Wetsuits - To Sleeve or not to Sleeve

if this is your first time being in a wetsuit i would suggest renting to see how it feels. It would normally be about $50 for the week. Just contact the nearsest multi sport store. I am going to buy this year for the first time and will probably go sleeveless just because it is a lot easier to get off.

Trust me, you don't "need" a wetsuit for a 70° swim. If you want one, then sure, go ahead and get one. Personally, I don't like sleeves. I'd rather have the feedom of motion.

I'm a whimp. If the water is cold enough for a wetsuit. I need sleeves. Here is a review I wrote up in reference to wetsuits I have bought and tried out. Might help, even though you didn't ask about these brands.

I have bought, tried on, and swam in the following brands:

Blue Seventy (BS)
QR
2XU
Zoot
Desoto

Yea, I have had a time finding a wetsuit that fit me right, can you tell? I am also being really picky about my wetsuit, because I'm a good swimmer and a cheap wetsuit will slow me down, and I will be bothered by it.

BS is a nice wetsuit. For women, it's good because it's cut for someone with booty and boobs. That is what I needed. The neoprene is nice and I didn't have any issues with the one I rented for a race. Shoulders were flexible. I bought the Energie. It's still a toss up if I'm going to keep this one or not. http://www.trisports.com/blseenfuwe.html

QR is a really nice wetsuit too. Honestly, I liked this neoprene the best. It was just different. Very flexible. This wetsuit is made for someone with beefy legs and a large chest (not necessarily big because of boobs!). The size that should have fit me, was HUGE on me. If you are a beefy guy, this would be a good wetsuit for you. http://www.trisports.com/qr20hytrwe.html

2XU is a nice wetsuit. No complaints really. It was just cut for someone who is very thin without any hips, boobs, or a booty. If you are a thin guy/gal with very little "sticking out" muscle wise, etc. this wetsuit would be good. I think I got this one on sale: http://www.trisports.com/2xueltrwe.html

Zoot Zenith is a VERY NICE wetsuit. Totally different from all the other ones. It has these pieces of boyancy swen into the inside of the wetsuit. None of the other wetsuits are like this one. Unless you see a picture of the inside of the wetsuit, you don't really understand how different it is. I am thinking I will end up keeping this one. It's flexible and I could swim in it just fine.
http://www.trisports.com/zootzenith.html

Desoto is an OK wesuit. Not very innovative. Compared to the other ones, I would rank this one the lowest. The bib john was odd and pulled up into my crotch (fit issue). The top was a pain to get on and then it fit oddly around my boobs. A lot of people love this wetsuit, but fit wise it didn't work for me.
http://www.trisports.com/t1blpebi.html
http://www.trisports.com/t1fiwazipu.html

In the end though, buying a wetsuit is ALL ABOUT FIT. Each brand is cut differently and fits differently. Just because you fit the "size" on the chart, doesn't mean it will work for you in the water.

As you can see, I have been through and returned many wetsuits, until I found 2 that I am thinking of keeping.

Good luck.

I was about to post a very similiar question. I rented a wetsuit for my first tri this past weekend. It was tight. very tight. I wound up wearing friend's rented wetsuit because it didn't fit her. It was a size larger and much more comfortable. When renting the suits online we were asked our weight and that is how the size we needed was determined. I don't know if the larger size is wrong for me even though it felt good. Maybe they are supposed to be super tight. I don't live near a store that sells wetsuits so I would have to make a road trip to go shopping and trying them on. I'm trying to figure out whether to just go ahead and buy this rented one rather cheaply or wait and find a better fit for more money.

Well, I couldn't find anywhere in Dallas that sold the quality wetsuits that I wanted to try on. So, I bought them from Tri Sports (www.trisports.com) and got one free swim in them.

If they didn't fit- I mailed them back. Yes, I am out the shipping ($20 per wetsuit), but I got to try on different sizes and try them out.

Yeah ... I figured as much, but I'm cold in an 85 degree pool at the gym!

KSH is right on... go to a store, get someone who knows about the suites, and try them on ~ the fits are very different... I went to Mission Bay Multisport in Chicago... great store and very knowledgable... The Zenith was way cool but over what I wanted to spend ~ got the Blue Seventy Energie and been happy with it during training. First race is 5/19 in Northern Indiana... water may be chilly!

I got the Zenith for 20% off! I got sent a special "Birthday Sale" discount. Couldn't pass it up! Otherwise, it would have been out of my price range.