Full Sleeve Wetsuit--brand & cost
hey all,
i'm thinking about investing in a full sleeve wetsuit. i have a sleeveless, but i'm thinking for full ironman, i would like a full sleeve. does anyone have any thoughts on brands and costs? i'm looking at an orca priced at about $200. i'm an average swimmer just looking for a little more help in a longer swim.
thanks!
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Comments
Most important thing is to find one that fits you the best and then start shopping.
Tyr hurricane fit my girlfriend very well. They have a cat1 suit for 200-300. If you get it on sale, it'll be closer to 200.
Go to trizone.com and they have some on sale!!! Even cat3!! For tyr, add 10lbs to your weight and get that size.
:0)
I love my DeSoto First Wave wetsuit. The great thing about the 2 piece wetsuit is that you can buy a different size top and bottom if your anatomy is not average-long legs, long torso, etc. Also Emilio DeSoto,the owner, is very informative and their customer service is the best in the business. They really stand behind what they sell. But getting a wetsuit that fits is more important than cost. But like running shoes, bikes or any equipment for that matter in the triathlon world, what works for me may not work for you.
At last Sunday's OWS, I calculated I have 100 swims, minimum, in the DeSoto I bought in 2005. The upper fits as snug as the day I bought it, the bottom has only a couple of finger-nail crescents in it. There's really no need to buy their premium suit, as the only difference is the "quality" of the neoprene, which, though more flexible in the higher-priced model, is also more fragile. ANd the way DeSoto designed the upper, to fit the shape of a person while they are actually swimming, rather than while they are standing around, there is no need for "more" flexibility.
If you are someone with a swimming background AND are proficient in the open water, does the 'design' of the de soto suit(which place you in a certain position, interfere with your ability to adjust stroke in the open water?
My instinct, I do not have a swimming background, is to pick a suit that doesn't interfere too much with my movement. I follow this instinct definitely with running shoes, but not sure about how this applies to open water swimming.
The newer de soto tops and aquasphere/ironman suits even place 5mm neoprene in the arms to encourage 'flat' position and more surface area to pull with, but that seems constrictive to me for open water. But what do I know?
Currently i like the tyr for the buoyancy at legs, but flexibility up top, for efficient open water swimming (I.e. Adjusting stroke on the fly). I am especially preparing for the CdA swim, which can be cold and choppy and crowded.
Any insight would be appreciated!
Gh
I would appreciate your insight.
Gh
GH - I haven't swum in the new "Concept 5" DeSoto top, which has 5mm forearms, 2mm everywhere else in the top, so I can't speak to the effect on pull.
What I notice about the DeSoto that I do have is this: unlike other suits I've had (Xterra, old Ironman pre-blue seventy), the DeSoto does not get baggy in the armpits and collect water over a long swim like an IM. The difference is in the shape of the various panels which make up the wetsuit. DeSoto has cut them so that less effort seems needed to lift arms out of the water and create a good entry catch. Another way to describe it is: the suit feels a little uncomfortable in the shoulders when I'm standing around with my arms hanging down; it feels like my shoulders want to rotate forwards. When lying horizontal in the water, though, with my arms outstretched, and then pulling with my elbows up, I fell no pressure in the shoulders, and no bagginess in the armpits. It's like running with very lightweight racing flats compared to using 12 oz stability boats.
I think the 5 mm forearms would have come in handy in Lake Coeur d'Alene this year; maybe my finger extensor muscles wouldn't have frozen up? (I was swimming like a fist drill at the end, couldn't open my hands for 5-10 minutes after I got out.
Al: thanks for the details. i think i might have to take de soto and trisports (seller of Hurricane) up on their test swim 100% guarantees. do you have the bib pant or the non bib pant? i already have the regular pant only for pool practice. but seems like the bib would be more secure and warmer for CdA.
i don't get that baggy feeling in the armpits with the wetsuits i have had, since my upper body is always squeezed into the suits. my legs are much thinner compared to my upper body, especially at the lats. thus, the torso is never baggy; if anything my upper body is always constricted, which is why i was liking the buoyancy of the torso and legs of the hurricane and its flexible shoulders.
however, i would be interested to see how each one feels at the shoulders. they are both 5mm in body and legs. so the tie breaker will come down to feel at the shoulders.
my initial thinking was that the more flexible hurricane would tire out my shoulders less over 2.4miles, but i can see by your description of the de soto design, how the de soto could assist in that area as well. i also was thinking that the thinner arms of the hurricane at the forearm, would allow me to feel the water more, so i could find denser water (i.e. less turbulent) to pull on in CdA lake.
I'll order both and test them, just let me know bib or not?
gh