HUUB wetsuit review

This morning's swim showed how much a HUUB wetsuit can flatter your ability. For the last week I've been swimming in Spain wearing an ex-demo Grade D HUUB Aerious Wetsuit 3:5 and felt pleased with my improving performance. This morning I was back in the pool in my trunks for 45 minutes and took a huge step back in speed and style!

I know it's well accepted that a wetsuit makes most swimmers faster but although my Alpkit Silvertip keeps me warm, I've not found it to be an obvious performance enhancer.

For the Spanish trip I bought a three different wetsuits and sent two back, keeping the HUUB. At an 'ST' size it felt tight, hard to get on, but flexible around my shoulders and not too loose around my waist. It was partly due to this fitting that I decided one of the others was too big for me. It was just too easy to get on straight from the packet.

An ex-demo wetsuit seemed like a good idea for a swimming holiday as I rightly assumed that it would get stuffed in the back of a van and taken on and off in a bit of a rush. Over 5 days I put it on 8 times, half of those whilst it was wet inside.

HUUB's statement about grading

I actually liked the idea of the wetsuit looking a little tired, to help get away from the 'all the gear, no idea' image that a set of new, top of the range kit can give. Peeling print certainly won't detract from usefulness.

Some graphic missing on the right leg

Signs of damage

On inspection I found a repair under both armpits which appeared to have been glued. I made an effort to get the sleeves well up my arms and the torso well-fitted to avoid unnecessary underarm tension. This give me good shoulder mobility and the repairs didn't show any sign of failure during the week.

The forearms had lengths where the overlock stitching was undoing itself. I contemplated a DIY repair to stop further unravelling but didn't know how to do it well so decided to leave it alone.

Midway through the holiday, the right forearm seam split at the affected area. This increased the water flow through the suit by a surprising amount. Luckily the water wasn't especially cold and I only had to suffer comments from my fellow swimmers about the 'hole'.

Whilst away, I emailed HUUB and they agreed to undertake a repair under the 30 day warranty which is fair. I'll post a photo of the outcome.

Wear 'n' tear

During the week I spotted a few places where fingernails had caught the soft neoprene. I can't honestly say whether they were caused by me or pre-existing. I suspect in some cases they were mine, as although I'm a careful user, a damp wetsuit is hard to get fitted without a degree of tugging.

The neoprene bulk fabric  and surface coating are both softer and more 'delicate' in feel than that of the Silvertip and must be more liable to damage.

Although I could have hired a wetsuit at least I wasn't concerned about a deposit on this bargain wetsuit.

Swimming

I suppose that this is the key aspect of a wetsuit and as can be assumed from the beginning of this post I was very pleased with the wetsuit. The 3:5 buoyancy helped my body position markedly and for most of the swims I left my legs trailing rather than expending energy to move them.

I don't know if the X-O 'exoskeleton' feature really does anything but I did feel well aligned and gradually settled into an effective rhythm with good-for-me pace and stroke length.  There was little flow of water around me, even with a torn sleeve and I was pleasantly warm. The water was mild at between 19°C and 24°C, but usually I get cold in a 28°C pool so I consider the insulation to have been spot on.

From this relatively low cost introduction to quality wetsuits I can appreciate the performance benefit that the manufacturers claim. An ex-demo entry, to last season's model, saved money, and to a large degree, worry about looking after the wetsuit. Perhaps an A or B grade would be a sensible purchase for normal use where more care can be taken of the wetsuit but even with cropped nails, I imagine damage is inevitable.

For me, this suit has plenty of life left and I'll tidy up any nicks in this suit with Black Witch when I get it back from HUUB ready for next summer...

Orca Two Piece Swimrun Wetsuit - first impressions review

I'm wanting a less warm wetsuit than my Alpkit Silvertip for some mild weather swimming as over summer the Silvertip has been  a touch too comfortable. Being fairly substantial it's also quite firm around the shoulders and the gains of buoyancy are offset by stiffness around my arms.

