REACHING THE APEX

For over 30 years, Orca have been at the forefront of tri wetsuit design. But just what is the difference between their new Apex and Athlex ranges? And what makes their suits different to their competitors? As we find out, it's all down to the Orca Lab...

- MATT BAIRD

Nineteen ninety three. The year of Jurassic Park, Mulder and Scully and Britain’s Spencer Smith romping home to the ITU World Championship title in an instant classic in the Manchester rain. That race was an epoch-making day in triathlon, but it was also a significant 12 months in the fledgling world of triathlon-specific wetsuits, with something in the New Zealand air leading to both Ironman Wetsuits (latterly to become Blueseventy) and Performance Speedsuits (swiftly to become Orca) becoming established players.

Performance Speedsuits were launched by triathlete Scott Unsworth in Auckland at a time of very limited triathlon wetsuit options. A name change to Orca, the second fastest marine mammal after the common dolphin (but with an infinitely catchier brand name), followed in 1994 and the Kiwi brand would soon become ubiquitous in the pro and agegroup triathlon scenes.

As supplier of the New Zealand Olympic Games team at Athens 2004, the brand would see their suits worn by Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty to an historic gold and silver combo in the men’s event. Further professional success followed on the backs of world champs Tim Don, Craig Alexander, Sebastian Kienle, Non Stanford and current stars such as Kiwi Hayden Wilde.

Wetsuit design has progressed hugely since 1993, especially over the past decade with leaner yet more durable neoprene, faster materials, more comfort and greater transition speed, with Orca often at the vanguard. But how did we get to this point? And, so relevant to the modern day, how conscious should we be about the environmental costs of each wetsuit purchase? The brand open up their Orca Lab to reveal all…

HALF THE WORLD AWAY