Arm warmers under wetsuit?

JClishe

I'm doing an Oly in a couple weeks and I'm thinking I may want to have some arm warmers with me, just in case. I've never worn arm warmers before, do you generally wear them under a wetsuit or will they get too wet? Are they difficult to pull on in T1 on wet arms? Being an Oly I'm obviously more sensitive to transition times.

Thanks,

Jason

cgres123

It depends on how tight your wet suit is on your arms without the arm warmers, now add them and you might have the blood supply reduced to your arms. Yes its hard to put them on in transition.
My opinion is try the wet suit option in a pool up front to check things out...
2 . try putting arm warmers on after your pool swim.
3. Put arm warmers on the bike and get out of T1 put them on during the ride when your arms are dry.

D

Keith Wick

If you try to put them on after the swim make sure that they are prepped by rolling them. If you do this, then put the roll on your wrist and just unroll them up your arm. Not that this is a great example, but they then unroll like a condom.

ebe4zippy

Keith, that is a great example...if only the arm warmers had gloves attached!
Jason,I just did a cold OLY yesterday, so this is fresh in my head. I like to wear mine under my wetsuit. It is hard to get them on even if you dry your arms off. I usually keep them on the entire race, it seems to be that cold when I need them that they keep me warm on the run. If you are usuing them, may I suggest some gloves on the bike. Full bike gloves are hard to put on, but some stretchy cotton or light weight gloves work great. It is amazing how much you stay on the gas when your hands are not cold...but this is from a guy who used bright orange duct tape for toe covers yesterday too

delesh

In my last Oly race I wore arm warmers under my wetsuit. The arms of my wetsuit are pretty thin and stretchy so it didn't squeeze me too much. I could definitely feel them but it didn't hinder my swim stroke. The arm warmers still kept me warm when they were wet and dried quickly. Definitely try them on with your wetsuit before to make sure they dont bug you too much.

Dave Tallo

Opposite experience here: I wore arm coolers under the wetsuit in WI, and really overheated. I promised myself I would return to putting them on during the bike from now on.

Scott Alexander

At CDA09, I DNF'd due to hypothermia. I'm personally worried about having cold water-soaked arm warmers on my arms until (if) they dry.

Al Truscott

I use Manzilla Vapor gloves when I need a little breathable warmth. They have little grip things on the palms and fingers, and they have yellow reflector at the front so cars see yu coming.

http://www.manzella.com/index.php/products/detail/mz-144r

John Stark

I have worn arm warmers under my wet suit ever since Coach Rich turned me onto doing it at Cali 70.3 a couple of years ago.  Genius.  Never had issues with tightness, etc. and I have thick, cotton arm warmers.

Like anything else, test BEFORE your race to make sure you get the same experience.

William Jenks

I've worn various long sleeve things under a wetsuit several times in races, most recently at WI. I've done it on both cool and hot days, but never one I would describe as really cold. On the cool (maybe 60?) days, they seemed to air dry from the bike quick enough not to be any more of an issue than just generally being wet and in the wind. But, as others have said, you chould probably test it out first if you can....particularly getting the wet suit on with them on you. :-)

I'm not sure I understand Dave Tallo's experience and how thin arm coolers would really contribute to overheating. I'm not saying Dave didn't overheat, but it seems to me tha the added insulation of the arm coolers has to be very small compared to the insulation of a triathlon wetsuit. I'm just saying I wonder if that's really what caused it. (maybe open the collar just a smidge in your next warm swim?)

Wm