I’m not a fan of reading 10 page reviews, so will keep this short and sweet…
When pulling this suit out of the box for the first time, I was immediately struck by the panel design - which is unlike any other suits that I have tried (Orca alpha, TYR Cat 5 and 2x1 V:1 to name a few) and its fierce, bold look. Needless to say, I was excited to give it a try yesterday…
It was a hot day in the northeast and its never easy squeezing into a suit with a warm sticky body. Through the squirming and pulling, the following was clear: This is an extremely well built suit. The seems are solid and neoprene can take a lot of stress without ripping. I have put my fingers though enough suits and was pleased to see how well this one held up.
Upon entering the high 60 degree lake, I was well insulated and ready to go. The 4:4 model provides even buoyancy as advertised- never have I felt this balanced and natural in a wetsuit… problem 1 - solved. The low neck and stretchy, flexible shoulders again set this suit apart – along with the red (blazing) bicep release panels, I did not feel like the suit was restricting me or altering my pool born stroke at all… problem 2 - solved.
Now to the tape – over a 30min open water swim, I was averaging a 1:18 pace at a 75-80%ish speed (on garmin 910xt). The suit feels fast and is fast. This was ~5 seconds faster/100 than the same swim on Saturday in one of the other wetsuits above.
My only compliant is that the wrists are on the tight side, which made it tough to get the arms and shoulders set; however, when not even an ounce of water was caught in either arm during the 30 minutes, I was not complaining. Its a diversion from other suits, but maybe a needed one.
Overall — without question - this is the suit to beat. The features and flexibility are unmatched and I’d bet other companies will be modeling future designs after this one.