2XU Light Speed React triathlon kit review: A great aesthetic and reasonable performance for the price

Australian brand 2XU (which translates to “two-times-you”) has been creating compression-based running, triathlon, and recovery apparel for the past decade. Uniquely, 2XU prioritises muscle compression for improved performance and is proud of its fabrics' performance when put through stringent regular testing.

The Light Speed React kit is the latest edition to 2XU’s triathlon suit line, which includes other models such as the Core and Aero Hex kits. It was developed over 18 months and claims a 17-watt improvement from their 2024 Light Speed sleeved tri suit.

Honestly, 2XU is not all that widely available here in the U.S. Still, when I heard about its 18-month development period, claimed performance improvements and their slightly different approach to the WYN Republic Cda I also recently tested, I had to give it a shot.

Construction

The Light Speed React suit was released in February 2025 after a year and a half of wind tunnel testing, research, and development. As noted before, 2XU is first and foremost a compression apparel brand. Unlike other triathlon apparel companies, 2XU placed great emphasis on achieving an elite tri kit that was not only aerodynamic and had cooling properties but also offered superior muscle compression.

The kit is a classic polyester, spandex, and nylon blend, but one neat thing about the Light Speed React is that the shorts are made from 65% recycled nylon. Yes, this is a drop in the ocean, but it's good to see brands using more recycled textiles whenever possible and should be commended when they do.

Notably, the Light Speed React fabric includes HeiQ Smart Temp technology, which claims to be able to “sense” a rise in body temperature and “respond” by increasing sweat evaporation through the fabric for optimised cooling.

According to 2xu, the HeiQ Smart Temp technology kept athletes up to 4.5°f cooler than in non-HeiQ fabrics.

I'd like to briefly mention the colours of this kit, as they are quite stunning. The deep purple shorts and an ombre sherbet-colored top are a nice departure from the typical white, black, and navy blues seen in many triathlon kits.

• Flat overlock seam finishes
• 2XU’s PWX fabric delivers over twice the muscle support of competitor suits
• HeiQ Smart Temp technology in the fabric of the kit
• SBR silicone ridges across arms and shoulders to reduce drag
• SBR “skin lite” 160gsm stretch interlock wicks sweat away from upper body
• Large centre back aero pocket with dual side access as well as internal nutrition pockets
• Ice pocket on back neck for improve endurance performance in heat
• Full length semi-auto lock zipper
• TMF Light Speed Tri Chamois dual layer 90 density high impact / 140 density superlight foam and no foam at the external edge of the pad, allowing for flat stitching

The Ride

As was true with the WYN Republic CdA kit I tested, Colorado is still too cold in March to accurately test a kit with cooling properties outside, so I took to the trainer to test the Light Speed React on a two-hour ride (no fan was used).

I put on the kit in preparation for the ride and was immediately surprised at how short the torso portion is. It fit my shoulders, biceps, and back well, but the torso almost seemed intentionally designed to pull upwards at the bottom of the zipper, as confirmed by their marketing images.

I wasn’t a big fan of this. I kept wanting to tug the torso downwards out of habit, but there was not enough fabric for it to go any farther down. This didn’t end up bothering me as I rode, but stylistically, it looked and felt a bit awkward; I couldn’t help but think that over the course of the marathon portion of an Ironman, this could be an annoying style choice, as kits tend to ride up your torso as you run.

I initially thought, “This kit was not made for tall people, like myself.”

As I began my ride, I was pleased with how flexible the back and shoulders of the kit were while tucked in my aero bars. However, I was less pleased with how quickly the shorts of the kit bunched up in the front and inside of my groin.

I had the same gripe with the WYN Republic CdA kit: I am tall and have extremely broad shoulders, so I need a size large for my back and shoulder width, but my hips and legs best fit a medium. This leaves me with the choice of wearing a medium and feeling restricted, or wearing a large and contending with extra fabric usually around the groin.

The Light Speed React kit’s shorts bunched up far more than the CdA kit’s did, to the point where I had to stop pedalling a few times to tug the shorts back down into place. By the end of the ride, I had developed two hotspots where my inner thighs met my groin from the inner thigh seam.

If I had selected a size medium or the large fitted better around my legs, I'd likely not face this problem. Given that “wide shoulders and leaner legs” is a fairly common body type in triathlon, I felt it was of note and a bit of a miss by 2XU. Additionally, according to the size chart, I should have firmly been a large in both the top and bottom, which is doubly frustrating.

The kit did live up to its promise of keeping me cool and dry, and I was impressed by how fast the entire kit wicked away sweat. For a ride that definitely had me sweating, the Light Speed React kit wasn’t sopping wet by the end, and my core temperature felt well-regulated.

Value and Conclusion

The Light Speed React kit costs $350 USD, which I think is a fair price for what is marketed as an elite triathlon kit.

I appreciated the attention to detail in the kit's aesthetics, including multiple pockets for nutrition and ice storage. This is all before you even get to how well the fabric performs or how well it reduces drag.

I wish I’d gotten to experience a bit more of the muscle compression that 2xu touts, but some of that is my own unique challenge with finding a tri kit that fits my wide shoulders and narrow hips and legs. However, the torso and leg fabric felt well-made and durable, as did the chamois.

Shelling out $350 USD for some spandex and nylon panels stitched together is still quite the purchase. It's considerably less than the WYN, of course, but still firmly at the enthusiasts' end of the market. Given the fit sizing issues with the Light Speed React, I'd be inclined to look at 2XU's other less advanced offerings in the $100—and $200 range for the savings.

In all, the Light Speed React is a well-designed kit with a few awkward aspects—the short torso and the hotspots in the groin—but if it fits your body well, it is a solid temperature-regulating kit with a lot of research and development behind it.