Yeah, yeah I know...being an oversized clydesdale and maxing out the sizing chart on a suit is setting myself up for problems....but blowing the inner thigh seam on my B70 after only about 6 swims pissed me off.
Even more disturbing is that at least a dozen other swimmers in Portland had major problems with the B70 as well...plus I've gotten some emails from people who saw my post complaining as well.
B70 has a problem...thankfully it does appear that they will honor a one year warranty but lets see how long that lasts if they get buried with returns.
Add to this discussion the fact that I know of at least 6 swimmers who have raced in LZR's and had failures as well....at $400-$550 a pop I'm more than a little concerned.
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.)
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.)
