Arena Powerskin Air 3 Review: One Change, And It's The Best Air Suit Yet
It's probably become obvious that I review far fewer tech suits than I used to. Ten years ago I was putting out a tech suit review most weeks. Now it's a handful a year.
That isn't laziness. It's that most "new" suits aren't new. Speedo's Pure Valor became the Pure Valor 2.0 with a different water repellency treatment. Mizuno's GX-Sonic went from the IV to the V to the 6 to the Royal, and if you put the 6 NV next to the Royal PW you're looking at new colours and a couple of seams moved. Same fabric, same taping, same fit. There's no point making a ten minute video telling you a suit is 2% different.
The Arena Powerskin Air 3 is different, and not because Arena reinvented anything. They changed exactly one thing, and that one thing is a straight upgrade with no trade-off attached. That's rarer than it sounds.
The short version
What changed: one strip of internal leg-lift taping down the back of each leg, glute to hamstring. That's the entire upgrade over the Carbon Air 2.
Weight: listed at 113 g/m2, against 125 for the Air 2, which makes it lighter than the Arena Veloce at 119 g/m2.
Price: £230.55 in the UK, $350 in the US. The cheapest flagship jammer Arena sell.
Compression: moderate. Easy to get on, comfortable enough for two races in one session.
Best for: every stroke, every distance, and anyone who doesn't want to be crushed.
Verdict: the best Air suit yet, and the one I'd buy with my own money.
First, the name
Arena have quietly dropped "Carbon" from the name. The Air 2 had that little superscript 2 to tell you which generation you were on. This one is just the Powerskin Air 3. Not the Carbon Air Cubed, which is what I kept wanting to call it. The carbon fabric is still there, the word just isn't.
A quick history of the Arena Carbon Air
The Carbon Air line goes back to February 2015, when Arena launched it alongside the Carbon Pro and Carbon Flex. The whole idea of putting carbon fibre into a swimsuit came from the same place it came from in F1: it's incredibly tough and incredibly light. It holds the muscle in without adding weight. The original Carbon Air was 125 g/m2, around 30% lighter than the Carbon Pro and Flex sitting next to it, and it used horizontal carbon bands rather than the carbon cage of the Pro. At the time it was the lightest suit Arena had ever made.
Then in January 2019 we got the Carbon Air 2. If ever a suit didn't need reviewing, it was that one. The outer shell was cut from a single piece of fabric so the side seam disappeared, and they trimmed a bit of the modesty lining to save a few grams. That was it. I doubt anybody on earth, at any level, could have raced both and told you which was which. Every Arena athlete moved onto it because it was just as good, not because it was a game changer.
So when a third generation turns up seven years later, you can see why I went in sceptical.
Arena Air 3 vs Carbon Air 2: what actually changed
One thing: a strip of internal leg-lift taping down the back of each leg, running from the glute down the hamstring. It's the same idea Arena put in the Primo and the Veloce, now dropped into the carbon shell.
That's the whole upgrade. And it's a clear one. You get a bit of kick support and a bit of hip lift, and you pay nothing for it. No extra weight. No extra tightness. Nothing that makes the suit harder to get on or less comfortable to sit in. Arena took the Air 2 and made it better, full stop.
Everything else is carried straight over. Still the one-piece outer shell with no side seam. Still the horizontal carbon bands. Still the reduced modesty lining. Still 65% polyamide, 34% elastane, 1% carbon fibre.
The only real change: one strip of internal leg-lift taping per leg, glute to hamstring.
Arena also list a slightly longer waist to knee cut and an updated interior lining on the spec sheet. I'll be honest with you: I couldn't feel either of them. If you're upgrading from an Air 2, don't expect those to change your swim.
How much does the Arena Air 3 weigh?
This is where it gets interesting. Retailers list the Air 3 at 113 g/m2, against 125 for the Air 2 and the original Carbon Air. Arena don't publish a weight themselves, so treat that as a retailer figure rather than gospel.
If it's right, it means the Air 3 is lighter than the Veloce at 119 g/m2, which is Arena's own published number for a suit they market as their light option. The lightest suit in the Arena range is the carbon one, and it's also the cheapest. Hold that thought.
The new World Aquatics badge
You may notice the approval mark has moved. It's now a 40 x 40 mm black and white square sitting low on the front of the thigh instead of on the back of the suit, and the QR code is gone entirely. The back of the suit looks almost naked because of it.
