Best swimming wetsuits for open water

There’s a new breed of swim wetsuits out there – but are they right for you? To help you make that purchase, 220 Triathlon editor Helen Webster puts seven wetsuits to the test.

First up, a little bit of an explanation… You might be wondering why we’ve included a group test just for ‘open-water wetsuits’ this year. After all, aren’t all swimming wetsuits for the open water? Well yes, they are, but the difference comes in the features and spec.

Why swim in a open-water wetsuit?

Put simply, the new breed of open-water swimming wetsuits are designed for those wanting to do longer swims, or to swim outdoors without necessarily competing in a triathlon. See our best triathlon wetsuits for all budgets for more inspiration.

They will often be a little warmer and slightly more robust, as these suits will need to keep athletes warm over long swims (say a 10km swim event or similar) and they will also need to last over many more kilometres of training potentially, whereas a triathlon wetsuit will often be designed more with race-day speed in mind.

What to look for when buying a open-water wetsuit?

Other features may include more of a focus on visibility, so brightly-coloured arms, as well as more thermal options for warmth – open-water swim events often aren’t subject to the same rules on water temperatures as triathlons and can be held all year round.

On the flip side, these suits won’t usually include race-specific features such as quick-release zippers and cuffs/ankles engineered for fast removal and will usually be a bit sturdier, which means no sub-1mm paper-thin neoprene.

Some suits (such as the Zone3 and Gill tested here) have features that allow them to be used across more than just swimming, reinforced knees for example, which mean you can use them for watersports including stand-up paddleboarding and bodyboarding or surfing.

Of course, this will be at a trade-off of speed and flexibility, but if you’re only targeting short triathlon swims and need a suit that is a bit more versatile, then why not?

There is one suit in this test that is a little different, however (which I’ll explain more about in the review).

The Huub Lurz is designed for those who want to target a fast open-water race and, as such, is designed with real speed in the water as the focus. So not one to buy for messing around on the beach in!

So do you actually need one, though? Well, there are some very good suits over the next few pages and unless you’re hunting marginal speed gains, there’s no reason you couldn’t use one of them in a triathlon.

• Best mid-range triathlon wetsuits reviewed
• Best top-end triathlon wetsuits reviewed
• The best kids wetsuits on sale

Alternatively, going for a ‘train heavy, race light’ approach (to steal the analogy from cycling!) could mean you use one of these suits in training and save your precious race-day wetsuit for events when speed is of the essence.

Either way, read on to see how we got on…

Tried and tested: Best wetsuits for open-water at a glance

• Best budget wetsuit for open water swimming: Gill Pursuit | Buy now from Gill Marine
• Highly rated swimming wetsuit for open water swimming: Zoggs Explorer Ultra FS  | Buy now from SwimTrek
• Best wetsuit for warmth: Orca Zeal High Vis | Buy now from Wetsuit Outlet

Best swimming wetsuits for open water

Zone3 Switch

• £349 / $449

The Switch offers something unique here, as the main body is constructed from Yulex – a fabric manufactured using a natural plant-based rubber sourced from the Havea tree.

A more eco-friendly alternative to neoprene (see thebigsea.org for more on this), this is the first swim wetsuit made from Yulex – although Smoothskin neoprene is still used on the shoulders for flexibility.

The Switch is designed for use for swimming, SUP and surfing with reinforced knees combined with the kind of stretch through the shoulders and arms you would usually find in a triathlon wetsuit.

I enjoyed testing this one on a holiday in Cornwall – being able to do some decent swim distance in the sea and then bodyboard and SUP with the family without changing was a real bonus!

I tested a size medium when usually a size ML or large would be my preference – but the extra flexibility meant aside from a bit of restriction on the knee pads the overall fit was very good.

Zoggs Explorer Ultra FS

• £350 / $357

The 11-strong new wetsuit range from Aussie swim brand Zoggs has something for every swimmer – with six suits designed for triathletes, four for open-water swimmers and adventurers and one for swimrun.

The Explorer Ultra FS is the top-end suit in the open-water category and straight out of the box I loved that striking design – the map topography is a clever idea, while the bright yellow does a superb job of increasing visibility.

I tried a size large and the overall fit and flexibility was good with nice stretch through the shoulders.

The suit uses 38 Yamamoto in 1.5mm to 2.5mm thicknesses, which felt premium, while double-faced areas on the armpits and inner thighs are designed to give the suit durability over long swims.

Overall I was impressed by the suit and the price point (the Explorer Tour at £180 and Explorer Pro at £230 are also available).

Yonda Spook

• £269 (UK only)

The Spook has appeared in 220 before and like all British brand Yonda’s suits, has performed well.

This is the first time it has sat within a category just for open-water suits, though – and the first time I’ve tried it.

First impressions were good. Our ‘SS’ size suit (short and shapely!) fit well and it was good to see Yonda recognise the need for more diverse sizing across women’s wetsuits, with a very impressive 13 options available – plus the team at Yonda were very helpful.

