Wetsuit: Two-Piece vs One-Piece

Freer movement, speed of getting in on and off, customization of fit (as mentioned), ability to have a sleeved or sleeveless depending on how many tops you get.  And since Desoto is one of the only 2-piece manufacturers out there add on impeccable customer service and great pricing.

Trust me ... once you go 2-piece, you never go back to 1 ..........

I've had 4 wetsuits over the years..keep losing weight ...and by far the most comfortable one is a two piece DeSoto. I don't get that bound in feeling in my chest/shoulders.

I can't imagine going back to a regular one piece wetsuit ever again.

I'm a newbie as well and will be looking into getting a suit as soon as the weather turns warm enough to give them a whirl (make sure the one I gets still feels good when I'm wet).  Manufacturers have different policies on returns, etc but I would think that you would want to find a company with good customer service so you can exchange if need be (that's my plan).

BTer  OnTheRun did a 5 part video series on wetsuits, which i found to be very helpful.  He does an intro in the first episode then reviews each of 4 suits seperately.  Desoto is included, as well as ProMotion (a BT sponsor...we get a discount).  Here's the link to the first one: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1537

The rest are linked in that article under related links.  Good luck!

You can have the top off like a shirt before you are even fully out of the water.  Then undo the "suspenders" of the bib john (slipping your arms through the loops) and by the time you are at transition you are almost fully off.

It's funny, because in am IM when there are wetsuit strippers they actually have a harder time getting off the 2 piece than the people that are wearing them!  I could probably have done it just as fast by myslef as they did it in both of my IM's.