ORCA TANGO SURF WETSUIT

£279 A new venture from the tri brand

Surf wetsuits…? In a triathlon magazine..? Granted, it’s not our usual choice of gear to bring you, but bear with us, as in this issue devoted to enjoying cold water, we believe there’s a place for it.

Firstly, the new Tango wetsuit is from triathlon stalwarts Orca who, after researching open-water use in their triathletes, noticed a crossover between swimmers and surfers, as well as those enjoying bodyboarding or just enjoying the surf with their kids.

This tester has to admit to not being a surfer, but to being a regular body-boarder when at the coast. Using my old triathlon wetsuits isn’t ideal, though, as they’re quickly trashed (when they could potentially go to a new home) and really aren’t designed for surfing. So if you’re in the market for a surf-specific suit and want to support a triathlon brand, or already use and enjoy Orca products, then the Tango is worth a look. Coming in two weights (the 3:2 for temperate water shown here and the thicker 4:3 for colder waters, £329), we chose the lighter one as it offers slightly more flexibility but less warmth. As a swimmer who is well acclimatised, we felt we could lose the extra warmth, however we weren’t prepared for just how toasty this suit was compared to our usual swimming wetsuits.

Fit was great and it also had good flexibility, plus the traditional surf closure was easy to operate with chilly hands. We liked the unisex design, too – classy and understated. The suit stayed in place well when in the water and the reinforced knees gave good grip on the board. HW orca.com