Huub aegis II review – open water swimming wetsuits reviews

• Product: Huub Aegis II review
• RRP: £249.99
• Product Website: Huub Design
• Preferred Retailer: Wiggle.co.uk
• My Rating: 9/10

The Huub aegis II wetsuit is Huub’s replacement suit for the original Aegis wetsuit. Designed as a High performance suit at a sensible price point, the Aegis II should be a solid selling suit for the still quite new company. Available in both Men’s and Women’s Suits.

The original Aegis was designed with exactly the same principals however it was a first iteration product from a new company and had some flaws. It certainly was not a bad suit. it just had some compromises, but the up sides was its incredible performance! The Smooth Skin matched with the added leg buoyancy meant this suit was easily a match for anything on the market, if not superior.

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Whats New?

One of the issues with the old Aegis was the slightly restricted neck line. It was never a major problem as the restriction only ever really showed on land. Wetsuits after all are not designed for on land and a soon as you became immersed it never reared its ugly head again. However its not a great feeling before a race to be walking around with the feeling of restricted breathing, there are so many other things to be worrying about. Huub have attempted to address this issue with a new low neck line.

Huub have also added their breakaway Zipper from the top end suits for super fast transitions. A nice touch.

Apart from that its pretty much as was, which is no bad thing.

My Aegis suit was my suit of choice for the last few seasons and performed excellently both in races and training. It was fast in the water for Olympic distance and quick enough in transition. It was comfortable for long swims up to 10k, and perfect for effortless iron-distance swims. So I was pretty excited to see some of the issues of the old suit addressed.

In the Water

The suit is still blindingly fast through the water! It really is quite unbelievable how a suit makes you feel so fast. The 3:5 buoyancy of the suit is designed to lift the legs of a swimmer. This is perfect for 85% of triathletes who are not natural swimmers. People who have spent years biking and running have formed powerful dense muscular legs that are just perfect for sinking. Or those newer to the sport who have a less than ideal stroke. All will benefit from the “correction” in your position in the water. I would think only the very best swimmers would not feel the benefit.

This matched with the Japanese smooth skin materials really does make this a fast suit. My times were instantly faster with the aegis suit than with my old wetsuit. And compared to my pool times its a scary improvement, although that may say more about my stroke than the suit!

Fitment is Surgical glove style! If you are coming from older wetsuits is quite a shock. Material fits very tightly but its also light and flexible so despite the tightness its not restrictive. As mentioned before the improvements to the neck line remove the minor issue of restricted breathing out of the water.

In the Water the suit feels very natural and completely flexible. there is almost no restriction to the stroke. The buoyancy really feels like you are just perfectly suspended in the water allowing your stoke to just power you through it.

Price

Price wise, while being a fair chunk of money. Its not particularly expensive when compared to its rivals. And you are getting a lot of suit for your money, and its a lot cheaper than some of the really top end suits, while not really feeling like your missing much. Cheaper suits are available of course including the Huub Aperitif, and while most of these are perfectly good suits, some of the really nice high-end feature are missing making them a little more agricultural.

Fragile

The downside is also one of the suits upsides. Its lightness and flexibility. Unfortunately while that side is great in the water it does have its trade offs. That being durability. The suit is very delicate, a lot of care is needed when putting on to not leave nail marks. The snugness means a fair bit of adjusting once on to get it comfortable. Its not a suit to put on in hurry. Although the tight fit and release panels do make getting it off the complete opposite. it almost takes itself off!

Overall the suits are not especially built to last. Huub offer a generous 18 month guarantee (when you register the suit for free). so its not like they will fall apart. However my 8 year old Orca suit is still going strong and is abused terribly. You cannot expect this sort of longevity. Its built for speed.

A good tip is to watch the Seam Join tabs on the inside of the suit ( small round pieces of material on the seam joins) . The extreme flexibility of the suit causes these to work free leaving the seams exposed to tearing. Caught early and re glued could prolong the suit for another season or two. This along with proper care and treatment should see you wanting to buy a new suit before you have to.

I would think only the very best swimmers would not feel the benefit of the 3:5 buoyancy. Unfortunately not being from that stable I can’t say if it would be a burden. This used to not be an problem as the suits were offered in a 4:4 ratio aswell, but that has been dropped in this iteration. Presumably due to low sales in that buoyancy. The top end HUUB Archimedes II still come with a choice of buoyancy. But the price may be off putting there.

Rivals:

Apart from Huub’s own range which may tempt you into a higher  (or lower) end suit. there are plentiful alternatives.

Blue seventy’s Fusion suits (£245.00) and Zone3’s Aspire (£299.99) Lead up the rival suits.

Conclusion

I really did like the original Aegis wetsuit, and the improvements that have been made target the few weaknesses the old suit had. Time will tell just how durable the new suit is, but hopefully its been improved from the original and those seam tags may not be as “loose” as on the original. The aegis II is a seriously fast wetsuit and I can assure you the speed increase is noticeable in both feel through the water and overall race times.

Huub when they launched as a company took a different science based approach to wetsuits and it really paid off. it seems they have continued that science based approached in the iterations and evolution of their products.

I often find it preferable to buy wet suits from large retailers. Apart from often being the cheapest place to buy they have excellent returns policy just in case  you order the wrong size. You can get the Aegis 2 from Wiggle.co.uk Who have a great returns policy. Just be very careful not to damage the suit while trying it on as No retailer like suits returned with tears or nail marks in them.

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Have you tried the Huub Aegis 2 ? or any other Huub suit? what di you think? do you agree with my review? Have you tried any of the rivals? What do you think about them? Feel free to let me know in the comments below, or if you have any other question or comments.