Apex Flex Mens Triathlon Wetsuit V2

The Orca Apex Flex Mens Triathlon Wetsuit V2 is the most flexible wetsuit Orca makes. It is a full-sleeve Yamamoto neoprene suit with low buoyancy, built for swimmers whose stroke is already settled and who want a suit that moves with them from the first buoy to the last.

Who it's for

Triathletes and open water swimmers with a swimming background. If you hold a flat body position in the pool without a pull buoy, you do not need a suit to lift your legs. You need one that lets you swim the way you train. Take this one to Noosa, Busselton or Mooloolaba and race your own stroke.

If your legs sink when you tire, the Apex Float is the suit in the range built to lift them.

Buoyancy and flexibility

The shoulders and arms combine Orca's Yamamoto 44+ and 0.88 Free materials, the stretchiest in the range, with a lining that carries bamboo fibres. The V2 adds a new shoulder pattern, Dynamic Shoulder Fit, which takes tension out of the shoulder and underarm panels, and the printed graphics have come off the shoulders because ink stiffens neoprene.

Buoyancy is low and neutral. The suit holds you where your own technique puts you. Through the torso and back, a compressive lining keeps the suit tight to your body so water does not flush through, and the Nano Ice SCS surface cuts friction as you move through the water.

Zip and transition

The zip is short and reversed, a narrow YKK reverse coil that leaves more stretch in the back panel and gives your lower back room to move when you kick. Hydrophobic Hydrolite panels at the arms and legs help the suit slide off over wrists and heels, which saves seconds in T1. The laser-cut neck seals against your skin without chafing.

What comes with it

A mesh backpack for carrying and storing the suit, and a pair of fabric gloves. Wear the gloves every time you pull the suit on: they keep your fingernails off the neoprene.

Getting the size right

Orca sizes by chest, height and weight together:

• 4: chest 85–91 cm, height 157–170 cm, weight 55–61 kg
• 5: chest 90–95 cm, height 162–172 cm, weight 61–66 kg
• 6: chest 95–99 cm, height 167–175 cm, weight 67–74 kg
• 6T: chest 95–99 cm, height 177–188 cm, weight 68–76 kg
• 7: chest 98–104 cm, height 173–185 cm, weight 75–82 kg
• 8: chest 104–108 cm, height 180–188 cm, weight 82–89 kg
• 9: chest 108–113 cm, height 185–193 cm, weight 89–97 kg
• 10: chest 114–124 cm, height 190–196 cm, weight 98–106 kg
• 11: chest 123–134 cm, height 193–200 cm, weight 107 kg and over

The 6T is the tall cut of the 6, for a lean swimmer with a long body. On dry land the suit should feel snug everywhere, with no slack at the lower back or behind the knees. Take your time getting it on, work the legs up high before you start on the arms, and it frees up the moment you start swimming.

Water temperature range

This is a full-length, full-sleeve suit for the water most Australian triathlons are swum in, from early-season races in the southern states to winter training swims in Queensland. The titanium-coated lining in the 0.88 Free panels holds warmth in.

Looking after neoprene

Rinse the suit in plenty of fresh water after every swim; a little pH-neutral soap is fine if you rinse it out. Dry it in the shade or somewhere airy indoors, out of direct sun. Store it folded over a hanger at the waist, and never hang it by the shoulders: the shoulder panels are the most elastic part of the suit and the first to stretch out of shape.