You may think it's odd to publish a wetsuit test in October, and to some extent, you are right! However, with most of the triathlon retailers looking to off-load their 2008 stock, often at a significant discount, there are some fantastic bargains to be had. And, if you are going to get a bargain, you may as well look for the best you can buy.

A tale of two suits

Last year (2007), Tri247 conducted extensive tests of the top-end wetsuits from all the leading suppliers and came to a somewhat odd conclusion: we simply couldn't tell the best two suits apart from one another! After all the numbers were in there was simply no discernible difference between the blueseventy Helix and 2XU's E:1 Elite in any of the tests that we carried out. But that was then...

One year and a full season of racing later we've gone back to those two suppliers and looked at their new models to see if we can find a clear winner.

2XU V:1 Velocity

2XUs Elite suit has been relegated to second place in their range for 2008 and the new top-of-the-line suit is the V:1 Velocity which we saw pre-production versions of at the end of 2007. Immediately you look at the suit you can see that it's different from its predecessors. The front of the torso is now grooved (called 'straking'), there are some radical catch panels on the forearms and also on the back of the calves. It is, without doubt, a suit that stands out in the crowd and proclaims its differences.

Unlike the ill-conceived Zoot suit from last year where the grooves were as a result of different neoprene thickness and resulted in water pockets forming on the inside, the grooves on the V1 are there to channel water and streamline the flow. There's a definite sensation, according to our testers at least, that this seems to work but it's not by any means clear that this improves the speed of the suit through the water.

Equally, the catch panels on the forearms have a significant feedback and the testers felt that they were working as advertised. However, the production suit differed from the prototype we saw last year and instead of having the ribbing bonded to the regular neoprene of the arms the suits now have a completely different material in the forearm which seems to be slightly water-permeable. The resulting feedback is that you do get an improved catch because of the ribbing but that you also get a different sensation as the water interacts differently with the material.

Quite what the propulsion panels on the leg do is something that still isn't entirely clear. Given that most triathletes have a leg kick which is minimal at the best of times and almost non-existent when wearing a wetsuit it's hard to see just how much this contributes to the overall effect. And, given that the part which is claimed to be doing the work is on the back of the calves and, therefore, is pretty much out of the water for most of the cycle it's hard to even understand the science. Certainly neither of the testers made any comment on the effectiveness, or otherwise, of this aspect of the suit.

Blueseventy Helix TST

When the Helix first came out it was one of those designs that seemed to be capable of living up to its claims. The concept of de-coupling the arms from the body by using a wrap-round insert of a different neoprene material made sense and testing bore out the claims beyond any question. In last year's tests it could only be equalled, never bettered.

For 2008 the Helix got a subtle upgrade in the wrap-round section with a newer material that was claimed to offer even better flexibility. And, on the basis of a long-term test throughout the 2008 season, that claim seems to have been borne out. It is better fitting and more flexible than its predecessor and, as a result, is more comfortable over longer distances. All the good things about the suit have been made better and nothing un-necessary has been added to compromise the design.

Which sort of begs the question: "what's the point of all the extra bits on the 2XU V1?"...

Long-term tests

The first of our two testers swam both suits throughout the season, both in training and in racing. The 2XU V1 stood out for several reasons during this period, sadly not all of them entirely positive. The first observation was that the suit 'felt' faster, especially when it was new. This is partly down to the silicone coating which makes the suit extra slippery but, as time passes, it tends to wear off. You'll definitely get faster times with a new suit than with an older one because of this. The second observation was that both the catch panels and the 'straking' gave an immediate and completely different 'feel' to the suit while swimming. Even if the performance improvement was only marginal compared to last year's suit - and the V1 is undoubtedly quicker than the E1 - the main impact is the difference in 'feel'. Of course, feeling like you are swimming faster often makes you swim faster as well - drafting in the swim is legal and has both a physical and a psychological component.

So, if the V:1 is a suit that feels good and swims well what possible downside is there? Over the course of a season our swimmers probably put 2-3 years worth of regular swimming into a suit - three and sometimes four swims sessions a week from late April to late September in a wetsuit that's designed for elite racing use does tend to accelerate the wear... We noticed it last year and again this year: the top end suits are simply not as durable as the cheaper ones. You probably wouldn't train all winter on your race bike - it's the same for neoprene.

