracingClevedon

MarineLakeswimandtheadjustmentclip

is fairlybasicfortheprice,butelsewhere

wehavefewconcernsaboutthedurability

ofthenosebridgeandthesplitstraps

enhance both fit and comfort.roka.com

88

%

VERDICTALEAN,LIGHTAND

HYDRODYNAMICPAIRTHAT’LLAPPEAL

TO THE SWIM SPEEDSTERS OUT THERE

SPEEDOAQUA

PULSEMAX 2

£33Speedois possiblythemostfamous

swimmingbrandname,butitstriathlon

focushaslongbeenintermittent(despite

creatingoneofthefirstmassproduced

tri-suits,theAquablade,inthe90s).Their

new 2019 wetsuitsandtri-suitshave

alreadyimpressedourkittestersin

previousissues,butthey’vecomeunstuck

withtheAquapulseMax2 Mirror.Unstuck

is theoperativewordhere,astheIQfit3D

gogglesealpossesseslittlesuctionand,for

a numberoftesters,produceda highlevel

ofwaterintrusion.Whichis a shameas,

whenfreeofwater,there’sa decentrange

ofperipheralvisionduetothewidelenses,

whilethemirroredlensesimpressively

reduceanyglare.Thenumberedtensioning

scaleonthestrapsis a neattouchbutwe

wouldprefera splitstrapsystemandthe

gasketsarealsoa littlefirmcompared to

others on test.speedo.com

58

%

VERDICTADECENTWIDER ANGEOF

VISION,BUTTHERE’SNOGETTINGAWAY

FROM THE LACK OF A GASKET SEAL