Triathlon is a demanding sport that tests the endurance of athletes across three different disciplines, swimming, cycling and running. The unique demands of triathlon require specific equipment to ensure comfort and performance, one of those key pieces of equipment is clothing, more specifically, the Triathlon Suit. In this guide we will outline the best tri-suits for men and women, and how you can pick a suit that will optimise your performance for your next triathlon race.
Key Features of the Best Mens and Womens Triathlon Suits
There are many things to consider when purchasing a tri-suit, particularly when looking for one that will improve/optimise your performance. The best tri suits will often have a combination of features such as quick drying fabrics, aerodynamic design, comfort/fit and much more. It’s important to make sure that the tri suit you are purchasing ticks a number of these boxes.
Quick Drying Fabrics
Quick drying fabrics are crucial in a high end triathlon suit, and is perhaps one of the most important features to look at. Having a suit with these types of fabrics will mean the suit will dry relatively quickly following the swim, the upside of this being that you reduce discomfort, and the likelihood of chafing from your clothing being wet.
Aerodynamic Design
For the cycling leg of the triathlon it is important that the suit has an aerodynamic design and also incorporates materials that are aero optimised. Usually the bike leg is the longest leg of a triathlon, and as such, any aerodynamic gains that are made here can result in minutes of time savings. Specific things to look at for aero material are textured or ridged fabrics, most often located on the sleeves, this helps to trip the air flow going around your arms, ultimately reducing the aerodynamic drag. Across the entire Velotec tri range, our suits use these aero specific materials in order to create the best performing triathlon suits.
Design and Comfort
Not to be underestimated is the fit and comfort of the suit, this can sometimes be overlooked. The demands of a triathlon mean that some races can be well over 10 hours long, as such comfort is probably the most important thing to consider. The issue these days is that most purchases are made online, and it can be hard to select the right size or determine whether a suit is comfortable. Hence it is important to select a suit or brand that either has retail stores or a very flexible returns policy. At Velotec we offer both our physical store in Girona Spain, and a flexible returns policy.
Breathability
Depending on the conditions of the race it can also be important to consider a suit with good breathability. For races that take place in the middle of summer or in really hot locations such as Kona in Hawaii it is important to have a suit with breathability. The gains that an aero suit makes could all be undone if using a suit that is not breathable, core body temperature overheating can be disastrous to performance and in severe cases could have you not even making the finish line.
Chamois/Pad
The padding or chamois is the main connection between yourself and the bike. As such this is also an important factor to consider. A triathlon specific pad offers a balance between comfort whilst riding on the bike but still being able to have good mobility or very little restriction when running. Triathlon chamois pads are usually much lighter weight than what you find in a regular pair of cycling bib shorts, this ensures that the chamois dries quickly once out of the water but also that movement is unimpeded when running. Furthermore you should ensure that the suit you have selected is gender specific, as a mens trisuit will have a specific chamois pad for the male anatomy and a womens tri suit will also have a different design of chamois pad. At Velotec we only use the highest quality chamois pad, Elastic Interface offers the best allround comfort and performance, even if not choosing a Velotec Tri Suit we would recommend finding a suit that uses Elastic Interface chamois pads.
Making a choice
It can certainly be hard to make a choice with the amount of options available on the market, however if you look for the specific features as we have specified above you are sure to find a suit that will optimise your performance. In general the more expensive the suit the more performant it will be, but as with most things the increases in performance become smaller and smaller the more you spend, which is important for beginners to consider.
The best triathlon suits for beginners will incorporate a lot of the features that we have mentioned, but it's likely that it may miss one or two aspects, whether it is not as breathable or perhaps does not use the most aero fabrics available. At Velotec we try to provide all these key features across our range, whether it is our entry level Elite Aero or our top of the range PRO2.0. The difference between our entry level and top level being the quality of materials, slight gains in performance and also the time spent in developing each suit.
Conclusion
Selecting the right triathlon suit that meets the guidelines and advice we have set out will be sure to improve/optimise your performance for your next triathlon. Whether you are looking for the best mens triathlon suits, the best womens triathlon suits or a great option for a beginner there is plenty on the market to choose from and we hope that our guide better prepares you for making an investment in your performance.