New Zoot Kona 2.0 for 280 US
Used Zoot Prophet 2.0 (good condition apparently) for 130 US
I am 6’2" and 165 lb so would probably get the Kona in MT, whereas the Prophet is size M.
For a bit of context (in case it is relevant):
I have never swum in a wetsuit in my life.
Did my first Olympic triathlon this past September. It was not wetsuit legal (Montreal) and swam around 27 min (total time was 2:10). Definitely hoping to improve my swim this year and am planning to do 3 Olympics and a 70.3.
Any thoughts on which you would recommend? Is the tech a lot better in the newer suit? Is the possibly slightly more accurate sizing important?
Or should I be considering a different option altogether?
Every wetsuit is constructed differently, sized a bit different etc.
What I would recommend is borrowing several different suits from your friends, going to a shop that carries 2-3 brands and trying on different suits.
There is nothing inherently wrong with those suits just as there is nothing inherently correct about those suits that makes them better/worse than other brands.
Buy the suit that fits you and your swimming style the best
The issue is that I don’t have friends who do triathlon who are the same dimensions as me, and the closest store that sells Zoot wetsuits is a 3 hour drive away…so it seems like I am going to have to make this decision a bit blind…
The Prophet 2.0 at this point is 3 design iterations old. The newest top of the line Zoot suit is the Wiki Wiki 3.0. So the Kona 2.0 is going to be almost identical in design to the Wiki but with just different quality Yamamoto rubber. The Prophet was a great suit 4 years ago but the newer suits are superior and I would suggest going with the Kona 2.0. You are tall and thin I would say the Medium/Tall would be your size. I’m 5’10", 160 and I get their Small/Tall which fits great.
I did not love the Prophet suits. The cut just didn’t suit me. I don’t think Zoot ever really got the Prophet right. I think it was a good suit, but not a great suit.
I never swam in the Kona, BUT that was the same cut as the Zoot suits that I loved. Looking purely at the patterns - and with a lot of history to help understand how patterns correlate to fit, I’d unquestionably choose the Kona.
I am leaning toward spending the extra money for the Kona model though I am a bit disappointed that it is not actually the same design as their top of the line model - just with cheaper materials…
I am leaning toward spending the extra money for the Kona model though I am a bit disappointed that it is not actually the same design as their top of the line model - just with cheaper materials…
I’ll message you a 30% of one time use discount code you can use to buy the Kona.
I am leaning toward spending the extra money for the Kona model though I am a bit disappointed that it is not actually the same design as their top of the line model - just with cheaper materials…
Don’t actually be disappointed by this. Certain features only work with extremely thin rubber. I.e., the WikiWiki has extremely thin sleeves. Translating that pattern 1:1 to thicker rubber would result in a poor fitting suit.
The Zoot Conduit - which is what I ended up choosing over the Prophet - is a case in point. It’s much closer to the Kona pattern than the WikiWiki pattern, which is why I think you’ll like it. This pattern is also used by the bolt, and it’s very close. It’s got the “inverted Y” design, which I think is just a fundamentally good design - narrow thick panel under the chest that "Y"s around the hips. And then the ribbed - which is a classic going back to Dan & QR - rubber to provide stretch.
I am still skeptical of the superthin sleeved suits. I prefer a more traditional wetsuit. Superthin sleeves have always - to me - felt like a compromise around pattern making. Great suits should not need super think sleeves. And there’s an argument you don’t even want them. Those super thin sleeves are way less buoyant and have less surface area.
The Kona is a classic pattern. I’d be confident in it. You would not want, IMO, the Wiki pattern with thick rubber.
