Mako Wetsuits

So Wetsuits. I have been mentioning them for the last couple of days and so now it is time to actually talk about them.

The reason I was down at Coogee Beach on Friday morning was to try out a new wetsuit. The wetsuit is this.

This is a Mako wetsuit and I am really, really happy to announce that they have agreed to support me with swim gear through the coming Triathlon season. Mako is a French brand that has been making a good name for itself over in Europe for a few years now, but doesn't have a huge presence in Australia. That is in the process of changing. As well as wetsuits they do bathers, goggles, trisuits and are working on a swimskin.

The Mako suit I am wearing is the Mako B-First, which is Mako's neutral buoyancy wetsuit, but they do a full range of products. They have the X-Treme which is very similar to the B-First but super buoyant, the X-Perience which is their entry level suit and the N-Joy which is bit cheaper than the B-First and the X-Treme but still gets a lot of their features.

I have only had one swim in the B-First so far, but I was very happy with what I found. Super flexi neoprene around the shoulders and arms. Just the right level of buoyancy through the hips and upper legs to help maintain that neutral body position. A reverse zip which is a feature I have had before and have been missing. Comfortable, low cut neck to avoid chafe. Fast surfaces across the chest and legs, grippers on the forearms. Fast stuff and a suit that has clearly been well thought out.

The buoyany thing in particular is impressive. People tend to think of buoyancy as something you can't have enough of. That leads a lot of suit manufacturers to simply pile the neoprene on up to the legal limits in an effort to make them floatier. However, if you are somebody who comes from a swimming background you often find that suits are too buoyant. You don't need that much assistance with your body position in the water and so some suits make you feel like you are swimming along with your legs pointing straight up due to the amount of neoprene wrapped around them. Manufacturers are starting to figure this out, but finding a good neutrally buoyant suit is still not that easy. That is one of the things that makes the B-First so good.

Of course the best manufacturers cater to both kinds of wetsuit users. Those that don't want too much buoyancy and those that do. This is why Mako produces both the B-First and the X-Treme. Both top end suits with buoyancy being the only real difference. To me that is always an indication that a brand understands the requirements of the average triathlete.

All these are reasons that I am really happy to be associated with Mako this season and why I am very keen to get this suit (and the rest of their products) out on the race course and get racing in them.