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Triathlon Wetsuits
I have personally tried over 15 wet suits since 1985.
Ask yourself what you need the triathlon wet suit for?
Firstly consider your body type and the way you swim, its no good having lots of flexibility and you buy a buoyant suit that inhibits arm flexibility then consider your main priority triathlon distance -Sprint Olympic middle or long distance.
Do you need warmth or to keep your legs higher in the water. Too much buoyancy can cause your body to roll too much.
You need a comfortable suit that does not alter your normal mobility or stop you from stretching.
Take your time researching the right one for you as it will make you swim faster and save you energy for the bike and run.
Profile have been making triathlon wet suits for over 20 years seem to have 6 different sizes for females. & 7 different sizes for men.
See link below
http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/wetsuits/wetsuit-size-guide.html
Fitness Fit
In order of priority when choosing a wet suit.
Comfortable fit crotch to shoulders.
Good firm fit from chest to waist.
If all of the above are correct then your ability to swim will not be hindered.
Tight not loose
Full wet suit rather than a shortie although you can save 3-10 seconds getting off a shortie most people gain 2-10 seconds per 100 metres using a full length wet suit.
Things you need to know about choosing the right triathlon wet suit for you.
The wet suit you choose should be tight fitting yet comfortable from your crotch to shoulder.
Too lose and it will be causing drag too tight and it will hinder your arm action and fatigue you quicker than normal.
Leg length is not as important many of the professional triathletes cut up to 6 inches (15cm) from the end to speed up taking it off. Different wet suit manufacturers have different leg lengths anyway. You may find you need to cut some off as the ankle is not wide enough.
Wetsuit neoprene
All wetsuits even from the same manufacturer are not the same.
They can vary from level entry to expert to professional wet suits.
The thickness changes in different panels.
For example where you need it stretchy for the moving muscles in the arms and shoulders it is thinner, while in the chest and legs it will be thicker to aid with buoyancy. To remove your triathlon wet suit quickly often it can be thinner in the ankles and wrist area.
The cheapest wet suits tend to be thick as 5ml for the whole suit..
For swimmers that kick a lot you may have a stretchy thinner neoprene around the knee to allow for active kicking from the hip.
A triathlon wet suit should not let in water or let it escape through the wrists and ankles.
Mistakes to avoid
Water tight
Make sure your neck and wrists seals are water tight.
Water inside the suit is actually extra weight that you will have to pull thru the water so avoid letting water in.
Even the level entry suits should have a neck seal otherwise it just catches water and then water is forced into the suit like a funnel.
A loose wrist cuff caused by wearing a watch or being stretched over time can also catch the water
Fast exit in Transition (T1)
Look for special neoprene Velcro and a zip features that allows fast removal without exhausting you.. It’s no good if your tri wet suit saves you 20 seconds but take san extra 30 exhausting seconds to remove
Coming soon.
How to store your wet suit.