General Wetsuit vs Triathlon Specific Wetsuit
 

I'm seeing that you can buy entry level full wetsuits for about $100 but that triathlon specific wetsuits (orca, xterra, ironman) are more like $250+.

For someone who's just starting in the sport and who's only doing sprints and maybe will do an oly next year, is there really such a big difference? Is it really worth the extra money or should I go with a regular wetsuit for now and move up later?

From my limited experience, don't bother spending money on a non-tri wetsuit. After only 1 race I have learned that they absorb more water so they become heavier and are much more restrictive for arm movement. I used this wetsuit because I already owned it. If I was just going to buy one, tri-suit all the way...now which one? full, legs/no-arms/shorty? who knows??

I'd second the motion for a real tri-suit. I bought a used windsurfing wetsuit last year that I thought would do the trick. I'm bouyant at the start, but by the end of a long swim, I was going way slow.

Why was it the rest of my team swam 1-2 minutes faster over 2k and I was 3 minutes slower (than our pool times)? Could I blame the suit?

I tested it swimming some 500m loops in open water between docks, both with the suit and without. I certainly wasn't faster with the suit, though I should have been. (I certainly was colder without!).

I'll be saving some coffee money over the next year to get a real tri wet suit for my peak race next year.

JT

Scuba vs. Tri
 

Where I live, Scuba wetsuits are everywhere and waayyyyyy cheaper than tri suits. I was thinking about getting an O'neil 3/2 (3 mil over torso, 2mil on arms and legs) for about $120 at a local dive shop. I can't swim in it before I buy it, but was planning on trying it on and seeing what kind of upper body flexibility it has.

If dive wetsuits are so cheap and plentiful, why are tri suits so much higher? Is it a supply and demand thing? I've been diving for years and am familiar with the cost of dive wetsuits, but the costs of tri wetsuits sure does seem high in comparison.

I only need a wetsuit for 1 race that's in April since the Gulf temps are still below 70. This year, I used my 3 mil farmer john and a Body Glove Polartech. Other than feeling a little compressed in the chest (could have been the cold water?) it seemed fine but I have nothing to compare it to.

I need something toasty for winter training in my pond (no good pool access! Bummer). I plan on also wearing a neoprene hood, gloves and socks. My pond water gets in the 40s. I figure to just swim 15 minutes twice a week all winter, and then hit it harder once Spring shows up. I've got my sights set on the Half-Iron in Panama City in May.

Does anyone else living in a dive-heavy area use their dive wetsuit, too?

I learned a lot from the posts here. I have been increasingly frustrated with my open water swim times compared to the pool times. I KNOW that it is apples and oranges with the two but my pool times are around 13 minutes for 800 yards and the sprints that I have done my swim time is around 16 minutes. I won't ever do a race without the security (bouyancy) of a wetsuit but I never thought that my free handmedown body glove wetsuit might be what is holding me back. I am looking to do iron in 2006 and I will invest the money then. Has anyone ever noticed their arms getting too cold with a farmer john? Do the triathlon wetsuits still give you bouyancy?

Sorry I can't answer any of the earlier questions...I just have my own (newbie) wetsuit experience to relate....

In preparation for my first tri earlier this summer, I did my first open-water training swim in an O'Neill shortie suit I already had. Had a total panic attack because it was so constricting in the neck and chest. I ended up doing the tri in a one-piece suit I bought way back when I got my road bike...didn't know at the time but I guess it's really a tri-suit...and everything was fine.

But I'm doing my second tri this coming Sunday and, while it's a short swim (1/4 mile), it's in Lake Superior, so I thought maybe I should try another wetsuit.

Just received my Ironman Instinct longjohn today ($180 at all3sports.com with free shipping) and after putting it on and taking it off a couple of times - not even going in the water - I can tell I won't have the same problem I had with the O'Neill. Everything's different...fit, thickness, feel...I'm hoping it will help make my weakest leg of the tri just a little bit better!

Lori

Has anyone ever noticed their arms getting too cold with a farmer john? Do the triathlon wetsuits still give you bouyancy?


I have a sleeveless and don't have a problem with temp. (my arms just don't move right in an sleeved suit)

Triathlon wetsuits will give you bouyancy.

tri wetsuit
 

I have an ORCA speedsuit and the wetsuit makes it almost effortless to swim by keeping your legs and torso at the surface. I really feel it improves swim performance. I did a 1500 meter swim the pool in 34 minutes and did my swim in open water with the wetsuit in 30. If you read anything about the tri wetsuits they all state they aid in buoyancy and from what I felt I agree. Hope that helps. My girlfriend thinks so too.

I also have an Orca wetsuit. It is a great suit, completely different material from my oneil surfing 3/2 wetsuit, the Orca has a thinner material compared to your typical wetsuit. I would highly suggest not wasting your money (as mentioned above) on a non-tri wetsuit. The bouyancy is still there, and the flexibility in my tri-wetsuit compared to my regular wetsuit is substancially better! As far as Farmer-John goes, I would have to guess - if the water is cold enough, you just won't feel your arms anymore! :) Hope this helped.

i also have a ORCA speed suit...love it! i have one with sleeves...if you do swims where the water is cool, ie lakes in the northern US...then i'd reccomend a long sleved suit...the material around where arm movement takes place is a lot thinner than the rest of the suit, as not to restrict arm movement, or fatugue your arms.


Side note: i'd reccomend a pull buoy for the pool...gives a similar feel as the wetsuit...no kicking necessary...works on arm strength. not all the time, but just once in a while for a few 100 yds of drilling to work on your stroke.