While a bodysuit may provide a hydrodynamic advantage over bare skin, I have not yet seen a discussion regarding the additional weight of using a bodysuit. More particularly, water infiltrates the suit and remains within the suit as you swim. That is, water infiltrates the structure of the textile and also gets trapped between the suit and your skin. As you move through the water, the energy you exert also has to move the water within the suit.
Let us look at some basic math: the average body surface area for a man is 1.9 meters squared (this is from an article in Wikipedia on body surface area, BSA), which equals 19,000 cm squared. If an average of only one millimeter of water is trapped by the suit (i.e., within the structure of the textile and between the suit and your body), then a volume of 1,900 cm cubed of water is being pulled along with you.
Given that water has a mass of approximately one gram per cm cubed, this adds 1900 extra grams to your body. This translates to about 4.2 pounds of extra weight that you have to pull through the water.
The question is: would you rather have slightly better hydrodynamics or lesser weight. Personally, I'll go for the lesser weight any day. Your thoughts?
I love a bodysuit for meets! I have a fairly new FSI I purchased for $60. I've swum fast times in it, so it feels lucky, but it also feels heavy. My FSII was fine, a bit lighter than the FS I, but it's completely shot now and unusable. My fav is by far the Pro. It is ultra lightweight. If you hold the FS I and the Pro is your two hands, there is a very noticeable difference in weight. The Pro feels sleek in the water to me too. Not sure about this, but I think its lightweight nature helps more overly slightly longer distances. I believe in the Post article, Zeigler says it made her legs feel lighter. There is some bubbling, but it does not bother me. So I much prefer suit to skin, and I think it's slightly faster.
I'm sure this varies person to person. I know Ande hated his Pro. I know some people that have had ripping issues with them. There are plenty of other good technical suits too. I've heard good things about the Arena suits. But, right now, I'd take the Pro over the FS I or FS II. It's got the same compression, but is lighter and zippier.
One note on these suits, which most know. They just don't last long in terms of water repellancy. A college coach told me recently that his kids use a fastskin for 2-3 meets, and then they get new ones. I plan to use mine longer than that. But it's a hefty investment for a short shelf life. But you do feel like you're in a superman costume with it on! :woot:
Jim: I have a teammate that likes those long john style suits, but he can't find them anymore. His fav suit is a "paper" suit from decades ago that he saved. The texture remind me of the new Pro.
I love a bodysuit for meets! I have a fairly new FSI I purchased for $60. I've swum fast times in it, so it feels lucky, but it also feels heavy. My FSII was fine, a bit lighter than the FS I, but it's completely shot now and unusable. My fav is by far the Pro. It is ultra lightweight. If you hold the FS I and the Pro is your two hands, there is a very noticeable difference in weight. The Pro feels sleek in the water to me too. Not sure about this, but I think its lightweight nature helps more overly slightly longer distances. I believe in the Post article, Zeigler says it made her legs feel lighter. There is some bubbling, but it does not bother me. So I much prefer suit to skin, and I think it's slightly faster.
I'm sure this varies person to person. I know Ande hated his Pro. I know some people that have had ripping issues with them. There are plenty of other good technical suits too. I've heard good things about the Arena suits. But, right now, I'd take the Pro over the FS I or FS II. It's got the same compression, but is lighter and zippier.
One note on these suits, which most know. They just don't last long in terms of water repellancy. A college coach told me recently that his kids use a fastskin for 2-3 meets, and then they get new ones. I plan to use mine longer than that. But it's a hefty investment for a short shelf life. But you do feel like you're in a superman costume with it on! :woot:
Jim: I have a teammate that likes those long john style suits, but he can't find them anymore. His fav suit is a "paper" suit from decades ago that he saved. The texture remind me of the new Pro.
