Wetsuits - full or sleeveless?
Hi everyone. I'm new to EN and I didn't see any particular topics in the gear forums relating to this so I figured I'd ask. I currently have a full Xterra Vortex wetsuit. I'm in Florida so I'm not in it alot but I do have races of various distances that are legal, although always near-legal temp-wise. Last year at Augusta my shoulders/arms were exhausted after the 1.2 mile swim with the full suit (which seems to fit fine otherwise). This year I'm doing IMNYC which was just announced to be wetsuit-legal regardless of temp. Looking ahead at a 2.4 mile swim in this suit makes my shoulders hurt just thinking about it. I'm not a great swimmer so the buoyancy helps but I'm not terrible either. There's also the heat factor with three borderline legal races this year.
The question is, should I trade the added buoyancy/speed for comfort/temp-control of a sleeveless or just look into a better full suit with more shoulder mobility? I have two most likely legal races (sprint and oly) coming up in April and, living in Florida, I have a limited window of opportunity to test/practice with a new suit for the IM so I'd like to make the change sooner rather than later. Any thoughts on this trade-off? Thanks all.
Comments
It's a function of your goals. Full suit is always faster than a sleeveless, unless you're Andy Potts. The choice to go sleeveless, then, is one of trading speed for comfort.
If you spend the time to get in a suit that fits you properly through the shoulders, you shouldn't experience that shoulder/arm exhaustion.
Tired shoulders/arms are usually because the suit is pulling down on the shoulders. Could be due to a torso that's too short. Or, some folks have had luck with better technique putting the wetsuit on (ie. really working it up the legs so that it's snug at the crotch). Have you ever had someone show you how to put one on 'right'? (I only learned last year what it's really supposed to feel like).
That said, if NYC is not wetsuit legal (meaning that if you choose to wear it, you are out of Kona contention) then who cares about the time savings of a long sleeve vs a short sleeve (the latter needs to fit even better to make sure water isn't going down the sleeve openings)? I believe the tide is predicted to be outgoing anyway at NYC which will make it even faster. So if you aren't gunning for Kona then wear what you like. Frankly, if the water temperature is over 74, I tend to cook in a full wetsuit.
Finally, I'm not sure where you are at, but the Gulf water temperatures are already up to 72 off of Clearwater/St Petersburg and it's only 1 March. As warm as it's been this winter, I'm not expecting any wetsuit legal races in Central/Southern Florida by April. If you need to practice, you can hit some of the springs where the water stays at 72 year round (i.e., swim downstream on the Ichetucknee River a couple of times. That would mimic IMNYC except one is crystal clear and the other might require a tetanus shot). Sorry about that last comment...couldn't help myself. Best.
Thanks for all the responses.
@Mike - I'm fairly certain (although not 100%) that I'm wearing it properly. A USAT coach pulled and tugged it for me to set it properly early on to show me the proper fit. I'm wearing a Med Long and I should just be in a Med however. I don't think that would have a big shoulder impact but that's what I was told fit-wise.
@Paul - I'm right down the road from you in Bradenton. Not sure why it says "Private FL". I can't figure out how to turn that off. I agree the Gulf is heating up early. I have Escape from Ft Desoto and St. A both up near you in April. They were both wetsuit (though borderline) last year and most likely will not be this year. IMNYC, however, just sent out an email a few days ago declaring the race wetsuit legal regardless of temp. They are claiming logistics with the ferries, etc for the advanced decision. Plus, as the NYC Tri is wetsuit legal every year on the same weekend, it most likely would be anyway. This email is what prompted my topic as I can't even think about the 2.4 miles in the same suit.
The decision, from the comments, seems to be moving up to a midtier-type suit that has shoulder panels and more flexibility or a sleeveless. I'll look into the Desoto but I honestly don't use a suit much in Florida so I don't need anything much. Being average at best in swimming, the better full seems like it may be the way to go. Thanks for all your advice.
I'd say if you're going to buy a wetsuit, it helps to be able to go somewhere to try on several different brands and models. The one that fits you best is going to allow you to swim at your fullest potential. A wetsuit that is reasonably new and fits properly should not pull down or fatigue the shoulders, given proper swimming form, regardless of brand. I urge people not to go into wetsuit shopping with a brand in mind (i.e. "Xterra suits are the fastest, so that's what I want to buy") but rather to buy the brand that fits the best in your given price/performance range. I wear a Blue Seventy for this reason, it fit me better than anything else, and I have swam a 10k in it with no shoulder fatigue whatsoever (even given that I didn't go over 5k in any training swims).
I do know folks who love the DeSoto suits for the reason that they don't have any issues whatsover with pulling down on the shoulders, given their 2-piece design. Personally, I like to have a farmer john and a full suit in my arsenal (at least up here in the PacNW) because it extends the open water swimming season dramatically.
Your comment on IMNYC is interesting. Initially, I thought you were saying that it would be like IMTexas or IMLP last year--neither were legal, but folks were allowed to wear them if they weren't competing for Kona. This year at IMTX they are going to allow
Anyone have any experience with the DeSoto T1? This looks like the best of both worlds, and with the EN discount. Seems like a good deal, and more useful than a full suit.
Thoughts?