The best women’s tri suit for Ironman distance triathlons? TRI-FIT EVO 2.3 review
jennifersophie
The TRI-FIT EVO 2.3 women’s long distance tri suit promises superb race day performance, without compromise on comfort. Featuring aerodynamic materials, clever cooling features, all the pockets you could need and a premium chamois pad, on paper this tri suit certainly has everything you’d look in a race suit if you’re racing over the Ironman distance. But how does it actually perform out in the real world? The good news is, I’ve put this suit to the test over two full 140.6 mile triathlons to bring you my true, tried & tested verdict!
Comfort and fit
First let’s talk fit. For context, I’m 5ft 4 (~163cm) and I usually wear a UK size 6-8. I’ve not got much going on under my sports bra, but I have got a decent pair of sturdy cyclists’ thighs! For my build, the size Small in the TRI-FIT EVO 2.3 fits perfectly. No uncomfortable sausage legs from the shorts, and a close enough fit around the waist and shoulders to be nice and aero, without any restriction to my range of motion for the swim or getting down into my aero bars.
Because this tri suit features a full front zip opening (the top half unzips fully and opens like a cycling jersey) I also think taller athletes will have a bit more wiggle room compared to a true one-piece/all-in-one construction. The material is also super stretchy, especially the mesh panels under the arm pits. So while I can’t speak from experience, if you’re more blessed in the boob department than I am you should still be able to get a comfortable fit. The sizes on offer are somewhat limited currently, so that might rule this suit out for some athletes which is a shame.
Is the chamois pad comfortable enough for long distance racing?
The chamois pad on this suit is a premium Elastic Interface pad. It’s lightweight and low profile, and after racing both Challenge Roth and Ironman Tallinn in this suit – I can report back ideal undercarriage comfort levels. The pad dried quickly, didn’t chafe on the bike and I didn’t notice it at all on the run.
Fabric and construction
The material on this tri suit feels lovely and soft. The shorts are compressive, but are a slightly ‘silky’ fabric. The upper body has textured ‘waffle’ fabric which enhances aerodynamics (by creating a small amount of turbulence which traps a thin layer of air and reduces your overall drag). Sometimes aero fabrics can be scratchy or unforgiving, but I’ve found this material to be nice and stretchy. For the most part, the internal seams are unlikely to cause you any issues. There are a few raised ones which I tend to pop a bit of Vaseline on before a long distance race, just in case of chafing, but the stitching has been designed to reduce abrasiveness anyway. Two Iron distances down and I came out unscathed on the chafe front!
Functionality: tried & tested race day performance
As mentioned, I’ve raced in this suit over the Iron distance twice now. Both races were wetsuit swims, and I had no issues with the material creating any shoulder restriction in the swim. The suit dried quickly on the bike, and what I really appreciated was that neither the sleeves nor the legs had rolled up under my wetsuit. The chamois pad was comfortable on the bike (well, as comfortable as you can be riding a TT bike for 180km!) and I didn’t feel like it was getting in my way or creating any chafe on the run either. The pockets really came into their own on the run. I usually have all my run nutrition in a sandwich bag in T2 so I can just grab that and fill my pockets on the go to save time (a tried & tested hack to take minutes off your transition time, by the way). With two rear pockets, two hip pockets and two internal pockets on the front it was easy to get my gels stashed away without too much faffing around. The IceDrip cooling pocket on the back of the neck was also really useful, if a little tricky at first to get the hang of slipping an ice cube in. Once me and my fumbling fingers had cracked it, it was a great way to get ‘slow release’ cooling between aid stations on the run.
I’d say the only thing I don’t love about this tri suit is the limited design options!
Value for money
The suit has an RRP of around £235, so it’s one of the more premium options out there but by no means the most expensive tri suit on the market. And I do think features-wise, it contends with other far pricier suits out there. It also didn’t show any signs of wear and tear after being used and abused for two full Ironman distance races. I’d say if you’re someone who’s looking to spend a little bit extra to get things like enhanced aero materials and long-distance specific features (i.e. all the pockets!) this suit is worth your while. There are more advanced options out there (including from TRI-FIT themselves, with their new ultra-aero VORTEX suits) if you’re well and truly at the pointy end of the field looking to make every single watt count. But as a mid-level aero tri suit, I think the EVO 2.3 offers really good value for money.
Verdict: Why I’d recommend the TRI-FIT EVO 2.3 women’s triathlon race suit
Overall, this is a great tri suit which nicely balances comfort and performance. I’d love to see TRI-FIT bring this out in a few more design options, and we do have to acknowledge that the current size curve on offer is limited. But after putting it through its paces through two Iron-distance races, I’m struggling to find much to critique about this tri suit!
