Hi,
I am thinking of investing in a wetsuit. Any wisdom out there? What style is the best...long, short, sleeves, no sleeves. Where is the best place to find one? Does wearing a wetsuit significantly improve your time?
Last year I did the 1 mile swim in the Chesapeake Bay. Most people had wetsuits. The water temperature was 72 degrees, and I was not cold at all even though I did not have a wetsuit.
Any thoughts?
Swimmy :)
Allyson,
Wetsuits provide warmth and buoyancy. The added buoyancy does significantly improve your time, typically from 1 to 5 minutes per mile.
As for which style is best, that really depends on what you are looking for and how much you want to spend. When I purchased my wetsuit (full body IronMan VO2 Stealth) the full body suits were running around $350 with the short sleeves and sleeveless running significantly less. I bought mine to compete in triathlon relays and for money swims that allowed wetsuits.
For more information, you can search this site for wetsuits, although most of us are biased against wetsuits, as seen in the previous posts. For information biased towards wetsuits, check out some of the triathlon sites.
And where to find wetsuits, they are available online, but if you are getting into your first one, I would recommend finding a bike shop that carries triathlon gear. This way you can try them on before you buy one. You want a snug fit that doesn’t feel like it is squeezing the air out of you and you want full range of motion for your arms.
Allyson,
Wetsuits provide warmth and buoyancy. The added buoyancy does significantly improve your time, typically from 1 to 5 minutes per mile.
As for which style is best, that really depends on what you are looking for and how much you want to spend. When I purchased my wetsuit (full body IronMan VO2 Stealth) the full body suits were running around $350 with the short sleeves and sleeveless running significantly less. I bought mine to compete in triathlon relays and for money swims that allowed wetsuits.
For more information, you can search this site for wetsuits, although most of us are biased against wetsuits, as seen in the previous posts. For information biased towards wetsuits, check out some of the triathlon sites.
And where to find wetsuits, they are available online, but if you are getting into your first one, I would recommend finding a bike shop that carries triathlon gear. This way you can try them on before you buy one. You want a snug fit that doesn’t feel like it is squeezing the air out of you and you want full range of motion for your arms.
