TYR Hurricane 5 wetsuit review – Is this the perfect swimming wetsuit?

Something very exciting this week with a product that genuinely can help you tangibly go faster. The ultimate goal for all of us. Read on to hear from Shayne with this TYR Hurricane 5 Wetsuit Review.

Wetsuit history

I’ve had a few wetsuits in my time, like most I started out with a budget suit. in fact mine was the most budget of budget, an ex rental entry level 2xu, I went from 27 minutes to 19:56 for 1500 in that suit. Alas my infatuation for triathlon meant that I was destined to lose weight and I no longer fit it. I
then had an upgrade to a Huub Aerious II having had a few suits on trial. Great suit, however, I made some errors here. Now I find myself with a Tyr Hurricane 5, which is hands down the best suit I’ve ever worn.

Essential information for swimming wetsuit sizing

FIT comes first. Get measured, try it on and be absolutely sure that you have free range of motion in your shoulders, core and legs. If you don’t have the option of trying a suit on then please prepare yourself that you’ll
be sending suits back to ensure the suit is right for you. Fit is everything, it could be the worlds best suit, however if it’s restrictive, it won’t help your performance, it will hinder it and considerably so.

Tight fitting suits, particularly around the shoulders will fatigue muscles they shouldn’t, which will mean hours swimming in the pool will have good effect, for a short period until these weaker muscles fatigue themselves. This will also impact your stroke, more often than not making it short
and choppy rather than long and strong.

Look at the size guide carefully, weight is the most important aspect here, if you find yourself in between sizes the swallow the ego and go the size up. Your stroke will thank you for it, as will your deltoids!!! I didn’t with my huub and spent 3 years wondering why my pool speed didn’t transfer to
the water and why after 500m I felt I was fighting my suit.

Triathlon Wetsuit Neoprene Compared

Wetsuits will come in a variety of neoprene. The more entry level will have heavier, potentially thicker and more dense neoprene. This does have advantages, thicker neoprene will keep you warmer, so if you’re in for a cold swim, say Slateman, Celtman or racing early or later in the season then certainly athletes who are really lean might find this of benefit. Also if you’re going to be in the water for a long time, then this could help out. This is generally also more durable against nicks, other swimmers fingers etc.
More expensive suits will have lighter, less dense(more air bubbles) and thinner neoprene which makes them more malleable, you’ll have less resistance from the suit.

Wetsuit neoprene thickness

It’s also worth noting that some suits offer a range of thicknesses, 5:3 or 4:4 which is thickness on the legs v upper body. If you’re a strong swimmer then from experience I would advise against a 5:3, I found the buoyancy felt like my legs were higher than my head in the water which impacts stroke
and speed (negatively)

First Impressions of the TYR Hurricane 5

Upon arrival. It’s well boxed and wrapped for protection during transit.it arrives with some clear instructions on how to put it on properly to achieve the best fit. I thought it was a nice touch that it comes with gloves and booties to put it on, no more using my socks to put my suit on! When you’re paying a premium for a suit, I suppose they should come as standard really. Also comes with mesh carry bag to help drying and storage in pre and post race/ training transit. The first thing I noticed was the rrp price tag at $900. Does it come with a motor I wondered? It is significantly more expensive than most if not all suits on the market.

TYR Hurricane 5 Specifications

This suit is made with Yamamoto 44 cell neoprene, light, not very dense and very flexible. It’s designed to feel like a second skin and it genuinely does. I used this suit during lockdown after not being in the pool for 3 months and found the freedom of movement is exceptional. No restriction on shoulder movement what so ever, Zero DOMS in the anterior deltoids plenty of DOMs in my lats! There are also extra panels “Free ROM” (range of motion) zones under the arm to aid in flexible movement and feel. They contribute to allowing a long, strong stroke, even when under fatigue and having not swum for 3 months prior, there was plenty of fatigue!

Wetsuit Material coating

The suit is coated in a hydrophobic material to repel water away from the suit. You can’t really notice this, however I can say that is feels smooth through the water. The material is thin, therefore it will naturally be more susceptible to tears and abrasions, I noticed by the end of a couple of weeks
testing that there were some slight abrasions on the arms (mainly due to my right arm crossing the centre line and brushing my chin) technique corrected but showed that durability might be a sacrifice for flexibility

360 elevation panels

These are absolutely noticeable when swimming in the suit. The angels are in the core, through the chest, abs, and buttocks. They’re there to aid balance, rotation, and help keep buoyancy. It’s like they’re actually aiding you to rotate through the water, keeping as slimline a profile as possible. Theboyyancy also really aids keeping a long, balanced stroke even when fatigue is setting or you’rereally putting the effort in. For me these absolutely make the suit as fast as it is.

Wrist cuffs on the TYR Hurricane Cat 5 Wetsuit

You’ll notice the tight wrist cuffs being tricky to get over your sports watch. DON’T FORCE THEM! They’re designed to keep water out of your arms. This aids the catch by stopping water gathering in your fore arms

Alpha Wetsuit Catch panels

You’ll not really notice catch panels visibly, however you will notice them in the water. You’ll really be rewarded for that high elbow catch. Having been out the water for so long I slowed my stroke down, and focussed on catch, breathing and rotation. I instantly found 5sec/100 much of that owed to the suit

Transition speed

I found a benefit in that the zip was already zipped at the bottom. Zero need to faff at the start of a swim or wrestle with the zip to get it on, just zip up and go. Naturally it’s a quick release zip to aid transition. Ankles also come with quick release cuffs to aid a fast transition. 5e suit is genuinely easy
to get off. However, with a price tag of $900 I think I’ll be slightly less vigorous that’s with a cheaper suit!

An important point to cover is the thermal aspect of the suit. It’s thin, so I’d expect that it’s thermal properties would potentially be compromised. I tested the suit in may and had no issues with thermal properties. However, we did have a bit of a heat wave then, and I was in leafy Cheshire, hardly glacial.

Summary of the TYR Hurricane 5 Wetsuit Review

If you’re at the pointy end of racing and performance is important to you, then this is an exceptional option and in my opinion worth the price tag. It’s features upped my pace significantly compared to my huub. 1:30 pace to 1:20 pace in my 750m time trials. The balance, rotation, flexibility and catch
all aid great stroke from the first to last second of my swims in it. It’s so easy to keep great technique. There’s no getting away from the fact that it is expensive – though at the time of writing its £549 on the TYR website, but in my opinion is the fastest suit on the market. I love this suit and can’t wait to try it when my swimming arms are back!

See the video of Shayne talking through his experience swimming in the TYR Hurricane 5 wetsuit.

Buy the Mens TYR Hurricane Cat 5 Full Sleeve wetsuit for £595

Buy the Womens TYR Hurricane Cat 5 Full Sleeve wetsuit for £595

See our recent review of the TYR Blackhawk polarised swimming goggles as well for more great TYR swim products.