I am just back from the SPMA meet where all the top finisher were wearing the latest generation tech suits,mostly B-70s(or were named Jeff Commings.)I have here to for been in favor of the suits,but now I am not so sure.First,they eliminate the old bench marks.I went my fastest 100m BR in 5 yr in my LZR,but it was only .3 sec faster than I did untapered 5 wk earlier in my first swim in the LZR.So was my swim good or not,I'm not sure.Also,instead of focusing on technique or pace I found myself ruminating over aspects of the suits,how many more swims did the suit have,is it the right size,was the reason I didn't get better results from my B-70 because it was too big?etc.The B-70 has somewhat mitigated the "too expensive,not durable" problem,but for how long.
Lets say a company comes up with a suit that is much faster,say 4 sec/100.Further that it is very expensive(say $1000) lasts 4 swims and is very hard to make so that quantities are always limited and the fastest way to get one is to bid up to $3000 on ebay. Now lets say your nemesis has one,or that getting one is your best chance to get TT or AA or a ZR or WR,or that your child is close to making JO cuts,or finally beating his/her nemesis etc. Is it worth it and where does it stop?
pot stirring time:
two more topics for poll/discussion relating to this subject.
1. at what point do the tech suits become unreasonable?
a- $500 suit = (-).5 sec pre 100 yds
b- $1,000 suit = (-)1 second per 100 yds
c- $5,000 suit = (-) 2 seconds per 100 yards
you get the idea. so i would love to hear from the pro suits here.
2. how many folks on this forum in favor of the tech suits are in fact not paying for them? come on.... full disclosure here.
Are you assuming FINA approves these suits?
I recall this post from another anti-tech suit thread:
"I understand that there are "concept" suits (not related to swimming) that have the potential, via some biofeedback mechanism, to postpone or mitigate the effects of fatigue. I also saw another post that mentioned a nano-fabric material that is hydrophobic (much like an article about water lillies in a recent SciAm). My point is that the current generation of swim skin/speed suits are merely a manifestation of technology and that we should expect further performance enhancing developments."
Those sound like they could be a tad spendy. I can't see shelling out big bucks for a suit that only lasts a few swims.
Apart from gossip, I've only had one masters swimmer tell me that he/she gets free suits. I'm sure the vast majority don't.
pot stirring time:
two more topics for poll/discussion relating to this subject.
1. at what point do the tech suits become unreasonable?
a- $500 suit = (-).5 sec pre 100 yds
b- $1,000 suit = (-)1 second per 100 yds
c- $5,000 suit = (-) 2 seconds per 100 yards
you get the idea. so i would love to hear from the pro suits here.
2. how many folks on this forum in favor of the tech suits are in fact not paying for them? come on.... full disclosure here.
Are you assuming FINA approves these suits?
I recall this post from another anti-tech suit thread:
"I understand that there are "concept" suits (not related to swimming) that have the potential, via some biofeedback mechanism, to postpone or mitigate the effects of fatigue. I also saw another post that mentioned a nano-fabric material that is hydrophobic (much like an article about water lillies in a recent SciAm). My point is that the current generation of swim skin/speed suits are merely a manifestation of technology and that we should expect further performance enhancing developments."
Those sound like they could be a tad spendy. I can't see shelling out big bucks for a suit that only lasts a few swims.
Apart from gossip, I've only had one masters swimmer tell me that he/she gets free suits. I'm sure the vast majority don't.
