Complete Tri

Aqua Sphere Pursuit Wetsuit Review

Aqua Sphere has been making top-of-the line wetsuits for triathletes for years.  The brand might not be as synonymous with triathlon as Quintana Roo or Xterra, but they make quality wetsuits and sell them at fair prices.  They have various different styles, designs, and prices. Aqua Sphere makes one of the best triathlete wetsuits available to buy—the Aqua Sphere Phantom Full Sleeve Triathlon wetsuit. At a steep $595-$700 price tag, unfortunately it isn’t a practical choice for everyone.  Some triathletes really need more of an entry-level triathlon wetsuit, and that is where the Pursuit comes in.

Unless you’re a top triathlete, you probably won’t need the Aqua Sphere Phantom Full Sleeve (but if you plan to do several triathlons, or an HIM or Ironman, we recommend the upgrade). We love the Aqua Sphere wetsuit brand, but we don’t believe you need to spend $700 to have a great wetsuit. Over the summer we competed in the Aqua Sphere Pursuit Full Sleeve Triathlon Wetsuit—a much cheaper version that offers the same great benefits as the Phantom Full Sleeve. The Aqua Sphere Pursuit Full Sleeve Triathlon Wetsuit is geared for the “weekend warrior and beginner triathlete.” The Pursuit retails for around $187-$220. It’s a great wetsuit with a great price.

Here’s why:

The Aqua Sphere Wetsuit is Flexible: Aqua Sphere’s bio-stretch zone suit posses thin wrap-around reach panels that are engineered and designed to follow the natural movements of a swimmer’s shoulders, upper body, and core rotation while swimming. We felt that the Aqua Sphere Pursuit Wetsuit eliminated any and all restriction while we swam.

The Aqua Sphere Wetsuit is Warm: A wetsuit, after all, should keep the swimmer or the tri-athlete warm in the water. Sadly, many wetsuits can’t even claim to do that. Aqua Sphere incorporates Thermo-Guard technology into all of its products. According to field tests, the Aqua Sphere Pursuit provides maximum warmth, maximum flexibility, and maximum range of motion in the shoulders, legs, and chest areas.

The Aqua Sphere Wetsuit has Aqua Drive Technology: The wetsuit’s panels are strategically placed around the core of the body. This acts as a primary planning surface while swimming. The Aqua Drive Technology is engineered and designed to maximize buoyancy and efficiency. Many tri-athletes, beginners and advanced alike, reported the Aqua Drive Technology resulted in an improved body position that reduces drag and increases hydrodynamics.

The Aqua Sphere Wetsuit has an Aqua-Flex Collar: To a tri-athlete, nothing is more uncomfortable than a tight, itchy collar. Aqua Sphere’s Aqua-Flex collar is watertight and comfortable. It has two layers with an ultra-fine nano-skin design which minimizes neck chaffing.

Aqua Sphere Incorporates Top-Of-The-Line Nanotechnology: #38 Yamamato nanotechnology offers the optimum balance of reduced drag, flexibility, and durability, The SCS nano-skin coating has the absolute lowest drag coefficient available on the market and it maximizes speed and performance.

Our Recommendation:

Overall, the Aqua Sphere Pursuit Full Sleeve Triathlon Wetsuit is a great wetsuit for the price. It’s warm, it’s stretchy, it offers 100% UVA/UVM protection, and it’s quick drying. One of the things we really liked about the Aqua Sphere was the zipper. Although a zipper might seem like a tiny detail, nothing is more annoying to a triathlete than a hard-to-reach or hard-to-unzip zipper. You could lose precious seconds, even minutes, if you have a troublesome zipper. Aqua Sphere’s durable, deep-back pull zipper offers a leash for easy on/off and quick transitions. When we reviewed the Aqua Sphere, we couldn’t believe how easy it was to unzip and get in and out of it. The Aqua Sphere Pursuit is one of the best triathlon wetsuits for a triathlete on a budget.

If the Aqua Sphere Pursuit Full Sleeve Triathlon Wetsuit is still too expensive for your budget, we also recommend the Aqua Sphere Pursuit Sleeveless Triathlon Wetsuit. At $200-$235, (or perhaps under $100 on sale) it’s a steal given the developments that Aqua Sphere has made in recent years. It isn’t as hydrodynamic as the full-sleeve, but it still offers the same nanotechnology features, the same deep-back pull zipper, and the same warmth. If you don’t mind exposed arms, it’s a great choice.

If you have an Aqua Sphere Wetsuit, we’d love to hear from you about how you like it and how well you perform in it!