Speedsuit or wetsuit?

Speedsuits generally are neutrally bouyant.  I believe that to be legal to use in certain events, they must be neutral bouyant.  They are generally used in non-wetsuit legal events to provide increased "slip" in the water.  The material used is much more slippery than human skin, so you can swim faster.  (Think Michael Phelps wearing the Speedo LZR).

Wetsuits provide positive bouyancy.  They are designed to lift the hips up so that you swim more on top of the water.  This will help you to swim faster.  They also provide warmth which can be critical if water temps are on the cold side.

General consensus is: wear a wet-suit when legal.  The time lost taking it off in transistion will be more than made up with a faster swim.

Speedsuits: I don't know.  Where I live, I have yet to race in a non-wetsuit legal tri so I won't spend the money on one.

Oh, and most race directors like to see athletes in wetsuits.  The safety factor goes way up with a wetsuit.  If you get in trouble, you can roll onto your back and float!

Edited by Gregkl 2008-08-22 7:45 AM

Speed suits also don't really gain you anything in a sprint and are borderline for a olympic as they take more time to monkey with in transition than you gain. They are usually saved for half or full IM distances.

To be honest, you are probably better off spending $200 on lessons and stroke evaluations than you are on one of these.

A swim shop was trying to talk me into buying an Orca speed suit. I just couldnt understand the rationale. "its faster/slippery", I said "how much faster than a tri-suit?",...she didnt know. I just can't imagine its that much quicker than wearing a tri suit, and the time lost getting it off in transition will probably overwhelm that. MAYBE on an IM I could see the point, but other than that...I just dont see it.