This is a World Aquatics rule change, not an Arena decision. The new mark applies to suits approved from 18 February 2026, there's a transition period running to 31 December 2028, and from 1 January 2029 you'll need it on your suit to race at World Aquatics events. Arena have started rolling it out across the range. I saw plenty of Primos with the front badge at the European Championships this summer.
The new World Aquatics mark sits low on the front thigh, and the QR code is gone.
Arena Air 3 price: the cheapest flagship, again
One of the things I've always liked about the Air line is that it's the flagship you can actually afford, and nothing has changed there.
Jammer | UK (Allens Swimwear) | US (SwimOutlet) |
Arena Powerskin Air 3 | £230.55 | $350 |
Arena Primo | £318.42 | $450 |
Arena Veloce | £261.00 | $425 |
Arena Carbon Glide | £252.30 | $395 |
Speedo Pure Valor 2.0 | £204.45 | $424 |
Arena Carbon Air 2 | £201.84 | $325 |
Arena's own UK RRP on the Primo is £366. Three hundred and sixty six pounds. For a jammer. That is more than people paid for full polyurethane bodysuits in 2009, when a Speedo LZR Racer was around $550 and a Jaked01 was about $600 shipped. I know inflation exists. It still doesn't quite compute for me that a pair of swimming shorts that won't survive a season of hard use costs that much.
Against that, £230 for the lightest suit in the range feels like the sane option. Check the current Air 3 price at Allens Swimwear.
In the water
I raced a 50 free in it, and then I raced again in the same session. That's the part I'd underline. I had the suit on for about an hour and a half across two races and it was fine. There are suits I own that I simply couldn't do that in. A Mizuno will crush you into shape and you'll be counting the minutes.
The Air 3 isn't that suit. It's easy to get on, it's comfortable, and it works for every stroke and every distance. I wore it for a 50 today. You could wear it for a 1500 tomorrow and not think twice.
That isn't a compromise, by the way. Comfort and freedom of movement is a performance characteristic, not a consolation prize. Compression suits are brilliant for sprinters who want to feel held together. If you're not that swimmer, all a crushing suit does is tire you out before the whistle goes.
Arena Air 3 vs Speedo Pure Valor 2.0
These two are closer than anything else on the market. Both are easy to put on, both are comfortable, both are moderate compression. The hamstring taping is what separates them: the Air 3 gives you kick support the Valor simply doesn't have, plus a touch more buoyancy and, thanks to the carbon, slightly more compression while staying just as comfortable.
The Valor's trump card is that it comes in a high waist. If you need that, take the Speedo. If you don't, I'd take the Air 3 every time.
Arena Air 3 vs Arena Veloce
The Veloce uses Hyperforce, Arena's tensoelastic fabric, the party trick of which is that it reaches full compression at about half the stretch of a normal fabric. It's clever and it works.
I'm still taking the Air 3. It's lighter, it's £30 cheaper in the UK and $75 cheaper in the US, it has the same single strip of hamstring taping, and it's more comfortable over a long session. If you want maximum compression, go Primo. If you want the Veloce's fabric specifically, fine. Otherwise you're paying more for a suit I prefer less.
Arena Powerskin Air 3 specifications
Spec | Arena Powerskin Air 3 |
Fabric | 65% polyamide, 34% elastane, 1% carbon fibre |
Weight | 113 g/m2 (retailer listed) |
Construction | One-piece outer shell, no side seam |
Taping | One internal leg-lift strip per leg, glute to hamstring |
Compression | Moderate |
Waist | Standard only, no high waist option |
Approval | World Aquatics approved, new 40 x 40 mm front thigh badge |
Jammer sizes | 22 to 34 |
Launch colourways | Black/Teal, Blue Cosmo/Midnight |
UK price | £230.55 |
US price | $350 |
Arena Air 3 sizing
I wear a 28 in the Air 3, and I wear a 28 in the Primo and the Veloce too, so Arena are at least consistent with themselves. The jammer runs from a 22 to a 34.
Could I squeeze into a smaller one? Probably. Would it make me faster? No, and I'm carrying slightly more than my racing weight at the moment, which makes that even more true. Don't size down to prove something to yourself.
Colourways
Two at launch: Black/Teal and Blue Cosmo/Midnight. I went for the blue and I'm glad I did. The taping colour, the arena wordmark and that particular blue all work together and I like it more than the black.
