How Mormaii Designs High-Performance Swimming Wetsuits
Discover the technological evolution of open-water wetsuits and how combining different thicknesses boosts performance in the water.
Murillo Caldas explains how Mormaii unified rubber suit categories and engineered multi-thickness panels from 5 mm to 1 mm to deliver optimal flexibility and buoyancy for swimmers.
For a long time, the watersports market tried to maintain an artificial divide between triathlon gear and open-water marathon swimming equipment. Appearing on Natação Stemma, Murillo Caldas, head of product development at Mormaii, explained that the brand completely revamped this approach: instead of developing separate products for each discipline, its entire lineup was unified under the open-water category.
The end of the divide between triathlon and open water
The shift started within the factory's own internal coding, replacing the old triathlon acronym with terminology focused purely on swimming. According to Murillo, the suit is designed for swimming—whether during the first leg of an Ironman or in a pure ocean crossing. The real differences between suits lie not in sport labels, but in cut (full-sleeve vs. sleeveless), fabric types, and the strategic distribution of neoprene thicknesses.
Historically, swimming circles harbored concerns that full-sleeve wetsuits restricted shoulder mobility, prompting many swimmers to favor sleeveless models while triathletes opted for full-body designs. Murillo noted with good humor that the segment's biggest technical hurdle was always word-of-mouth advice from friends warning against long sleeves without having ever tested modern suit technologies in the water.
Multi-panel engineering and combined thicknesses
To eliminate mechanical resistance during the recovery phase of the arm stroke and optimize hydrodynamics, wetsuit construction underwent a profound evolution. Instead of relying on uniform thickness profiles (such as 3/2 mm or 4/3 mm), Mormaii began integrating multiple thicknesses into a single suit, such as a 5-3-1 mm configuration.
This engineering distributes specific densities across the athlete's body: 5 mm panels around the hips provide core support and improve body alignment in the water; intermediate thicknesses cover the torso; and ultra-thin 1 mm panels on the lower legs facilitate kicking mechanics and make suit removal much faster during triathlon transitions. In the shoulder and arm joints, high-grade rubbers combined with flexible fabrics restore a natural range of motion to every stroke.
Manufacturing complexity and the global market
This variety of cuts and seams directly increases cutting time, assembly, and labor at the factory, raising production costs for top-tier suits. Nevertheless, Murillo emphasizes that domestically produced suits remain highly competitive and offer outstanding value compared to imported rivals, riding the wave of growing global interest in open-water events.