It felt like a high-quality build, with Yamamoto neoprene cleverly placed to enable swimmers to do both front crawl and breaststroke. I’m a front crawl swimmer and body position was good, and there was still a good level of flexibility.

Those aqua blue arms look funky and give an extra element of visibility in lowly-lit waters, plus a bright green option is also available. The 1.5mm LSQ Green Nano jersey-like material kept me warm, with no water ingress.

Huub Lurz Open Water

• £649.99 / $849

Huub are well-known for working with elite athletes on their wetsuits and while the name ‘Lurz’ may not be as familiar as a Brownlee, it refers to Thomas Lurz, the German double Olympian who took silver in the 10km open-water swim in the 2012 Olympics in London (among too many other successes to list here!).

That noted then, it’s apparent that this is a suit with speed demons in mind and the £649.99 price tag reflects that – this is a wetsuit for marginal gains on race day, not for messing about on the beach.

The suit has 3:3 buoyancy with a more structured feel around the hips and bum which, coupled with a shorter zip (to allow more reach, possible as quick removal isn’t a priority!) made it a bit of an effort to wriggle in to – though admittedly, I’m a curvy distance swimmer and not a svelte racing snake!

Sizing here is from XXS to XL and it’s available in men’s and women’s versions. Price will be a factor, though!

Orca Zeal High Vis

£379/ $495

We’ve got a real range of price points in this test – and sitting towards the top end is the Zeal High-Vis from tri and swim brand Orca.

I have to say, though, this suit feels worth every penny, with all of Orca’s wetsuit experience brought to a good-looking and functional suit.

First up a note on visibility – those bright orange arms and legs are a superb idea for safety and unrivalled in this test. Plus you get a Restube Ready clip on the lower back, which allows you to carry a Restube (an inflatable) for safety.

As well as the safety features, you get a combination of 5mm legs/core for warmth and buoyancy and Orca’s superb ‘batwing’ rear closure, which includes an extra layer of neoprene to prevent cold trickles down the back and zip.

Sizing is from XS to XL and it’s worth noting this range also includes a thermal option for winter, a ‘Perform’ version (if you need more flexibility and buoyancy, like me!) and high-vis accessories.

Gill Pursuit

£130 / $169

The Pursuit from marine specialists Gill is aimed – as the name suggests – at those wanting to enjoy the water for outdoor pursuits, whether that be stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, or outdoor swimming.

Available in both men’s and women’s sizing, with women’s, as tested here, in 8-18, the suit is constructed with warmth in mind and as such features a mix of 4mm and 3mm uncoated neoprene.

For added cold-reduction it features glued and blindstitched construction with critical taping on the inside to keep the warmth in and cold water out.

The benefits of this are that this is certainly a warm wetsuit and one that served me well for dips over the coldest months of the year.

What you gain in warmth you lose in hydrodynamics and flexibility, though, as there’s none of the swim-specific technology we’re used to in swimming wetsuits such as hydrophobic-coated neoprene, buoyancy profiles, or thinner fabric in areas which need more stretch.

Lomo Nuotare

£125 / $163

The Lomo Prime wetsuit has long been our pick to recommend to swimmers who fall outside of the usual size range of wetsuit brands.

And here, the new Nuotare makes wetsuit wearing even more accessible. Borrowing the same fit as the Prime and coming in an impressive 16 (women’s only) sizes, the suit can accommodate swimmers of most heights and weights.

So what makes the Nuotare different? Put simply, it has lost the smoothskin coating found on most swimming wetsuits and replaced it with a super-flexible stretchy outer material that makes it ridiculously easy to pull on and very comfortable to swim in.

Sizing is generous, with this UK14 tester testing and still finding it too big (sizes start at XXS).

Other swimmers told us they tried a few sizes before getting the perfect fit, but that Lomo was very helpful and quick to replace suits.

Once in the water the suit did behave differently to a normal swimming/triathlon one as, without the smoothskin, the suit did allow water to creep in. So a good option for shorter or less chilly swims, with great size options.

How we tested and reviewed the open water wetsuits

Our expert reviewer and open-water swimming coach tested these suits in the UK in both lakes and the sea. The latter especially allowing us to access how the suits dealt with colder seawater temps, dealing with waves and currents to judge how each wetsuit performed while open-swimming (and water ingress).

Each was tested for comfort, performance, buoyancy, durability, hydrodynamics, zipper, removal speed, budget and the visual design.

Any wetsuit that scored 90% and above is a market-leading product, while those scoring between 80-90% are also deemed to be impressive.

Wetsuits scoring between 70-80% offer good performance, as long as the highlighted flaws aren’t much of an issue for you. Products scoring below 70% can still be worth considering if the price is right, but don’t come highly recommended.

• Best tri-suits reviewed: short-sleeved, vested and Ironman
• The best swimming goggles for triathlon
• The best swimskins reviewed
• What to wear under your wetsuit