Triathlon wetsuit advice

mirrormatrix

Hi all,

I'm looking for a bit of advice. I've been racing in an Orca Kaisei wetsuit for the past year that I picked up on Wiggle for about 80 quid. It's a great wetsuit for the price, but i'm concerned that it isn't giving me the performance that a better wetsuit would. Also, maybe it's due to the thickness of the wetsuit (or maybe it's just my scrawny arms!), but it is REALLY slowing me down in transition. I'm losing about a minute or more on people with the same finishing times while trying to rip the thing off me.

So I guess i've two questions here. Firstly, will a better (lighter) wetsuit be quicker to get off in transition? Or do I just need to get a bit stronger? Anyone else have this issue of it taking an age to get the wetsuit off?

If I am to get a new wetsuit i've got a max budget of 200-250 to play with. Is there anything you could recommend in this price range that I might notice the difference with, or would I be better off holding on to my money? I'm not willing to save up and buy a more expensive wetsuit than this in the future. 250 is about the max that I would ever be willing to part with on a wetsuit.

All advice greatly appreciated!

Oryx

A more expensive suit may not be easier to get off. I have more problems with the suit I upgraded to than the entry level one I used before it.

Where is the suit getting stuck, and do you lube your wrists and ankles?

catweazle

I have huge difficulty in getting off the suit after a training session, however during a race with lashings of baby oil it comes off much easier.

Usually the more expensive suits might have perhaps more panels allowing for increased flexibility around the shoulders and arms.

I had a basic Orca Equipe and upgraded to a more expensive xTerra suit but being honest I wouldn't notice any huge differences between them besides the xterra being far easier to put holes in

Marginal gains and all that I suppose but I would think if you are happy with the suit, the 250 would be better spent on something else, 250 will only get you slightly better than an entry level suit anyways

mirrormatrix

Thanks for the feedback. I had a real problem getting it off the shoulders and arms! Put bodyglide on my ankles but stupidly never thought to put it on the wrists and arms. I'll give this a go on my next sea swim and see if it makes a difference. No sense in spending the money on a new wetsuit if it's not going to help me where I need it most.

Cheers again.

ShineyShiney

I don't think it's strength.

Work out a process mentally, ya know like, left arm open zip flap, right arm pull down zip,hold hat and goggles in right hand, left arm peel right shoulder, right arm peel left shoulder, leave hat and goggles in sleeve, peel suit to waist etc etc

And Practice it until its second nature

Oryx

I used to do the hat and goggles in the sleeve thing but you are better off leaving it on your head till the suit is off your arms. Your hand will be more likely to get stuck when you're holding something.

Mr.Fred

Buy a bottle of suit juice and cover your arms, shoulders and lower leg in it before you put the suit on it'll slide right off in transition.