When QR came out with its line of Hydrophopic wetsuits back in the early '90s it set the standard for both the style and the materials used in triathlon wetsuits. Since that time everybody has more or less copied this design, and it's either been a successful copy or a bad one.
Frankly speaking, Orca, QR, Ironman and Aquaman all make wetsuits that are not that dissimilar. You've got to look at issues such as fit, neck construction, and warranty service. And, of course, one has to consider price. But gone are the days when one company was making a one-piece wetsuit with features that were head and shoulders above the others. This type of wetsuit is now a commodity, and prices should be coming down. I wonder why they aren't.
Our problem with Orca and most of the other companies is, geez, they aren't afraid to charge for these things when you consider the degree to which this is now a commodity market. An Orca P-Flex fullsuit is going to cost at MSRP $475, and when the next level down—the Predator—sells for $400 the price of wetsuits has gotten a bit out of hand (especially when you realize these are made in China). The extra price is not at all a problem if the wetsuit fits you. If nobody else is going to give you the good fit and Orca is, then, hey, you've got to spend the money.
Orca also makes a lower-end fullsuit called the Speedsuit which sells for $250 and competes straight-up with the Ultrafull from QR. The longjohn version sells for $200.
What we like about the Orca. It probably has the best neck of all the one-piece suits, both because of its first-rate construction, and because of its low profile. If you want a lower profile neck, you'd have to go to a zipperless version, specifically the T1.
What we don't like about the Orca. Its patterns are too short in the torso for quite a few people. This would make the Orca fullsuits, from the P-Flex on down, subject to tight shoulders. It just depends on your own shape.
Furthermore, one must recognize that Orca has, as a company, gone a bit over the top in marketing its features. It's apparently taken a page from running shoe companies. The Orca P-Flex features a Hydrolift™ front panel, Aquagrip™ sharkskin arm panel, Hyperflex™ underarm panel, Slipstream™ zipper, Lo-line™ neck, Freeflex™ chest panel, and Dorsiflex™ something or other. Maybe I'm jaundiced, but when I see a critical mass of ™ on any particular product, I begin to suspect the suit is more ™ than what it's advertised to be.
That said, Orca makes fine suits. Their athletes have won more than their share of races, and rightly so.
You'll find our review of an Orca Predator here.
