Zone3 Aspire Wetsuit

Like so many things designed to make human life easier, wetsuits are not normally great for the environment. Made from Neoprene – a synthetic rubber made from oil – they don’t degrade and end up in landfill adding to an ever-increasing problem for the planet. This one from Aspire uses materials from Yamamoto that make it far more eco-friendly than your regular oil-based neoprene wetsuit.

Made from a limestone base, it’s more efficient at what it does and lasts 2-3 times longer. The manufacturing process is less intense so we end up with less energy being used to make it in the first place and less need to replace on such a regular basis, cutting down on the landfill issue. So, although there is plenty distance to go yet in making wetsuits completely environmentally friendly, this certainly helps pave the way.

As for the job it’s designed for? Well, it has 30% more buoyancy than standard wetsuits due to air pockets built in between fabric layers and because of the limestone base, the cell structure is more efficient, aiding buoyancy even further. It’s also very good at stretching to accommodate your movement with 7x more stretch than a regular wetsuit, making this thing really comfortable and not restrictive at all, no matter what you’re doing in the water. They’ve also added a Super Composite Skin Nano layer (the technology basically means micropores are filled, making for a much smoother surface) reducing the drag coefficient to 0.021 in the wet compared to 4.0 for regular neoprene. For those that are serious about their speed, this can make a massive difference so it’s well worth the investment if you’re being competitive. As well as that, the cuffs have been designed to remove the wetsuit quickly and efficiently so for those Iron Man racers out there, you’ve got even more of a competitive edge. RRP £375

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