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?
Parents
Former Member
Hmmm, to play the devil's advocate:
-- some say that the latest suits provide some buoyancy, giving a mechanical advantage
-- how does anything you say in support of tech suits, not also apply to wetsuits? It seems inconsistent to me to say that tech suits are okay but wetsuits are not.
Good points, however....
1) In a fairly distant past post, I advocated that all suits be no more than neutrally buoyant. I still believe that is the correct way to go. So, to amend what I said before and make it more explicit, I have no issue with passive advantages (e.g. reduced drag) of tech suits; I do have issues with anything that provides a true mechanical advantage such as positive buoyancy.
2) My take on wetsuits is actually a bit tongue-in-cheek, so sorry if my arid sense of humor got lost. Again, as I've said in the past, my belief on wetsuits for open water is that they are fine if it gets more people to participate, especially if the event raises money for charity. Like I said, I really don't care too much about getting another medal. Ideally, they wouldn't be positively buoyant, but to be realistic, I think that horse has already left the barn. However, people who wear wetsuits are moral lepers and I can allow myself to feel righteous and superior since I probably can't beat them anyway - when you are as slow as I am, you grasp at anything to salvage what little self-esteem you can.
-LBJ
Hmmm, to play the devil's advocate:
-- some say that the latest suits provide some buoyancy, giving a mechanical advantage
-- how does anything you say in support of tech suits, not also apply to wetsuits? It seems inconsistent to me to say that tech suits are okay but wetsuits are not.
Good points, however....
1) In a fairly distant past post, I advocated that all suits be no more than neutrally buoyant. I still believe that is the correct way to go. So, to amend what I said before and make it more explicit, I have no issue with passive advantages (e.g. reduced drag) of tech suits; I do have issues with anything that provides a true mechanical advantage such as positive buoyancy.
2) My take on wetsuits is actually a bit tongue-in-cheek, so sorry if my arid sense of humor got lost. Again, as I've said in the past, my belief on wetsuits for open water is that they are fine if it gets more people to participate, especially if the event raises money for charity. Like I said, I really don't care too much about getting another medal. Ideally, they wouldn't be positively buoyant, but to be realistic, I think that horse has already left the barn. However, people who wear wetsuits are moral lepers and I can allow myself to feel righteous and superior since I probably can't beat them anyway - when you are as slow as I am, you grasp at anything to salvage what little self-esteem you can.
-LBJ
