If you can wear it, wear it. Like sleeveless, but for 76 you don't need it. I surf in just my boardshorts till it hits the 60's. You shouldn't overheat in it. I've worn wetsuits walking around when its pretty warm out and the most that happens is you sweat. For a shortish time you will be wearing it, if it's wetsuit legal you should be fine.

for 76 degrees a full is too warm usually sub 70 is when you wanna use a full, go for the sleveless or the spring suit(no arms or lower legs) the floatation factor is benficial espescially if your not used to open water swims in the ocean. when the weather warms up do aloy of open water swimming, good luck

Definitely wear it. The temp is an issue and I agree on getting a suit with less fabric, but the buoyancy is definitely worth it for things like making sighting easier, etc...

wear the wetsuit, everyone else will be, 76 degrees really isnt that warm (i live in south fla so here thats really cold) and the diference between the john and full suit in terms of overheating is minimal at best, wear the suit you'll be glad you did

Wear it. It adds a significant level of safety as well as making you invulnerable to jellyfish over 90% of your body.

You will have bouyancy from the wetsuit as well as the SALT WATER. So your 'cruising speed' effort in a pool will be easily attainable at an easy/do-no-harm/sub-overheating effort in the ocean. (In real numbers, if you do a 1.2 in 40min in just a swimsuit at the pool, expect to do it around 36min in the ocean with a wetsuit +or- depending on tidal direction.)

Unless the point is to swim in cold water and the wetsuit is needed to survive, i think wetsuits and all those other suits are cheating. i know that is a strong word, but at some point the technology allows results that are otherwise unacheivable.

i don't pay enough attention to these sports to know for sure, but I think some golf clubs, baseball bats, tennis raquets can't be used in various levels of the sport because their advantage is overwhelming to the athletes' ability. The same seems to be true of wetsuits.

I don't really care that much whether people wear wetsuits or not (although i did think that the suits olympic swimmers were wearing got to be a little over the top), and if i need a wetsuit to qualify for kona (when i am 70 and everyone faster has either passed away or given up) then I will probably do it.

But, I guess today I am in a sharing mood, and I thought I'd share this view. If you need a wetsuit to complete a triathlon - welcome to the sport and good luck. If you are still wearing it a couple years later, then I think you are cheating.

What's that they say on CNN.... just sayin'

[quote=olivestri]Unless the point is to swim in cold water and the wetsuit is needed to survive, i think wetsuits and all those other suits are cheating. i know that is a strong word, but at some point the technology allows results that are otherwise unacheivable.

i don't pay enough attention to these sports to know for sure, but I think some golf clubs, baseball bats, tennis raquets can't be used in various levels of the sport because their advantage is overwhelming to the athletes' ability. The same seems to be true of wetsuits.

I don't really care that much whether people wear wetsuits or not (although i did think that the suits olympic swimmers were wearing got to be a little over the top), and if i need a wetsuit to qualify for kona (when i am 70 and everyone faster has either passed away or given up) then I will probably do it.

But, I guess today I am in a sharing mood, and I thought I'd share this view. If you need a wetsuit to complete a triathlon - welcome to the sport and good luck. If you are still wearing it a couple years later, then I think you are cheating.

What's that they say on CNN.... just sayin' [/quote]

Wetsuits are legal for age groupers in water temps under 78 degrees.
Aerobars are legal in all non-ITU races.

I can finish my bike ride about 1-2 MPH faster on aerobars than drops. According to one study, I might even run faster after riding on them. Am I cheating by using aerobars too?

No, you are not cheating by using areobars. Thanks for asking though.

[quote=olivestri]No, you are not cheating by using areobars. Thanks for asking though.[/quote]

So what is the difference between aerobars (reduces drag, big time advantage, legal by the letter of the rules) and a wetsuit (reduces drag, time advantage, legal by the letter of the rules).

Why is one cheating and the other not?

well, first, i don't think you can count the rules. i don't mean cheating as in you are breaking the rules, i mean cheating as in an advantage that undermines the sport. i would be the first to agree that allowing wetsuits opens up the sport to greater participation, and that is a good thing, but once you've learned how to swim, i think you should take that wetsuit off.

i think the bike is different because a bike itself is a piece of technology and all the modifications to a basic bike don't cross the line in my head.

but for me swimming and running are you against the ocean, river, pool, or the trail, road. i think you could argue that some running shoes provide a technological advantage (for example, I swear i am faster on my newtons - i've mentioned them so many times today, i should be getting a sponsorship soon), but running shoes do not have the impact a wetsuit does.

when you add a wetsuit to the equation (and the bouyancy you did not mention) it is no longer you swimming. yes, your arms and legs are moving, but the environmental factors have been so removed that i'm not sure you are still swimming.

as they say in Ireland - those are my two abe lincolns.

[quote=olivestri]well, first, i don't think you can count the rules. i don't mean cheating as in you are breaking the rules, i mean cheating as in an advantage that undermines the sport. [/quote]

I guess that's where you and I fundamentally disagree. I do count the rules, because without them there is no cheating. Cheating, to me, is doing something proscribed by the rules of the game. You say that wearing a wetsuit might not be swimming because "environmental factors have been so removed." I'm not sure what that means. But I don't know that a wetsuit is, and has been, a legal piece of equipment for the majority of triathlon's history. And I don't think wearing a wetsuit violates any unwritten rules either (or at least the 2200+ people I swam with at IMOO last year were all breaking that unwritten rule right along with me. Unless, per your exception to the unwritten rule, they're brand new to the sport. Which is a possiblity at IMs these days. But I digress.)

I can think of 7 or 8 pieces of equipment right off the bat that provide a direct speed advantage in tri. Most are on the bike, but I would include racing flats and wetsuits too. I can also think of at least 2 things that can provide an indirect advantage for most people who choose to use them. (Caffeine and pace devices like a Garmin or Polar).

Several of these gadgets are outlawed in other sports--like the UCI's prohibition on the Shiv, certain parts of the P4, sleeveless jerseys, etc., wetsuits in most swimming events, Garmin devices in USATF running events. But when I'm doing a tri, I don't care about what's legal or not in other sports. I care about what's legal in the event I'm competing in.

If the rules say no swimming with a wetsuit, I'll happily compy (see my current profile pic for visual evidence). Otherwise, I'm going to try to go as fast as possible, and if that means wearing a wetsuit, I will wear a wetsuit.

Okay. Although I think you are taking the rules a little too seriously. Maybe I am just mad that I cannot afford a cool wetsuit.

BTW - I agree with you that pace devices are cheating. But not caffeine.