There are also a couple of US limited editions floating around on SwimOutlet, an Ultramarine and a Dubarry. Expect plenty more to follow. The Carbon Air line has had more colourways than any Arena tech suit in history, snakeskins, corals, whites, the lot, and I'd be amazed if the Air 3 doesn't get the same treatment.
The one thing I want
Give us a high waist.
The Primo has one. The Pure Valor 2.0 has one. And Arena have already had a Veloce HW jammer approved by World Aquatics, valid from 17 July 2026, so they're clearly happy to make high waisted versions. The Air 3 doesn't have one yet, and it's the only box this suit doesn't tick.
The suit I wanted, before it existed
I'd been thinking about this before the Air 3 landed. If I had my own brand and could only release two jammers, what would they be?
One would be a sprint suit: dual layered at the back, ribbed textured fabric on the back panels, a thinner more comfortable fabric at the front, heavy X-cross taping from the hamstring round the inner and outer thigh, high waisted. That suit already exists. It's a Mizuno GX-Sonic. If you're a sprinter or you like high compression, go and buy one.
The other would be the opposite: light, single layer, comfortable, freedom of movement, and just one strip of taping to support the kick. That suit did not exist. You could have a comfortable suit or you could have taping, not both.
The two jammers I would build: a compression sprint suit, and a light single-layer suit with one strip of taping.
And then Arena went and built it. That's genuinely why I'm enthusiastic about a suit whose spec sheet says almost nothing changed.
Should you buy the Arena Air 3?
If you liked the Carbon Air or the Carbon Air 2, yes. This is the same suit you already know with a real upgrade added and nothing taken away, in better colours, at the cheapest flagship price Arena do. When your current one goes, replace it with this.
If you're coming from a Primo or a Mizuno and you want to be crushed, this isn't for you, and that's fine. It isn't trying to be.
And if you're a tech suit manufacturer reading this: this is what an upgrade looks like. Add support where the suit had none, take nothing away for it, and don't charge more. Don't change the water repellency coating, move a seam a millimetre, or redesign a waistband that's been solved for fifteen years, and then call it a new generation.
Good job, Arena.
Arena Powerskin Air 3 FAQ
What is the difference between the Arena Air 3 and the Carbon Air 2?
One thing: the Air 3 adds a strip of internal leg-lift taping down the back of each leg, running from the glute to the hamstring. The fabric, the one-piece outer shell, the horizontal carbon bands and the reduced modesty lining are all carried over unchanged. Arena also list a slightly longer waist to knee cut and an updated lining, neither of which I could feel.
Is the Arena Air 3 World Aquatics approved?
Yes. It carries the new 40 x 40 mm black and white World Aquatics Approved badge on the front of the thigh rather than the old mark on the back. That badge becomes mandatory for racing at World Aquatics events from 1 January 2029.
How much does the Arena Air 3 cost in the UK?
£230.55 at Allens Swimwear, which makes it the cheapest flagship jammer Arena sell. The Primo is £318.42 and the Veloce is £261.00 by comparison.
Is the Arena Air 3 good for distance swimming?
Yes. It's a moderate compression suit with real freedom of movement, so it works for every stroke and every distance. I raced twice in one session wearing it and it was comfortable throughout, which is not something I'd attempt in a high compression suit.
Does the Arena Air 3 come in a high waist?
Not at the moment. The Primo and the Speedo Pure Valor 2.0 both offer a high waist, and Arena have had a Veloce HW approved by World Aquatics, so a high waisted Air is plausible. It just doesn't exist yet.
What size Arena Air 3 should I buy?
Take the same size you wear in other Arena tech suits. I'm a 28 in the Air 3, the Primo and the Veloce. The jammer runs from 22 to 34. Don't size down for the sake of it, it won't make you faster.
Is the Arena Air 3 better than the Speedo Pure Valor 2.0?
For most swimmers, yes. They're very close on comfort and compression, but the Air 3 has hamstring taping that the Valor doesn't, plus a little more buoyancy. The Valor wins only if you need a high waist.
Where to buy the Arena Powerskin Air 3
UK: I use and recommend Allens Swimwear, who are now an affiliate partner of mine. Best prices and the best customer service of any swim store in the UK, and I say that as someone who's bought from all of them.
US: SwimOutlet.
Buying through those links supports the channel and the blog at no extra cost to you.
Prices correct at the time of writing, September 2026.
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