On the other hand, both last year's and this year's blueseventy suits have stood up to just as intensive a battering and don't seem to have suffered in quite the same way. In terms of durability the blueseventy suits seem to have the edge, something that won't matter if you replace your suit each year (or get given a new one...), but something to bear in mind. Perhaps it really is worth having a cheaper training suit as a back-up.

And, in terms of sheer fit and comfort while swimming, the blueseventy is still in a class of its own. The longer the swim the more this becomes apparent; shoulder fatique is reduced, there's less chafing and the whole process seems to have taken significantly less effort.

However, for the first of our two testers there was still no overall clear winner in terms of speed. In the main this is due to the fact that the tester was focussed on ironman-distance swimming and the initial speed advantage of the 2XU suit becomes lessened over the longer distances as the better flexibility of the blueseventy takes over. That said, in an Ironman race early in the season the 2XU suit delivered a personal best over the 3.8k...

So, to balance things out we brought in a second tester to give both the suits a caning over a shorter distance and provide a different perspective.

Short distance tests

The Summer (ha!), of 2008 will go down as a period where pretty much nothing went to plan and, as a result the swim-off between the two suits was delayed on several occasions. The morning of the test we all rocked up at Liquid Leisure and, within an hour, the whole lake was fog-bound... Still, we did manage to get the 2XU suit tested round the measured 750m course.

Here's what Jo thought about the suit:

Fit: Good. Personally I don't like wetsuit sleeves being that long but in this instance I'd guess it's a necesssity due to the panels on the forearms. Everywhere else it appeared to fit well. The neck was comfortable at the front but I had to stop and adjust the velcro (during warm up) to stop it taking a chunk out of my neck.

Function: Movement round the shoulders was fantastic compared to the wetsuit I'm used to (C:1). I can't say I felt much quicker but certainly the fatigue level around the shoulders was significantly reduced. The wetsuit put me in a good postion in the water. As for feel for the water I actually didn't feel my feel for the water was good at all in this suit. I'd be interested in trying the suit again after swimming in a different wetsuit to see if there is any difference given my preference for skins.

Durability: When putting the suit on the thinner shoulder panels did feel a little vulnerable. I guess ultimately this suit is designed to be worn in races only and may not be strong enough to withstand wearing week in week out which, at its price tag, could be an issue for some people.

We did time the suit over the 750m loop and the numbers came in as 11:57.

The following week we re-assembled the team and repeated the test with the blueseventy suit. Here's what Jo had to say about the Helix TST:

Three words ... I want one! Very impressed, by far the most comfortable wetsuit I've ever worn so far.

Fit: Easy to get on although the upside-down zip makes doing it up yourself impossible. I initially thought the sleeves would be too long but actually once in the water it was very comfortable. Fitted very well indeed. The neck felt more comfortable than the V:1.

Function: Felt very buoyant. The movement round the shoulders was similar to the V1 but the underwater phase felt more comfortable in the Helix. I don't really know why this would be - could just be I was having a better day, I suppose. Certainly the underwater phase felt much more effective than it does when I'm wearing my C1.

Durability: The suit went on nice and easily so I didn't feel I was putting any strain on it. Felt more robust than the V:1.

Oh, and the time for the lap was 11:42... But, please bear in mind that this was on a different day and under different climatic conditions so they cannot strictly be taken as a direct comparison.

Conclusion

As has often been said before on these pages, there's far more to buying a wetsuit that just the headline numbers. Last year we could scarcely distinguish between the top two suits but, a year later, the 2008 derivatives do seem to have clearly set themselves apart. Both are fantastic examples of what you can do with neoprene but it does seem that the blueseventy Helix TST has now just edged in front of the radical 2XU V:1. Offered either you wouldn't turn them down but, given you get a proper fit with both, the smart money does now indicate that the Helix TST is the preferred suit.

What's even more remarkable is that the technology from both of the 2007 suits is still alive and well in both supplier's ranges. So if your budget isn't going to stretch to the top-of-the-range models you can still get the E:1 Elite suit while blueseventy's Synergie is, in almost every detail, a re-incarnation of the original Helix.