Assuming similar fit as I know fit really matters, what’s the best wetsuit on the market?
Looking at blueseventy helix and huub Archimedes 3:5. How do they compare? What else is outthere?
I am a 1:10 approx im non wetsuit swimmer adult onset not great technique somewhat sinking legs
Thx
Really loved the Helix but the G Range seems to be one step ahead in terms of flexibility
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Assuming similar fit as I know fit really matters, what’s the best wetsuit on the market?
Looking at blueseventy helix and huub Archimedes 3:5. How do they compare? What else is outthere?
I am a 1:10 approx im non wetsuit swimmer adult onset not great technique somewhat sinking legs
Thx
I just ordered a Archimedes 3:5, it’s a completely different suit than the Blueseventy suit. The Blueseventy suit feels thicker, good quality but just not the right fit for me.
jaretj
I tried the Hubb Aerious 4-4 last year it was insane. It was so dang buoyant I had to look ahead/lift head a bit to get my feet back in the water! Wetsuit tech has come a lonnnnnng way since the 80’s it’s crazayyy!
Assuming similar fit as I know fit really matters, what’s the best wetsuit on the market?
Looking at blueseventy helix and huub Archimedes 3:5. How do they compare? What else is outthere?
I am a 1:10 approx im non wetsuit swimmer adult onset not great technique somewhat sinking legs
Thx
I’d take a look at the ROKA suit as well. Crazy flexible and more material in the legs than the Blue70. The Helix is really for better balanced swimmers. Of the two you’ve mentioned the HUUB, if it fits, is a better match for you.
It is getting to be the time of year when wetsuit demo/test events are starting to occur. Trying on all these suits and better yet getting chance to swim in some/all of them is the best way to “suit” yourself. We are all employing materials and techniques that are affecting flexibility and buoyancy in different ways. You may even want to try out a few of the 2nd tier suits like our Reaction wetsuit. The lines are beginning to blur as technology & fit in tier 2 wetsuits chases the flagship models. Everyone is different in size, shape and swimming style so trial as many as you can!
Good luck,
Ryan Vanderloop
blueseventy
Another option is Zone 3. I fell in love with their suits after trying a multitude of other suits. Their stuff is really high quality - and their top of the line stuff rivals just about any other suit out there from what I’ve seen and heard.
Personally, I stuck with their Aspire suit - which is right in line with top tier wetsuit technology of most other suits imo.
Like Ryan with B70 said (who also make great stuff btw) - the lines are really blurring between the Top tier/tier 2 of wetsuits.
It’s also worth mentioning that some models of wetsuits work better for different types of swimmers (i.e. swimmers who need more float to correct position, swimmers who need flexibility but little float due to having great position, etc). So it’s not JUST a “this wetsuit fits best, it’ll be faster for me” type of thing.
Sorry to hijack, but is there any data on how much time a top end wetsuit will save over a basic model, assuming good fit?
There is data that shows that a top line wet suit is/was actually slower than the 2nd tier model in many wet suits.
Some of the data is for older suits, but given why they were slower I think there are still valid points as to why it may not have changed in the latest generation of wet suits.
So, not worth spending a lot of money to upgrade, then?
Depends. If you’re going from a straight 38 to a 39 or to a suit that’s mixed properly with 39/40 or even 41 then more likely yes.
When I did my initial round of wet suit testing I talked with the creators/manufacturers/designers of several of the wet suits, actually over half of the suits
The common themes were:
often the 2nd tier suit was their fastest wet suit in their internal testing.
The main reason was: arm gripper panels often made the suit slower then arms with no grippers - but gripper panels are the “cost” to play in the high end market. No grippers = a not a top line suit = not commanding a premium price.
Simple is/was often faster than fancy. Fancy zippers, fancy, cuts/designs/patterning/panels etc. Again though the cost to play in the then $500-600 range and now closer $700 range of top end wet suits requires all that fancy stuff.
IMO wet suits are like areo helmets. You need one to go faster but the difference between the right wet suit for you and the wrong wet suit for you can be minutes…over an Olympic distance race.
I always thought the gripper panels was a stupid idea. Glad to see ROKA didn’t add them to their suits
As most of the people on this forum have mentioned, it is extremely important that you are choosing the right wetsuit for your needs. Some wetsuits will fit you better than others and when deciding on a suit, one of the most important factors is that you are comfortable in the water. It doesn’t matter how “fast” a suit is if you feel constricted while swimming. There are a lot of great choices on the market, but one of the things that we (Zone3) pride ourselves on, is the natural feel our wetsuits provide while swimming. We have created a full line of award winning wetsuits that provide a lot of the benefits you may be looking for in a wetsuit. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at Daniel@zone3.us and I would be happy to speak to you a little more about our products. Good luck!
Depends. If you’re going from a straight 38 to a 39 or to a suit that’s mixed properly with 39/40 or even 41 then more likely yes.
I just want to double check: you think a 100% 41 is probably slower, not faster, for most people?
That is what I would think without testing.
I suspect a 39 or a 39/40 or a 39/41 would be faster. I’m not sure a full 41 would be faster, sometimes super flexible isn’t faster.
I meant in my post a 39+ 41 suit not a straight 41.
Assuming similar fit as I know fit really matters, what’s the best wetsuit on the market?
Looking at blueseventy helix and huub Archimedes 3:5. How do they compare? What else is outthere?
I am a 1:10 approx im non wetsuit swimmer adult onset not great technique somewhat sinking legs
Thx
I just ordered a Archimedes 3:5, it’s a completely different suit than the Blueseventy suit. The Blueseventy suit feels thicker, good quality but just not the right fit for me.
jaretj
Following up on this post:
I did a few races with my HUUB Archimedes 3:5 and it is the best full suit I’ve swam in. The only thing that had been comparable was my older Aquaman Bionik.
The sleeves are thinner than any other wetsuit I’ve had, seems more like 2mm and not 3mm which I really liked. There was no restriction in the shoulder area and the back didn’t pucker up on me like my Xterra Vortex 3 did.
The end of the sleeves are thin/stretchy and came off over my Garmin 310 and my hands very easily. The legs came off of my feet easily too.
Now this is coming from a person that has never liked a full suit ever. This has become my favorite suit and I’d recommend it to anyone that it fits.
jaretj