triathletes do; swimmers don't.
Here's a swimmer who does where one when the water's too cold. I know the real purists train themselves to swim in cold water and I'm right impressed with that. However, as I do all my swim training in relatively hot pools in Arizona, you can bet I'll be racing in a wetsuit if the water's too cold (by my standards).
Now, having said that, I tend to enter races primarily where the water is warmish because life's too short to freeze.
Caveat: I live in Arizona and even find our winters here too cold!
Bring on the heat.
I thought beside warmth etc., another reason to wear wet suit in open water is to protect from the elements in the water, and maybe bites from animals??
The water gets into a wet suit, so it will not protect you against salt, bacteria, or chemical pollutants in the water.
As to bites, depends on what animals. Any skin-covering suit will protect against jellyfish stings (and sunburn). You do look more like a sea lion in a wet suit, both to me and (some say) to Jaws, and I am pretty sure a wet suit will not protect you against the jaws of Jaws.
,,,BUT I did wear a blueseventy neoprene cap with a chin strap and silicone earplugs
In this era of "approved/legal equipment," do you know if such a cap is allowed in USMS OW events?
Silly question but, um, how "insulated" are those of you who are talking about really low temperatures without a wetsuit? I don't use one for swim races, but then again, I choose my races so that I'm not in a position of freezing. I don't have a lot of insulation and the idea of some of the temperatures you are talking about just gives me chills even thinking about it!
I remember doing the Huntington Bay 5K several years ago and coming out with my husband looking positively freaked because I couldn't get warm, couldn't speak very well, couldn't really use my hands....It was all okay, but I don't see how I could actually acclimate myself beyond a certain point.
I'm not super skinny or anything, but I'm also no Lynne Cox...
triathletes do; swimmers don't.
That's one of the problems that swimming has right now, which is hampering growth and creating bad feelings. If people continue to hold these attitudes, we will shut-out the very people that we need to bring in (ie, triathletes and fitness swimmers).
Take a quick look at annual memberships for a second:
USA-Triathlon: >115,000 annual members (not including 1-day memberships)
US Masters Swimming: ~48,000 members (not including 1-day memberships)
Note: USA-T annual membership never exceeded 21,000 until after 2000...
What would those numbers be if USA-T said "real athletes don't need wetsuits" and banned them from their events?
Think about it for a moment...
If we want to make masters swimming more attractive to new people, we should get rid of bad attitudes about wetsuits and the people who wear them.
NOTE: I do not own a wetsuit and have competed in open water swims in the Atlantic Ocean without one.
I must confess that one of the reasons I switched over from triathlon to exclusively open water swimming is because it is without the machismo and attitude I found at so many triathlons. I got so sick of it and the posturing that seemed to get worse and worse the more years I raced triathlon--exactly during the period of USAT growth.
It's what I love about swim races--the collaborative attitude, each person swimming their own race, maintaining competitiveness but with the sense that we're all doing something pretty darn cool and that just to do it is something. I feel like one of the reasons that remains is because it really is just us, no wetsuit, almost fully exposed to the elements, doing what we can. And really, how cool can you look when you're standing on the shore like a goofball in your speedo...There's no my gear is better than your gear attitude.
I guess I don't feel too interested in having open water swimming go the way of triathlon. I feel like the collegial atmosphere could be lost in a way that would really change the sport. Greater numbers, fine, but let it come without the rest of it.
if you are in a race, and wetsuits are allowed you will be at a disadvantage to those wearing them if you don't.
I swim so much faster with one.
Former Member
As to bites, depends on what animals. Any skin-covering suit will protect against jellyfish stings (and sunburn).
So it does help in some way. And there is the stingray... yeah wet suit won't help in that case... Any adventures stories among the open water swimmers? Has anyone met anything unusual or threatening while swimming?
Swimmers with wet suits do have an advantage, buoyancy of torso and hips being chief among them. That's why most open water swimming events create a separate division for those wearing wet suits.
As for me? I'm too #%^ cheap to buy a wet suit. It's briefs for me.
Former Member
If its under 55 I wear a wet suit, altho I did swim in San Francisco on 2 occasions for just under an hour, both times in 52 degree water with no wet suit,,,BUT I did wear a blueseventy neoprene cap with a chin strap and silicone earplugs. 3 weeks ago I swam in the Pacific at Coronado Island in water that I guessed was low 50`s,..no wetsuit, AND no neoprene cap and no earplugs. MY HEAD FROOZE,..I lasted 15 minutes.
I love 65 degree water,..no over heating.
Sunday I swam in Lake Michigan with water temp in the mid 50`s. I wore a wetsuit because I was swimming alone, AND it was fresh water and I wanted the extra buoyancy. When I got out a couple hundred yards, I could feel the temp. drop quite a bit.
