The Zoot Prophet wetsuit – or wetzoot, as they like to call it – is one of the most popular suits on the market. For the 2014 triathlon season, the company is releasing the Zoot Prophet 2.0 wetsuit, with many changes to the original version.
It’s always fun to see manufacturers find new names and acronyms for basic wetsuit features. The marketing folks at Zoot take this practice to an extreme, with cool names like AQUAlift, Optimal Kick Design (OKD) and Confluence Fluid Dynamics. Nonetheless, Zoot makes a great suit and are worth considering.
The 2.0 model is still made using a hybrid design of Yamomoto Cell 40, Yamomoto Cell 39 and SCS Nano. These neoprene materials, produced by the Yamomoto company in Japan, help with the swimmers buoyancy and flexibility. The SCS Nano is a patented coating on the material that creates a “Super Composite Skin,” helping the swimmer stay more hydronamic.
The suit includes 5mm neoprene (the maximum thickness the USTA allows for race suits) on the back of the suit. Zoot calls this Aqualift, which helps the swimmer maintain a correct body position. This is essential placing more buoyant material in key areas to keep the swimmer in a neutrally buoyant position.
Like its predecessor, Zoot’s Prophet 2.0 wetsuit includes “DYNAhull Technology.” This essentially uses the C40 neoprene in a single seem sleeve. The C40 material is very flexible material, which allows the swimmer good range during the reach and catch phases of the arm cycle.
There are a few new features in the 2.0 model. First, Zoot has added something they call ZoneRx Core Compression Panel, which serves to stabilize the back and core muscles. In addition to making you look a lot slimmer than you actually are, compressing muscles help conserve energy and maintain a hydrodynamic posture.
The original Zoot Prophet wetsuit had Zero Water neck panel, but the 2.0 model also adds Zero Water wrist cuff closures. Water can often enter the suit through the wrist during the hand entry, so these closures are designed to avoid that. Zoot have also a new features to help remove the suit during the swim/bike transition.
All-in-all, the Zoot Prophet 2.0 wetsuit is worth looking at. It has plenty of features and the materials are very good quality.