wetsuit

tritriagain

Last year i did my first sprint tri in surfing wetsuit. I now want to buy a tri specific one. Was looking at either of these.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-trn-thermo-full-sleeve-wetsuit/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-equip-full-sleeve-wetsuit/

Any reviews or advice. Thanks in advance.

promethius

tritriagain wrote: »

Last year i did my first sprint tri in surfing wetsuit. I now want to buy a tri specific one. Was looking at either of these.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-trn-thermo-full-sleeve-wetsuit/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-equip-full-sleeve-wetsuit/

Any reviews or advice. Thanks in advance.

With fit being so important i would try and get into a shop and try them on if you can at all. I've had an orca entry level suit which I got five years ago, I still use it for training occasionally now. I race in a huub achimedes (love it) but the orca is a very robust suit and a good brand for an entry level suit.

I think TRN stands for training as in a suit to train in and save your race suit. Neoprene looks similar on both so the difference would likely be in how the panels are cut. I don't think you'd go far wrong with either of these suits.

peter kern

no doubt the orca equip of the 2.

MD1983

The TRN is exclusive to wiggle and is the lowest model in the Orca range. i would imagine wiggle wanted to sell an entry level suit and none of the other Orca suits seem entry level when priced at RRP so there could be some quality compromises by Orca in the making of the suit to meet that entry level price.

from that perspective i would go for the equip of the two. you could consider the S4 which is last years Orca model ahead of this years S5 and probably get it cheaper than the equip if you are price sensitive

griffin100

The equip was my first wetsuit and i used it for 4 seasons and then sold it on and it's still in use at 6 years old. Lots of buoyancy and good for poorer swimmers. It tended to nick and tear easily but I think that's common to all Orcas.

shotgunmcos

+1 on trying one on at a shop. Important. How do you know if you are medium or small long?

tritriagain

im a strong swimmer (top 10 in my first tri) so would the entry level suits be too bouyant for me. by the way im a ****e cyclist and worse runner so im not bragging about the swimming i just want to make the right choice on a limited budget.

shotgunmcos

tritriagain wrote: »

im a strong swimmer (top 10 in my first tri) so would the entry level suits be too bouyant for me. by the way im a ****e cyclist and worse runner so im not bragging about the swimming i just want to make the right choice on a limited budget.

What was the field like in the tri? In general the entry level suits are thicker towards the tail to correct poor body position. All the more reason to try one on. Doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune. Good bargains out there

sconhome

tritriagain wrote: »

im a strong swimmer (top 10 in my first tri) so would the entry level suits be too bouyant for me. by the way im a ****e cyclist and worse runner so im not bragging about the swimming i just want to make the right choice on a limited budget.

Get one that suits your swimming. Buy it right and you won't have to buy again. If you are a good swimmer the better suits have thinner and more flexible neoprene which allows better reach and less fatique in the water.

Don't go with the budget TRN, it is a cheap Orca designed as a back up training suit not a suit for someone developing in triathlon. I looked at it before and turned it down. Its an exclusive there because no one else wanted to stock it. For a reason.

Don't forget the second hand market or ex demo options too.

SlowMe

tritriagain wrote: »

Last year i did my first sprint tri in surfing wetsuit. I now want to buy a tri specific one. Was looking at either of these.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-trn-thermo-full-sleeve-wetsuit/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-equip-full-sleeve-wetsuit/

Any reviews or advice. Thanks in advance.

I was getting a wetsuit last year for my wife and faced a similar dilemma. In the end I bought two suits from wiggle and kept the one that fit best. I ended up returning the "better" one in terms of reviews because it just didn't fit her as well. For the sake of a couple of euro to return it was invaluable being able to try on both...

woody1

zone 3 wetsuits getting good reviews,id check them out, brother in law got one last year and has no complaints
wife has an equip, good suit but tears and gets little knicks awfully easily

tunney

SlowMe wrote: »

I was getting a wetsuit last year for my wife and faced a similar dilemma. In the end I bought two suits from wiggle and kept the one that fit best. I ended up returning the "better" one in terms of reviews because it just didn't fit her as well. For the sake of a couple of euro to return it was invaluable being able to try on both...

You could go to a shop in Ireland. Try it on and get expert advice and then buy it there for a comparable price.

peter kern

tritriagain wrote: »

im a strong swimmer (top 10 in my first tri) so would the entry level suits be too bouyant for me. by the way im a ****e cyclist and worse runner so im not bragging about the swimming i just want to make the right choice on a limited budget.

Usually suits are not too buoyant again, I am only making a suggestion on the 2 you outline , as i think everybody else pretty much tells you what you should do. ( i go even further trying on is one thing testing a suit another thing http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/07/gear-tech/the-2013-triathlon-wetsuit-performance-test_80667)

but in your case if you have strong kick you cut the legs a bit off
btw the equipe is not an entry level suit its a suit that a lot of fast people that dont have shoulder issues can use .
yamatoto 39 rubber is a great all round material if you dodnt need super felxible shoulders.

SlowMe

tunney wrote: »

You could go to a shop in Ireland. Try it on and get expert advice and then buy it there for a comparable price.

did that - the shop only had one brand and it didn't fit well. we don't live in a city so not much shopping around opportunity

tunney

SlowMe wrote: »

did that - the shop only had one brand and it didn't fit well. we don't live in a city so not much shopping around opportunity

Live in the south west - AK Limerick
Live in the west - AK Galway
Live in the east - AK Bray, Base2Race etc etc

SlowMe

tunney wrote: »

Live in the south west - AK Limerick
Live in the west - AK Galway
Live in the east - AK Bray, Base2Race etc etc

yes thats probably what I would do now that I know that AK are more than just running people...