All things equal, it's a shipment of the boxer briefs I prefer, size medium. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, my request will take shape as you read on.
This company (pronounced "Two Times You") began selling its wetsuits and apparel in April of last year (2006). It is Australian, yet is headed by Kiwis Jamie Hunt and Aidan Clark, former Orca employees. The majority owner is Australian Clyde Davenport, who's got another thriving business for which he's better known.
I like this company, because its approach to wetsuit design reminds me of my own. They don't advertise "proprietary rubber" that really isn't. They don't suffer from registered feature™ overload. If you're a wetsuit maker and you want to impress anyone in my house, get the patterns right. Build the suits properly. Make them work. Figure out what a wetsuit's primary functions are, and make sure you execute. Those are the themes that resonate.
As an end user, you have to decide what you want. If it's a company that plays it right down the center, and wins by execution, then these guys make a fine wetsuit. If what you want is the edge, the ingenious thing nobody else has, then you look at a Zoot Zenith or a T1 First Wave. The 2XU wetsuit is kind of like its most famous athlete, Michellie Jones, who isn't her sport's fastest swimmer, biker or runner, yet often gets there first through solid execution.
There is one area in which 2XU falls down, and that is in the naming of the models of their suits. Elite and Comp. Wow. I wonder if those names have ever been used before? And when it came time to name a third model, the well was dry. What we got was Comp II. Fortunately, making them is more impactful for the end user than naming them. Nevertheless, Clyde Davenport is the Aussie boxer king. It's he who manufactures the chic and trendy shorts worn by many or most Aussies who choose that style. Aussies are not walking around with Elite and Comp skivvies under their jeans, in no small part because Clyde Davenport founded his apparel company off his experience as an advertising executive. Clyde, a little creative needed here!
Nothing says top o' the line like Elite, of course, and this is 2XU's flagship at $499. It's called the E0 (E-Owe) for short, and it's got the best rubber available, which is Yamamoto #39, and some pattern ideas I'll explain later. The C1 (Comp 1) sells for $389, and like the E0 comes in a fullsuit only, for the purely logical reason that suits with long arms outswim suits with no arms consistently and reliably, when speed is the metric. Why would you want to pay $400 or $500 for a slower version of an upper end suit?
The C2 at $279, and its sleeveless cousin, at $189, are made out Yamamoto's slightly denser rubber, and are perfectly fine suits. The sleeveless version is nicely priced, frankly the C2 fullsuit is $30 or $40 overpriced compared to those in its competitive set.
The suits made by this company feature patterns that are middle of the road, that is, less roomy than the traditional pattern we've grown to expect over the last 15 years from Ironman (now Blue Seventy) yet larger in their circumferences than the Orcas, which have historically fit the slimmest athletes. Really, 2XU seems to position itself much like QR traditionally has, in its price points, the way the suits fit, the rubber used in their various models, the attention to function over hype.
One distinctive feature from 2XU is the "floating zipper" that corresponds to the rubber pattern pieces in which the zipper is nested, and these pieces are distinct from the rest of the suit. These back panels are quite reminiscent to those I used at QR, except that 2XU uses one piece instead of two pieces glued together. We used our two pieces because we could join concave edges to create a fit that tucked inside the small of your back. 2XU gets rid of that midline seam altogether to allow the inflexible zipper to move, or float, as the user swims. They give up a slight bit of body conformity and in return get a more flexible suit. It's an intriguing idea.
2XU also touts its "rollbar," which refers to its 5mm hip panels that float the torso as the swimmer rolls his body during the catch phase of the stroke. Well, okay, but the 2XU suits also correctly place long and deep 1.5mm panels under the armpit, so as not to impede the swimmers stroke. I remain skeptical that the rollbar measurably changes the swimmers hull aspect in the water.
Speaking of flotation, I'd prefer that 2XU used 5mm rubber in their ankles instead of 3mm which, it must be acknowledged, helps in the exit of the suit. But I prefer those 5mm virtual pull buoys and I also like rubber down to the ankles, as opposed to the shorter cut favored by 2XU.
There are too many bike and wetsuit companies that outsmart themselves by majoring in the gimmicks instead of staying true to the basic tenets of strong, functional wetsuit design. This company carves itself a niche by touting its focus on execution, and then by honoring that focus. Nobody contemplating buying a wetsuit from this company need worry that it's a purchase they'll regret.
Wetsuit companies routinely offer to send us their new samples to paddle around in and we're honored and flattered and appreciative. That established, a care package of boxer briefs, maybe with hearts on them, that's never shown up at the compound, and that's all I'm going to say about that.
