So firstly what is a swimming wetsuit and are they different to a surfing or diving wetsuit? The simple answer is yes, they are quite different.
For one thing they cost quite a bit more, usually maxing out at around $800to $1000 or so.
But the difference goes a bit deeper than that. This is one of those bits of kit where the differences are really worth the cost.
So what do you get for the money. For one you get a wetsuit that is designed to be swum in, rather than one that is designed to just keep you warm. That means some really fancy, stretchy neoprene in certain high movement areas (shoulders). You get targeted buoyancy, which usually means more neoprene in areas where triathletes typically sink, ie around the legs, but less neoprene where they don't. You get a slick surface for less drag, which probably makes a difference since water has a lot more drag than air. Oh yeah plus it keeps you warm.
Are they worth it? Well if the choice is between a wetsuit and hypothermia, then yes it is worth it. But as well as keeping you warm, they also have the added advantage of making you fast. Well faster anyway. A swimming wetsuit makes a big difference to just how quickly you swim. For me it is anywhere between 5 and 10 seconds per 100m. And no I am not making that up, I have done plenty of swimming to prove it to myself. Plus, that is for me who is a good swimmer, if I may say so myself. The differences for poor swimmers is typically even greater.
How does this miracle device carry out this voodoo. Well mostly due to the buoyancy. A well designed wetsuit almost forces your ungainly sinky body into a good low drag swimming position, legs up, hips up etc. Amazing.
Sold! So now that you want to get yourself one of these super suits, what should you look for?
Well it hopefully won't come as a surprise that the most important thing to look for in your skin tight, neoprene speed device is fit. It has to fit and fit well. By fit I mean snug. There are all sort of rules of thumb about how tight it should fit, but a good couple are:
- when you first put it on it should feel snug around the chest. If it is comfortable it is probably too big.
- It should take you a good 5 to 10 minutes to get on (no I am not kidding), maybe a bit less once you know what you are doing. If you are slipping it on in a minute or so, it is probably too big.
Snug shouldn't mean restrictive though. I know quite a few people who get uptight about wetsuits with sleeves because they are sure it will restrict their shoulders. It shouldn't. A lot of effort is put into the wetsuits to make sure they don't restrict you. Typically the thinnest most flexible neoprene is used on the shoulders and arms (around 1 to 2mm). It has lots of stretch. If it really worries you, you go for a sleeveless wetsuit, but I would encourage you to try a sleeved one first if you can. You may be surprised. I have always used sleeved suits and have never felt bound up by them. Why would you go sleeved? Simple, they are quicker (and warmer).
What if you can't try on the wetsuit first, how do you choose one that fits? I used to live in Darwin which has exactly zero stores that stock wetsuits, so the first two wetsuits I got where bought from interstate without trying them on first. The first one I got second hand and I spoke to the owner first, a lot, to find out how big he is. The second one I spent a lot of time talking to the distributor, who then used their size chart to pick the size. So talk to the person you are buying it off if you can. Have a look at the manufacturer's size chart as well, it is usually a pretty good guide. For each of my wetsuits I have fitted the one which the size chart says I should. You can read reviews online as well, but I would save it to a last resort and take anything you read on a forum with a grain of salt, remember they are usually just one person's opinion.
You do see a lot of people complain online about how they ordered wetsuit X according to the size chart but when it arrived it was too small. I think for a lot of these people they underestimate how tight a wetsuit is supposed to be (remember 5 to 10 minutes to get on). If you are used to a surfing wetsuit or something like that, these are much tighter and tougher to get on. Also be honest with yourself about how tall, heavy etc you really are, buy based on reality, not your perception of reality. One last thing with fit, if you are on the borderline between two sizes on the size chart, the usual advice is to go with the smaller size. With a wetsuit you are probably better off being a bit smaller than you are being too big (within reason).
So once have decided between sleeved and sleeveless and you have found a wetsuit that fits, what else is there? To be honest not a lot.
All the wetsuits from the major manufacturers all seem to be well designed. Like most racing equipment they will all claim to be better than their competitors for a number of reasons, but usually these are minor differences.
