Sugoi Velocity Review

As warm (OK, hot) weather began to prevail in races this July, I knew it was only a matter of time before wetsuits stopped being allowed at some of the races for which I was registered. As one of the better swimmers in most races, I love when warm water keeps wetsuits from being legal, but what to wear? For the first half of the season I’ve had great success with my Sugoi RS Tri Shorts and RS Tri Tank, but I was looking for that extra edge in non-wetsuit swims. Enter the Sugoi Velocity Tri Suit.

Wow. I was collegiate swimmer up through 2002, but it’s simply amazing how far fabric has progressed in the short time since I left the pool. Just pulling the Velocity out of the box I could tell the fabric was something special. What it is, I’m not sure, but I know if feels thinner than even my old-school paper suits used to. Except it’s stretchy. And tough. And light - really light - to the point that it feels fragile, even my experiences thus far have shown me it’s anything but.

Except that’s not all. Despite having a very ‘tight’ look in the box, the Velocity is stretchy in all the right places, in just the right amounts. Even though the shoulders are comfortably flexible and the hips and torso stretch just enough, the fabric remains tight to the skin, which is absolutely essential for speed in the water. It’s why you’ll see so many pros going to the extra effort of wriggling into speedsuits for non-wetsuit competition. Apart from the ‘fast’ fabrics, the ability to squeeze loose fabric into a streamlined package makes a huge difference. But the Velocity practically negates this need. It keeps its tight, streamlined shape all on its own. Even the rear pockets somehow manage to stay flat at race speed. As someone who used to spend years training to drop 10ths of a second, I can absolutely feel it when extra drag appears on my body and I never felt a thing from those little pockets in the back. Amazing, given how easy they are to access during the bike and run portions of the race.

Yet fit is only half the story. Actually, given the nature of triathlon, maybe it’s only a third… Where other speedsuits are quickly forgotten post-swim, the Velocity really starts to shine AFTER T1. The amazingly tough (but remarkably thin) fabric seems to dry almost instantly. As anyone who’s done a hot race knows, it’s only a matter of times before even the best shorts and jerseys are nothing but a soggy mess, loosely flapping on the bike, hanging heavy on the run. Not the case with the Velocity. Even in the most humid of conditions, the fabric holds little to no water. While other tri clothing often has to be rung out at the finish line, this suit is at worst mildly damp. For a group of athletes who obsesses about shaving grams off their gear wherever possible, just wearing this piece of clothing will cut whole pounds off your person by the end of a race. It’s simply amazing and the reason I’ll continue to wear it even as the weather turns chilly and wetsuits start to become the norm again.


http://www.sugoi.com/usa/eng/Products/Tri/Men/Race-Day/Details/1685-29660U.611-Velocity-Tri-Suit