CONTROLS


Before and after testing the wetsuits, the tester did a control trial with no wetsuit under test conditions. We also tested an Orca Predator wetsuit dating back to about 2001 and raced in for nine years (at least it’s durable). The Predator was a top-of- the-range suit in its time but was notably less fl exible than the modern suits and, despite a tight fi t, suffered signifi cant water ingress during the swim, so you could feel the water sloshing around between the suit and skin. Interestingly the stroke count also rocketed, but this may also have been due to fatigue.


No wetsuit – Before Fastest time


1500m equivalent Total strokes


No wetsuit – After Fastest time


1500m equivalent Total strokes


Orca Predator Fastest time


1500m equivalent Time saved Total strokes


3:02.1


21:04.6 188


3:04.7 21:22.6 202


2:48.3 19:28.7 1:35.8 191


WIN THIS WETSUIT! SEE PAGE 27


XTERRA VECTOR PRO X2 Price: £400 Available from: xterrawetsuits.com Fastest time: 2:44.1 1.5km equivalent: 18:59.6 Time saved over 1.5km: 2:05.0 Time saved in s/£: 0.31 Total strokes: 183


The Vector Pro X2 scored highly on comfort and buoyancy. In fact, swimmers who already have a good body position in the water might fi nd it too buoyant, but those whose legs sink will probably welcome it. It’s fast too, despite it not being Xterra’s top-of- the-range model (that’s the £525 Vendetta). The suit felt generously cut compared to some other models. This helped comfort and ease of putting on, but did result in some water ingress and pooling around the back. Those looking at buying or renting one might want to test a size smaller than normal. With the discounts currently available, the suit looks good value for money.


49


Easiest to put on


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