Blue 70 vs. LZR

Hey Chris, I swam three events: 50 fly on Saturday, and a couple of 50s freestyle on Sunday. I wore a jammer for the fly, had a disappointing race, and decided to switch suits to a lycra brief ($17 at the tent sale) for Sunday. I found that the psychological advantage of the tech suits amounted to just about nothing for me. It was really the last thing on my mind when I was racing yesterday. Beyond that, race preparation was a lot easier and more relaxed because I was able to deck change into my racing suit. I dislike the all-bundled-up feeling of the body suits, especially when it's 100 degrees. I had a similar experience...at SCY zones last spring I intended to wear jammers for my first race, the 200 back. But at the last minute, for comfort reasons, I switched to briefs and swam my fastest time in over 10 years. The B70 material WOULD make for excellent solar panels! When dry, I wondered out onto the pool deck to see what heat was swimming and when the sun hit the suit I felt like I was boiling! It was instantaneous. But when the suit was wet (I like to be in the warm up pool until the last minute), I didn't notice any discomfort even in direct sunlight. I have this suspicion -- unsupported, just a feeling -- that for me the B70 might have its biggest effect on the underwater portions of the race. If so, their advantage would be greatest in SCM and SCY. I'll do a test comparing them next spring when I do a rested prelims/finals SCY meet. If there is little effect there, then I doubt there would be much effect in LCM. (Keeping in mind that the suits' advantages may depend on individual factors like body type and stroke mechanics. Ande made a comment once about the suits counteracting the effect of "loose skin" for elderly swimmers and that makes a lot of sense to me.)

I got a Blue 70 on Sunday and swam the 50 free and a 50 *** relay leg in it. I'm 6'2", 195, went with a 30 on Patty's recommendation. Didn't try a 28. Random thoughts: Way easier to put on than my full FS Pro. I felt a lot of water moving through it in the free. At first I thought I'd bought too big, but I think I just didn't have the neck pulled up snug enough. I tugged the torso up and snugged the neck up higher for my *** leg, and didn't experience any water moving. I would have expected more water moving in *** vs. free. I went with the full leg vs. kneeskin after watching Pat Allender win the 100 *** -- by 1/100th -- wearing one. I didn't like my FS Pro full suit for *** at all, but decided to give the Blue 70 a try. Results: I went a 27.67 50 free vs. a 28.52 pr, but this was not unexpected. I had split 2 27 lows wearing my old suits in relays already at the meet. I didn't have a very crisp feeling swim, I think the heat and meet fatigue were getting to me, and I had the water flushing issue. So for the first swim the results were equivocal. The second swim sold me, though. I felt like I had a good, solid *** leg. My flat start pr, set in April of this year, was 37.69, and I figured I was 37 low, maybe dipping into the 36s. I split a 34.81. Even allowing for a relay start, that's crazy improvement. From talking with other folks, dropping seconds per hundred is not uncommon. The guy next to me in the 100 free, another Oregon swimmer, has always been a 1:03ish seed. I saw that he had gone a 1:00 in a meet a month ago and asked him about it before our 100. He attributed it to the Blue 70. He went a 59.56 in our race at Nationals, and was a big part of the reason I decided to give the suit a try. Don't stand in the sun with it unless you're cold and trying to warm up. They are excellent solar collectors. I think they may help the breaststrokers and fliers more than the free/back folks. Lots of glide and easy feeling speed. Blue 70s were everywhere at the meet. I only saw one guy wearing an LZR, although I'm sure there were others.

I didn't see any LZRs but I was pretty much camped out by the warm-up pool. I wore an FSPro this meet ... I think it's the 3rd/4th one I've owned and truly the first one that actually fits. I cannot believe how off I was in my first sizing attempt - anyway - I noticed a rip on the seem in the leg. It's the first hole I've ever had in a race suit - FSI, FSII or FSPro. I think I might abandon the LZR and go for the B70 especially if it'll help me keep my ass up at the end of my 100 fly.

I am cracking up..... I sell suits for a partial living and I expect these high end suits not to last past a few meets or even swims. With the materials used, the types of seems, and the amount of compression designed into these suits I expect many of them to split, fail, etc from just being put on the many different body types out there. Come on Paul, being of the clydsdale body type and considering the many not so finely tuned masters bodies out there, you couldn't expect these suits to last too long! I'm trying to educate my customers that it probably isn't money well spent on these suits considering the small amount of advantage you truely gain from them.

I am cracking up..... I sell suits for a partial living... Or do you mean you sell partial suits for a living? Paul may be a good target in order to compliment the partial one he currently owns. Do two partials = a whole?

I'm starting to see a good business opportunity here for someone with a good sewing machine!

They do seem very small in the butt area. Oh sure they do. What are you REALLY trying to say here? Not enuf fabric, why?

swimoutlet.com no longer has a pre-order for the LZR or the Tracer Rise.Neither TYR nor Speedo have the the suits available on their websites.What happened?

Oh sure they do. What are you REALLY trying to say here? Not enuf fabric, why? Hahaha. That I have a big butt? Dennis' comments were very interesting. And I had been thinking these suits might last longer ... I really don't feel like wearing a suit underneath just to protect against ripping. Did anyone stack bodysuits at Nats as ande suggested?

Did anyone stack bodysuits at Nats as ande suggested? The only stacking I noticed was that some guys wore a brief under their bodysuit. Some of those bodysuits are pretty much transparent so I think the brief was there for coverage. On that note, can I get a ruling on whether we need to change what "pulling a Smith" means? I was right there at ground zero waiting for my 100 fly heat when the horror unfolded... er, unthreaded. :eek: