I would like to purchase a full body suit for Zone's this year, but can't fork over the cash for a LZR or B70. Has anyone had experience with the Hydra vs the FSII? I'm seeing a hydra for $155 and a FSII for $200, and while these appear to be good deals I'm not sure I'm goign to get the bang for my buck.
Any comments on those two suits?
I would like to purchase a full body suit for Zone's this year, but can't fork over the cash for a LZR or B70. Has anyone had experience with the Hydra vs the FSII? I'm seeing a hydra for $155 and a FSII for $200, and while these appear to be good deals I'm not sure I'm goign to get the bang for my buck.
Any comments on those two suits?
www.all-americanaquatics.com/.../skins_male.html
Go here and you should still be able to get the FSII for a hundred bucks. Or buy the "backstroke" version and swim other strokes anyway with it and save even more.
Could someone who is knowledgeable about body suits post a ranking of which ones are the fastest for which strokes? This could be subjective, but it would still be interesting to see.
Based on not a whole lot of first hand knowledge about the high end products, this is how i would rank them. The ones I have actually worn are in bold:
Top Tier
b70
laser
that new Tyr
Second Tier
Arena
fastskin pro
fastskin II
fastskin I
Tyr aquapel
Tyr aquashift
Aquablade
nike
Distant Third Tier
non-body suits
Very Distant Fourth Tier
Bermudas
Not recommended for swimming
tuxedos
chain mail armor
To be honest, I think the fastskin 1 was slightly faster than the Aquablade for shorter swims. The Aquablade was faster for things like the 1650 and 1-hour postal swims. I couldn't tell much of difference between the FS1 and the Pro (though I only got to wear the Pro one day before it got stolen.) I recently got a cheap Tyr Aquapel, and it seemed as fast, if not faster, than any of them.
The other observation is that I didn't see too much of a difference between the short John vs. the full body versions of the FSI.
Questions:
1) is the FS2 significantly better than the ones I have tried to date and worth the $99?
2) or would I be better off waiting till I can afford a B70 (possibly with the promised masters discount announced in the sponsorship letter)?
3) which is better for middle distance freestyle--short John or full body?
4) if I include in all future Vlogs of me in competition, would any of the Top Tier manufacturers care to take a meeting with my people about future mutually beneficial sponsorship arrangements? Think "Eddie the Eagle" of masters swimming.
Thanks for your help.
Some factors to consider: How much do you weigh these, and your own factors:
1. Compression
2. Buoyancy
3. Fit/feel
4. Price
5. Total useful life
6. Buy for specific event use
"What is the best suit?" Simply put, the LZR is my answer, but of course that is a combination of how much I weigh each factor above.
"What is the best all-day masters full length suit for all your events?" I would say B70.
"What is the best value?" I would say FSII's.
"What will be your next suit purchase?" Both another LZR and FSPro.
Charge,
See you at ZONES in Southlake!!!!
Have you gone to D&J? I go to the "main" location off I35 and Commonwealth. From Plano, you might come down 75, then go 35, the exit Inwood (not Commonwealth or else you will have about 200 feet to swerve into either access-road cars or hopefully into their parking lot). Also see if you get a universal masters discount (on non-sale stuff; not on the practice suits) or that may only be for DAMM members.
Michelle,
No, haven't been there before. Usually get my day to day stuff at Keifer, which is right around the corner from my house here in Plano.
Has anyone tried the backstroke version of the FSII for other strokes. That's a dang good deal!
