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
I'm surprised that you techies can't see the difference between a $5 pair of goggles and a $500 wetsuit...
I got to see a rack full of tech suits up close over Christmas, and they aren't anything like wetsuits. The fabric in a tech suit is incredibly thin. I can see why people compare them to "paper" suits, which I believe were made of a thin stretch woven polyester? I find it hard to believe you'd get much added buoyancy from them for more than 50 meters or so.
(Actually, the last time I was in Fabricland buying interfacing, I found a stretch woven water repellant nylon that looks and feels remarkably like the Tyr Aquapel fabric. Hmmmm.... where to find a suitable pattern...:D )
Wetsuits are made from closed cell foam and definitely improve one's time - and yet, even I manage to pass a couple of wetsuit wearers in an open water race last summer.
Several people have compared them to carbon fiber bikes. Well, in the 1999 Pan Am games, a Cuban on an old steel Colnago track bike took the "Kilo" time trial over a competitor on a high-tech carbon fiber time trial track bike. Go figure - all that extra money didn't buy the competitor any speed.
I'm surprised that you techies can't see the difference between a $5 pair of goggles and a $500 wetsuit...
I got to see a rack full of tech suits up close over Christmas, and they aren't anything like wetsuits. The fabric in a tech suit is incredibly thin. I can see why people compare them to "paper" suits, which I believe were made of a thin stretch woven polyester? I find it hard to believe you'd get much added buoyancy from them for more than 50 meters or so.
(Actually, the last time I was in Fabricland buying interfacing, I found a stretch woven water repellant nylon that looks and feels remarkably like the Tyr Aquapel fabric. Hmmmm.... where to find a suitable pattern...:D )
Wetsuits are made from closed cell foam and definitely improve one's time - and yet, even I manage to pass a couple of wetsuit wearers in an open water race last summer.
Several people have compared them to carbon fiber bikes. Well, in the 1999 Pan Am games, a Cuban on an old steel Colnago track bike took the "Kilo" time trial over a competitor on a high-tech carbon fiber time trial track bike. Go figure - all that extra money didn't buy the competitor any speed.