Some of the less minor differences are:
You will find a few different types of zips around, normal zips, reverse zips, quick break zips etc.
A normal zip works like... a normal zip, it zips from bottom to top.
A reverse zip does what the name suggests and zips from top to bottom, BlueSeventy use these. The idea being that somebody can't accidentally pull the zip down during a race and undo your wetsuit. The other aspect of the design is that when you are taking the wetsuit off you grap the leash, pull the zip to the top and then keep pulling and it will pull the wetsuit most of the way down your arm as well. That actually does work by the way, I used one for quite a while. I just had a read of their website and they also claim that the reverse zip reduces neck chaffing and makes it easier to sight. I am not sure about that, I used to get wicked chaffing from mine if I put it on wrong. Easier sighting?? Maybe, I never noticed, but maybe I was doing it wrong. The biggest pain with a reverse zip? You can't do the zip up by yourself. Reaching around to put the zip together at the back of your neck is almost impossible. You will always need somebody to help you on the startline. Annoying.
A quickbreak zip works like a normal zip, ie you zip from bottom to top. The tricky bit comes when you undo the zip. Rather than pulling the zip down, you simply give it a big tug upwards and the whole zip comes undone. Pretty clever. Quintana Roo use them, so do HUUB, not sure who else. I have used one on a HUUB suit and it works pretty well. One fear you hear from people around quickbreak zips is ,what if somebody tugs it during a race, your whole wetsuit would open. Whilst that it theoretically true, I struggle to imagine the scenario where it could actually happen and it is never a problem that I had
Anyway, so there are a few different zip designs out there. I have used a couple and they have all worked fine. In my opinion I would say the design features of a reverse zip are outweighed by the annoyance of not being able to do the wetsuit up by yourself, but that might just be me. Whatever the zip type though, I certainly wouldn't let it be a make or break factor in my decision.
Other differences?
Most manufacturers will talk about their super high tech neoprene, but the truth is that most of them use stuff with pretty similar properties. Generally the more expensive the suit the fancier the neoprene. Most manufacturers save their fanciest, stretchiest stuff for their top suits.
What can be different between the manufacturers is how they put the neoprene together. I don't mean how they stick them together (usually a combination of stitching and gluing), but more how they combine the different thicknesses of neoprene to effect buoyancy. They all have their own theories on where to use the thicker more buoyant neoprene and where to use the thinner more flexible stuff. Generally more buoyancy means going quicker. But that isn't always true. If you are a good swimmer your body position is probably already pretty good without a wetsuit. In that case having super buoyant legs (5mm) can be a bit of a pain, it can feel like your legs are sticking up in the air. A lot of manufacturers make wetsuits for the most common type of triathlete, ie one that swims like a rock. That usually means super buoyant legs and hips. If your swimming ability is a bit less rock like it might be worth looking for a wetsuit that is designed for swimmers. Often the higher end wetsuits in a manufacturers range are like that. Some manufacturers like HUUB make a range of wetsuits with different buoyancy characteristics, these are to suit a range of swimming types. Cool idea. Anyway look around to find one that you think will suit you.
So that is about it I think. In summary, what is important?
- Fit, fit, fit. Choose a wetsuit that fits you properly, this is the most important thing, it should be snug.
- There are different types of zips, I probably wouldn't let it be a deal breaker.
- Different suits have different buoyancy profiles. Choose one that suits you.
- Not many other differences.
Use a plastic bag to get your hand and feet into the suit. If you don't understand what I mean, watch a video, it is much easier than trying to explain it.
Most people use some sort of lubricant to help get the suit on (since they are so tight). There are numerous commercially available ones made by the suit manufacturers. I have used a few, like BodyGlide and they work absolutely fine. Put it on the bits that usually rub, like your neck and under your arms, and around your wrists and ankles to help with rapid wetsuit removal and you are away. Some people recommend using something like olive oil. Once again I have never used anything like that, so not sure how you go about it, rub it on your skin I think, most suit manufacturers don't recommend it though as it may damage the suit. I personally use cheap hair conditioner ($2.00 a bottle) mixed with water in a clean 3L milk bottle. I then pour this mix through the suit. The slimy conditioner tends to coat the inside of the suit making it nice and easy to get on and off. Plus it is water soluble and pretty pH neutral, so any chance of it damaging the suit is minimal. It is also really cheap. Noice.
