wetsuit rrecommendations

thebourke

hey , am looking into buying a wetsuit....probably use it for swimming in the sea and occasionally the odd kayaking weekend away..am based in dublin..
cany anyone recommend me one....i never had one before so i don't know wht kind of one i should be looking for..budget 100- 150e....

kris71

Hi I had the same problem few days ago and it is really hard to find some informations from users, there is plenty from manufacturers but in theirs opinion their products all always best so it is hard to use it as guidance.

As I'm coming a bit more from swimming bg rather then TRI the only 3 branches I do trust are Speedo TYR and Arena (dont mind diana but it's not my favorite), so I've decided to break out of convention and instead of going for orca, blue seventy, aqua sphere or 2xu, I've narrowed down my options to speedo or tyr. TYR hurican line looks great but was a bit out of my budget that was gaped on 150e but I've found Speedo Tri Event Wetsuit SS11 for 156.53e with free delivery to ROI, I don't think I can past a link to it over here but if you will type it in goggle I'm sure you will find it straight away. They should deliver it next week and straight away I'm going to test it in the open water, very same day I will post a quick review on it as well

Other wet-suits in that price range:

blueseventy Sprint 2010/2011 From €133.33
Speedo STR Pro 2010 From €127.56 (xs only as it is on sale rrp 300) so if you believe you will fit into xsmall then go for it as it is a good value for money

on another very popular website with free delivery to ROI as well (starts with W ends up with e ;P ) you will find
blueseventy Mens Axium from 153.36e
Orca Mens S3 Full Sleeve from 152.64e
Orca Men's Kaisei from 116.95e
Speedo Thin-Comp from 131.59e

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You can also try buying used one on ebay or one of the surfing ones
My previous wet-suit was billabong foil and I have to say it was doing the job but it couldn't be compare to tri wet suits due to a smaller buoyancy in the legs, the main reason it was doing such a great job was the size of it I should be wearing Medium Tall (long) size and that one was medium short ;P At the moment it has a hole on the back that is so large that i could get into the wet suit through it ;P but I've been using it a lot in the pool while working with Triathletes so I don't know if it was chlorine/size/or neglect that brought it to that stage ;P however I bought it on sale for 40e and it last me for 2 years so I can't complain on it

sconhome

Just to refer you to an earlier thread:

Wetsuits for triathlon

If you are absolutely base lined on your budget then try and pick up a second hand suit which is slightly above your ability.

Most people end up replacing entry level wetsuits after a season in the sport. This is because as their swim improves they outgrow the technical aspects of the bottom end suits that simply provide an aid to buoyancy and warmth.

@Kris I understand that you are a decent swimmer / coach ? Your technical ability will be way ahead of the basic suits. If you are looking for a competitive gain you will benefit from an elite level suit. Again you could possibly pick up a decent suit ex demo or second hand.

I'm linking to my own blog post re experiences with the different levels of wetsuit and in the comments is the advantages of one suit over another. This will apply to all swim specific wetsuits not just the 2XU that is in the blog.

@thebourke I'm definitely suggesting you get entry level swim suit rather than a surf / sail suit. Entry level swim wetsuit will at least give you the flexibility in the shoulders and underarm areas that will allow you to swim effectively. This is not so with cheap surf suits. You also need the additional warmth of the entry level suits which will have bigger body areas of 5mm neoprene to help keep you warm.

Hope that helps.

kris71

amphkingwest - it would be great to have an elite level suit and if you will find me one for under 200e i am certainly going to buy it, if you can't get what you like you need to like what you can get

I don't need a wet suit at all and would be pleased if they would ban them as they make swimming way to easy in my opinion ;P

btw. does anyone knows if you can use technical suits instead of a wet suit in tri?

sconhome

kris71 wrote: »

amphkingwest - it would be great to have an elite level suit and if you will find me one for under 200e i am certainly going to buy it, if you can't get what you like you need to like what you can get

I don't need a wet suit at all and would be pleased if they would ban them as they make swimming way to easy in my opinion ;P

btw. does anyone knows if you can use technical suits instead of a wet suit in tri?

I'm fully in agreement with you on all points ^

Its from ITU rules that a wetsuit is obligatory in water temperatures that are dependent on the distance and level of race, for Age Group athletes wetsuits are forbidden above temps of 22-24oC and compulsory below 14-16oC. Full details from page 14

Re technical suits, from the same rules:

Illegal Equipment:
(i) Athletes must not use:
· Artificial propulsion devices;
· Flotation devices;
· Gloves or socks (including but not limited to compression socks);
· Wetsuits with thickness exceeding 5mm;
· Wetsuit bottoms only;
· Wetsuits when they are forbidden because of the water temperature;
· Non certified swimsuits: Wetsuits and swimsuits that do not comply with
the ITU Uniform Rules;
· Clothing covering arms from shoulders to hands and clothing covering legs from knees to toes in a non-wetsuit swim.

The rules were modified in 2010 to include some of the FINA rules on speed suits.

From appendix H of the same rule book:

6. Criteria:
6.1. Wetsuits:
a.) Design In accordance with the current ITU Uniform Rules;
b.) Material In accordance with the ITU Competition Rules.
6.2. Swimsuits:
a.) Design In accordance with the current ITU Uniform Rules and ITU Competition Rules;
b.) Material:
(i) In accordance with the FINA Requirements for Swimwear Approval (RFSA);
(ii) Neoprene or material with buoyant properties are expressly forbidden.
c.) Construction:
(i) In accordance with the FINA Requirements for Swimwear Approval (RFSA)
(ii) Note the applicant should submit the swimsuit for approval accompanied by the FINA Approval letter

Though there are a range of elite level tri-suits (for non-wetsuit swims) which seem very close to the line on these rules.

kris71

Thanks, so since full body technical suits are banned by FINA I'm guessing they are also forbidden by ITU to bad as you can get fs II from 30 few pounds now days as they are pretty much useless now days ;P

sconhome

I'm not up with the FINA rules but I'm guessing a 'full body' tech suit will be banned by:

Clothing covering arms from shoulders to hands and clothing covering legs from knees to toes in a non-wetsuit swim

An elite level tri-suit (body suit) is a tech suit to suit the swim, bike & run. The amount of design in something like the Rocker Racer is amazing. Rocker Science Sports Have a look under Men > Racesuits > Rocker RACER when you have time.

kris71

Website doesn't work very well or it is my Internet connection that is failing

arms from shoulders to hands and clothing covering legs from knees to toes

sleeveless fs wouldn't fall into that as it wouldn't cover your arms or feet, possibly wearing fs over wet suit could make an entry level wet suit a high end swimsuit but I bet FINA baned that option already :rolleyes:

Poirot

re " I've found Speedo Tri Event Wetsuit SS11 for 156.53e with free delivery to ROI"

thebourke - in the unlikely event that you haven't purchased a wetsuit yet, I can highly recommend the Speedo Tri Event. I used one for the 2011 season and find it flexible, durable and a great fit - suitable for intermediate swimmer.
If you have purchased, then maybe this feedback will help a newbie looking for a recommendation.;)