” Criteria „

My old wetsuit, a Zone3 Aspire, has served me well, but I’ve lost some weight and it does not fit me as snug as it should.

It still works, but sometimes lets in water in by my neck and this is not good when going into cold waters.

So in January, this year, I checked around to see which wetsuit I would use during my Norseman.

Criteria would be:

• Fit my body type
• Keep me warm
• Keep my legs from sinking and keep overall buoyancy

I’m not a good swimmer and tend to have sinking legs, causing drag.

Since I’m a thin person I also get really cold quickly.

Buying a swimsuits biggest priority: it should fit.

And if it does not fit, you are wasting your money.

Many brands just supply the small, medium, large.

And let’s face it, there are many types between these set sizes.

” Zone3 Victory „

So my primary brand became Zone3 and mainly because all the different sizes they have in their range.

And the model became Zone 3 Victory as this model looked on paper that it would fit all my criteria.

I immediately started looking around for a retailer, however, there were none that stocked the flagship model Zone3 Victory.

I think it has to do because of the price, as this model is very pricey!

Since no one stocked it, I did not know if it would fill my criteria in real life performance..

So in January I came in contact with some people that pointed my towards Trispot Stockholm.

A conversation sparked with 2 guys, Victor and Peter, which runs Trispot.

We discussed my goals and physique and decided that Victory would be a perfect wetsuit for me, and that my size would be Small Tall.

Not finalizing anything with Trispot, I tested other swimsuits, both Zone3 and other brands like Orca, Mako and Huub.

While some were a good fit, they did not perform in the water as I would want.

” Holy Cow „

So a continued dialog with Trispot resulted in a delivery yesterday.

A cool Zone3 Victory arrived with DHL for me to try out!

I immediately took it for a spin, a shy 900m easy swim in a pool.

First impressions was holy cow!

Right of the bat the wetsuit pulled my body together so my usually banana formed body became straight.

My legs stayed up and my usual 2 kicks to keep them up was not longer needed.

Apart from the above, it looks really great. And hey, If you are not the best, you can at least look good 😉

Although, my wife said I looked like a dork but I think she is envious!

If I was to compare it to other wetsuits:

The Zone3 Vanquish is remodeled with latest innovations (every brands always boasting something, zone3 is of course doing the same). But I felt there was a huge difference between these two. Vanquish was more rugged in the texture of the feel. While Victory feels more like a second smooth skin. Vanquish did not help with my sinking legs, Victory does.

The Mako I tried was very thin and for a good swimmer it might be better, but for me it really did nothing except feeling like an extra layer of tight clothes.

A big thanks to Trispot for supplying me with this wetsuit that will help me on my goal to conquer Norseman!