I reported earlier that my B70 Nero comp legskin developed a tear. I bought it the last day of LCM Nats in Portland on August 17. I swam 2 events in it there, one meet and 5 events in November, and finally 4 events at a meet in December. At the last meet a teammate noticed a tear developing. The hole looked like a seam or lamination in the fabric was letting go. The attached thumbnail shows the tear, which was above the stitched crotch seam and below the zipper. The stated warranty is 90 days, so I was about 3 weeks outside that when the tear developed.
I am 6'2" and 195, and the suit was a 30, so I was more or less within the guidelines. I also bought the size recommended by the vendor, Kastaway.
I didn't warm up or practice in the suit at all, and was pretty careful putting it on. When I looked at the tear closely, I didn't see any sign that I'd snagged it on something or torn it somehow.
I sent an email to blueseventy in Seattle, got a prompt response from Shawn Lucas and (indirectly) Roque Santos, and after I sent the picture, an RA#. I sent the torn suit back, and today received a brand spanking new replacement under warranty via UPS, no charge.
Excellent customer service, gentlemen, thank you!
I've mentioned before that I love the suit. I did not like my FS Pro full suit for breaststroke, but the B70, even with the full leg, works for all strokes.
I'm even happier with it now.
Sorry to gloat, but I'm so glad I didn't drop $500 on one of these things, that are going to be banned soon anyhow.
While I too am glad the old suits are banned, two corrections: they weren't $500 and (even after this SCY season) they are still around in FINA-legal versions. So issues of customer service are still important, particular for people trying to get trade-ins.
I paid right around $300 for mine just about one year ago. In my opinion I've gotten my money's worth. Let's see, I used it at PNA Champs last year, Clovis Nationals, the Fat Salmon and Big Shoulders OW swims, a SCM meet in December and the One Hour Postal. And I've still got a couple more pool opportunities left and then I believe it's still legal for open water this summer.
I never dealt directly with B70 from a service perspective, but these suits were/are great value for $. I bought my first B70 in Nov 2008 and am still racing in it. Yeah, it's gotten a little looser, but it's still great to throw on for in-season meets. I bought a new one in Oct 2009 for a tighter fit and expect that I'll use it for years to come -- in meets until June 1, in selected training and in OW events as long as they're legal and/or when I want to swim in a wetsuit division with relatively warm water.
I also wear a B70 wetsuit for cold water swims. I really do think it's a great company that makes great products. With all that said, I kind of doubt I'll buy any super high tech jammers as I'm having a hard time believing they'll be much incremental advantage of the new B70/Speedo/TYR versus something like Aquapel, Aquablade, etc. I might change my mind by the time my fall SCM taper meet or Mesa SCY Nationals rolls around.
Sorry to gloat, but I'm so glad I didn't drop $500 on one of these things, that are going to be banned soon anyhow.
Hmmmm ... gloating over someone's misfortune? Maybe this should go on the hyper-competitive no no list.
I paid $100 for mine. However, I would still appreciate it being replaced since I had used it far less than the guaranteed 15 swims.
I have since also heard several other B70 ordering and replacement problems, so I'm thinking scarcity could be an issue.
Fort, you jinxed me. I wore mine today to workout b/c I am beyond sore and can hardly move my arms. Funny that the suit didn't really help too much, 'cause I still had to move my arms!!! :lmao:
Taking it off though I noticed a rip. I haven't had it that long, so I'll be contacting them today to see if they happen to have a 28 that is lonely on their shelf, and would like a good home.
The fact that it's an unethical cheat? :bolt:
("Free markets" are nice as theoretical concepts, but they don't actually exist in the real world anyway.)
I'm sorry. I didn't realize that one could address the economics of a country and leave out the political part. You're right, one could never influence the other. :bow:
I'll go back to sticking my head under the water now.
:bliss:
I'm sorry. I didn't realize that one could address the economics of a country and leave out the political part. You're right, one could never influence the other. :bow:
I'll go back to sticking my head under the water now.
:bliss:
Hey did you score your size 28, Karen? I heard someone who ordered that size months ago was told "back order."
I was lucky to get a brand new one for $60 from a high school team thanks to a friend. :)
I'm sorry. I didn't realize that one could address the economics of a country and leave out the political part. You're right, one could never influence the other.
Economics and politics are certainly related but not quite the same thing, no. (And of course I never mentioned any specific country at all.)
Yup. The older record was set in jammers.
Would Lochte have been in a tech suit in 2007 when he set the 200 yard IM record?
My hypothesis is that we're going to still see fast times and still see records getting broken. I can't imagine that Phelps is in peak shape right now, no matter how fast he's swimming. Whenever he and other world elites next peak for an LCM meet, I think we'll still see world records taken down.
Maybe then, everyone will realize the psychological power of hype and marketing (kudos Speedo et. al.), the prowess of the athletes and we can put this whole thing behind us ... oh yeah, and re-approve the Nero Comp since we'd realize by then that they don't matter nearly as much as the swimmer inside them.:)
Hey did you score your size 28, Karen? I heard someone who ordered that size months ago was told "back order."
I was lucky to get a brand new one for $60 from a high school team thanks to a friend. :)
I haven't even called yet! I've been so busy swimming (between 2-4 times/day), taxi-ing children, and, oh yeah, working (I should be doing that too!), that I simply haven't.
I should do it now while I'm thinking about it. I'll let you know.
I have my Yingfa and a Finis, both that I really like, so I'm not too worried about it at the moment.
