Science

What do the Numbers Mean?

It’s been wrong of the wetsuit industry to offer one type of suit for all types of swimmers. To think that we all float, swim and propel ourselves the same as each other is such an error that has taken too long to recognize. HUUB understands that with over 85% of triathlon competitors not coming from a swim background the product mix in today’s retailers is completely out of sync with the needs of the athletes.

Most athletes need help raising hips and legs due to their backgrounds being cycling and running. How much they spend on a product should not offer differing and sometimes irrelevant buoyancy’s.

Fortunately, here at HUUB we all understand this, we know that with the correct suit the majority of swimmers will reduce drag through the water by up to 30% (How much would you pay for that on your bike?) You will find in our range two levels of suit and two types of buoyancy for our wetsuit line, pretty easy really.

The type of suit is defined by the buoyancy to give you a correct body balance for your unique make up.

3:5

3MM UPPER BODY MATERIALS AND 5MM LOWER BODY MATERIALS

85% of triathletes come to the sport from a non-swimming background and many suffer from low sinking legs in the water as they swim. Of course the buoyancy of any wetsuit helps bring the legs up higher but never before have wetsuits been designed specifically for these swimmers with a large buoyancy difference between the upper and lower bodies. Until you swim in one of these suits you won’t believe how high your legs can be, they will feel glued to the surface and your potential as a swimmer will be truly unleashed!

As we designed these sophisticated high technology suits, we increasingly moved away from neoprene towards new materials with properties of increased buoyancy and specified levels of stretch.

4:4

4MM UPPER AND LOWER BODY MATERIAL THICKNESS

Our 4:4 wetsuits are for the stronger swimmers who already have a great horizontal position and do not need the redistributed buoyancy of a 3:5 wetsuit. You’ll find perfectly distributed buoyancy to maintain the balance, harmony and efficiency of your stroke technique just as it feels in the pool. Like to use a bit of kick as you swim? No problem, these suits will let you do just that with a smooth natural action.

3:3

3MM UPPER AND LOWER BODY MATERIAL THICKNESS

3:3 is only found on the women’s suit for one good reason: Women have less dense and unique body muscular structure making the female swimmer more naturally buoyant. The extra flexibility of a thinner, lighter suit is obvious, but design work by Swim Smooth shows the reduced buoyancy helps you sit at the right level in the water and avoids that feeling of being too high and unbalanced. The thinner material means the suit is a lot easier to put on and remove, and the reduced bulk is much more flattering to the eye. Altogether a more intelligent approach to women’s wetsuits!