The Hunt for a Wetsuit
Why do I need a wetsuit? All that I read about is that these things will make me faster and/or I will expend less energy during the swim. The simple way it does this is that it takes the head out of the equation with keeping your body in plane during the swim. The second major reason for swimming in a wetsuit is that it reduces the drag coefficient of the water. (I love this... Engineering while talking about swimming) Another reason to have them is that they provide warmth during some of the colder swims.
Cheeck out these stats for a 2.4 mile swim...
Wetsuit Type / Average Heart Rate / Time
No Wetsuit / 167 bpm / 1:28:37
Long John wetsuit / 162 bpm / 1:14:00
Full Wetsuit / 154 bpm / 1:09:07
What features should you look for in a wetsuit
- Proper fit
- Material layout
- Neck and wrist seals
- Ease of exit
- Sleeved or sleeveless?
- Construction
- Warranty and service
What kind should you get? Ironman, Orca, Xterra, DeSoto, Zoot, Aquaman, QR (Quintana Roo), ProMotion, or others, they all have good points and can help make you a faster triathlete in the swim. According to the attached article, the high end of each of these manufactures suits are not that much different from each other. So the most important thing that I can think of is suit fit and ease of exit from the suit.
posted by Fe Man @ 9:16 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
BF is a surfer. . . he has several wet suits. I will ask him what he thinks is a good one and let you know.
Ciao
Those stats are pretty impressive! It's a shame they don't do much for the figure!
Thanks, Sicilian... any advice would help.
Mid Life,
Unfortunately, they are made to cling to the body, and are very unflattering. I think they do this so they force racers to run to the transition area to change as fast as possible.
Kind of a motivation ;)
Read back through to your early entries - I didn't realise the distances you are going to have to cover in your quest - that's pretty awesome! Ending up with a Marathon!!! It's just mind-blowing!
Mid Life, it has been a long term goal of mine for several years to get to a point were I'm starting to see the finish line... maybe next year will be the year I do a full Ironman. I will need to put my training into overdrive and devote a full 6 – 10 months on it.
my spouse just did a triathlon in Philly and we are now wondering if he caught something from the water in the schuylkill river !! It really was an amazing experience! He bought a wet suit (decided on the armless version so as to have better range of motion) but the water was too warm so they didnt allow them!!! 300$ for nothing! lol
cheers! Kate
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