Although there are a myriad of high performance triathlon-focussed wetsuits out there I wondered if a Swimrun one might be more appropriate. First, I'm more likely to do a Swimrun event than need a marginal speed gain in a swimming race and secondly the features such as pockets and land-based ventilation seem pretty useful for general holiday swimming use.

From Orca's website

It seemed useful to be able to order the two parts in appropriate sizes too as I'm in the small-tall category which isn't very well catered for by the majority of manufacturers. I ordered an MT top and #5 bottom from MyTriathlon who delivered promptly. So what do I think of the product?

I must stay now that I haven't worn the wetsuit in action and intend to return it very soon. It is a pity that you can't send slightly used wetsuits back to the shop! On the positive side, the sizing table and the product seem to be accurate as both parts fitted as I'd expect. I was slightly disappointed by the 'features' or maybe quality of the wetsuit as both pieces are made of fairly thin neoprene lacking in a smooth skin. Perhaps this is to reduce the risk of damage but it gives the impression of a cheap beachwear shorty wetsuit rather than a midrange performance wetsuit. The bottom piece feels to be better quality material than the top and is stated to be Yamamoto 39 cell neoprene. Although the promotional material mentions 'buoyancy in the lower trunk' I can't imagine much of this deriving from the bottom as the material is only 3mm thick.

The pockets on both pieces are made from a light mesh and are 'closed' by virtue of the upper piece overlapping the lower. I can see that this would be adequate for a light, low value item such as a nutrition bar but I wouldn't trust the pockets with my house key or a GPS device. I understand that zips add complexity and areas of weakness but this design doesn't feel quite enough. The overlap closure also stops a large item, such as  hand paddle being fitted into the pocket.

These points are perhaps niggling but there were two aspects which are the ones that are causing me not to keep the wetsuit, although neither can be fully evaluated without going for a swim! The two pieces are designed to be joined by 3 substantial pieces of velcro that adhere to the lining of the top. I didn't want to take the protective cover from the velcro to test the link thoroughly but I got a very clear impression that due to my tall body I would tend to pull the sections apart on every stroke. Of course, a stretch along the body is common to all of us and a traditional wetsuit would stretch and gradually adapt to the swimmer's shape, but I wasn't convinced of the adequacy of the connection here and suspected that I'd end up with a lot of cooling water flow around my body.

The second problem was that the relatively thick neoprene of the top bunched under my armpit and didn't feel to be as elastic as even that of my fairly budget wetsuit. I really could imagine chaffing early in a swim.

I liked the jacket style of the top and can see the concept of a two piece working well especially in a warm climate with a significant proportion of running. Indeed the design is fine for the casual beach use I mentioned above.  However I don't think this product is for me at the moment as I'm wanting something that gives a greater impression of stopping waterflow and more focus on the swimming component. For me, the near £200 price is a little high for this product. For serious swimming I'd like to see some of the neoprene technology of the £300 Orca 'Openwater' two piece or, for general holiday use, a lower price.

Hatfield and Silvertip

At the end of last week I visited the new Alpkit shop in Hathersage to get an opinion of which size to chose of their Silvertip wetsuit. I'd had both a Medium and a Medium Tall sent in the post and felt that the Tall version suited me best. Ben in the shop agreed and so I left with a nice refund.

Today was the wetsuit's first test and the start of my new season and I went along to Doncaster where I first dipped my toes in last year. The water at Hatfield today was measured at 11.7°C which really did take my breath away as it crept through the zip. I had to do head-out breast stroke for quite a few minutes to settle my breathing and get used to the water, then a few face down strokes with eyes closed and eventually managed to get going. Once settled in I was content working around the small novice circuit at a steady (or slow?) pace. After 4 proper laps I could tell that my hands were getting stiff and the cold starting to penetrate deeply so called it a day.

Getting changed was the usual struggle of cold, stiffness and eventually shivers but I didn't take too long to reach the cafe for a hot drink. I was one of the first out of the water although a few of the others around me had certainly felt the cold!