When you are putting the suit on, resist the temptation to grab a fold of the suit and pull. One downside to the super flexy high tech neoprene that is used in these wetsuits is that it is pretty fragile. It comes from not having a cloth outer layer glued to the neoprene like a wetsuit or diving wetsuit has. They do this to keep the outer surface of the wetsuit slick and the neoprene stretchy. You don't have to be too precious with the suit, they can take a hit, but if you grab a fold and pull, you will tear it, particularly if you have fingernails. They can be fixed, but it is often never quite the same. One thing I started doing is wearing a cheap pair of gardening gloves when I put my suit on, just to totally remove the chance of putting a fingernail through it. If you are worried, then it is probably not a bad idea. Why are holes bad, well they let in water, which sort of defeats to purpose of you having bought this nice well fitting wetsuit in the first place (plus they make you cry every time you look at them and they will wear your suit out quicker).
So the general rule is, pull with your palms and the pads of your fingers. Once again, watch some videos online about how to do this. If you ever find yourself grabbing the suit, stop. There are certain bits you can pull, but have the suit for a while and get to know it first before you start trying these out. This is one of the reasons they take so long to get on.
Finally, a couple more words about fit. I have often thought that people who complain about a suit binding them across the shoulders simply don't have it on right. I could be wrong, but it is my theory. So some points about getting them on right. If the suit is tight across the shoulders, simply pull the sleeves further up your arms and give yourself more neoprene at your shoulder. There is no rule about how far down your arm the cuff of your wetsuit should be, it isn't a business shirt. If your sleeves end halfway down your forearms, but your shoulders are free, then that is fine. The extra half a forearm of exposed skin isn't going to slow you down, plus you will be able to swim comfortably. A good rule of thumb is that the neoprene should be almost starting to bunch at your shoulders. This should mean that you have enough room and you aren't restricted. Same sort of thing with your legs. They don't need to move as much, but the crotch of the suit should actually be sitting at groin level, not below it (like a badly dressed 90s rapper). Pull the legs up until the crotch of the suit is in the right place. If this means the suit ends halfway down your shin, so be it. Putting the bottom half on right will mean that the neoprene over your torso isn't stretched out and the neoprene across your shoulders isn't as tight. In the end the manufacturers only make a finite number of sizes to cover our infinite range of body shapes. Those sizes should be able to cover all body sizes, but they will fit us all a little differently, there is no one correct answer. Don't be phased just because your wetsuit doesn't fit you the same way as it fits Pro triathlete XYZ, if it is comfortable to swim in, it is correct for you.
Final, final bit. When you have chosen your suit, gotten it to fit, practised getting it on etc. GO FOR A SWIM. Do not be swimming in your wetsuit for the first time on race day, or even race week. If you haven't swum in a wetsuit before you should be out getting used to it weeks beforehand. Whilst a suit shouldn't bind you or restrict you, they do feel a bit different. You are more buoyant, faster and have material across your shoulders, it is all a bit weird. If your race is in salt water, make sure you have spent some wetsuit time in salt water, because you will be super buoyant. Spend some time getting used to that. If you have raced in a wetsuit before, it is still worth spending a few sessions in the suit before the race, just to remind yourself what it is like.
Swimming in the suit also includes practising getting out of it in a race situation. It is one thing to schlup out of your wetsuit on the pool deck. It is another completely to be trying to rip it off as quick as possible at T1. It isn't hard, but it is definitely worth practising. The general idea is to get it off your arms and down to your waist as you run from the water to your bike/change tent. Once you stop moving you get it down past your knees and then sort of do a little stomping dance, pushing it down the rest of the way with your feet, you may then need to reach down and pull the cuffs over your feet. It is sort of hard to explain, but once again look online, there are videos of it.
Anyway I think that really is it this time. I hope it is useful. I will have a think about what to do tomorrow.
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