DHB AERON LAB

£249.99 DHB enter the mid-level wetsuit market with the Aeron

The Aeron Lab marks a new era for DHB’s wetsuit range, easily surpassing their solid enough sub-£100 offerings in terms of performance and price tag to produce a suit with appeal beyond beginners and penny pinchers.

The big sell is the 10 different variations of neoprene that have been utilised on the panels of the suit (with thicknesses ranging from 1.5mm to 4.7mm), resulting in noteworthy shoulder flexibility and reach and a controlled level of leg buoyancy. Elsewhere, there are plenty of mid/top-end features here, with the water-repellent SCS (Super Composite Skin) coating, Yamamoto 39-cell neoprene construction and drainage channels on the chest to channel water.

We used this in the 14°C waters of the Slateman and the quick-release YKK breaker zip is a little faffy to do up, especially if you’re swimming alone. But, with a sharp tug up, it opens the zip to shave seconds in T1. Whether that’s a deal-breaker for you will depend on your racing aims, but the rest of the suit is quick to remove via the quick-release cuffs. We did notice some water ingress in the legs and arms, and we would’ve preferred a closer fit here, yet there are internal guidelines inside the sleeves to customise the fit to your limb shape.

So would we buy it? There’s strong competition around this price with 2XU’s P:1 Propel and the Zone3 Advance, But, while it won’t shift the P:1 off our shoulders, the Aeron comes close to these suits, especially if you find it at a discounted price. MB wiggle.co.uk