Quick removal of wetsuit

Lubricant doesn't really help it come off quicker.  Once it is wet and you are moving it is actually easier than trying to take it off or put it on dry.  To get out of it fast, either do it at the edge of the water before going to transition or step on it (literally).

But I recommend Body Glide or similar product for any location it may chaffe.  For me that is around the neck and armpits.

Here in FL the joke is to pretend your stomping on fire ants to get out of it!

I will use PAM spray around my ankles & calf's and some around the hot spots that may chaff (neck and arm pits with sleeveless).

And before anyone says PAM is so bad, people were passing around cans of it at a long course event in 07.  I've been using on my wetsuit at least once or twice a year since I got it in 05. 

I had on bodyglide and stepped on the suit just like everyone suggested, but could not for the life of me get it off my ankles.  I stepped and stepped, and finally had to just sit down on the ground and stick my thumb in there and pry it off each leg.

Remember if you are bent over trying to get it off, you may get a lttle dizzy from the swim exersion as well as lower head posture, so be careful.

I agree. Lube won't get you out any quicker. Problem getting it on? use hair conditioner. Get rubs? Body glide. You want to get out quick? well there are a couple issues here, but I'll take a stab at it.

out of the water...unzip and immediately pull to the waist. run to your bike and stick both hands in the crotch part of your wetsuit and push down as hard as you can.  this should allow you to step on some part of what you pushed down. with the non 'stepping down on the suit' leg, yank up as hard as you can. step down on the new chunk of wetsuit and repeat with the other leg. that should do the trick. if not, repeat the process and practice more next time before the race.

If your suit covers your ankles, then you need to grab a pair of sissors and cut some wetsuit off so that it is a few inches about the ankle. It doesn't help much in the water and is a disaster in the transition.

If you have a 2 piece then you are on your own. I am a big believer in a 1 piece wetsuit.

Another technique I have seen used and used myself is right before exiting the water pull down on the front of your wetsuit at the neck and allow some extra water to enter your wetsuit by the time you get to the transition area that extra water be down at your legs and ankles providing some separation between your skin and the suit allowing it to come off easier.

I think you need your own team of people like this...

http://iwannagetphysical.blogspot.com/2009/09/those-are-only-stripp...

(watch the video) That's from IM WI this past weekend!

X2. great tip.

Some of the first guys out of the water at a race this summer yanked down their suits, stepped on them and pulled them off right there in the sandy shallows at the edge of the lake. I tried it, and it's a really good strategy. Time wise, it doesn't really matter where you pull it off, and being in the water seems to help some. The run to T1 is easier. More importantly, it greatly reduces the pressure and craziness at the bike rack. The suit's already off, so you just have to get your bike stuff on and go.

Which is why I said "at the edge of the water" in my first post.

x2 on the Pam....it DOES help the suit come off quicker. When I forget to use it I get stuck around the ankles and wrists.  I believe there is a lovely picture of me out there trying to get my wetsuit off my wrists with my teeth !!!

x3 on the Pam. I've been using it for 8 years and it has not harmed my wetsuit at all. I've tried other methods during training swims, like the water down the front suggestion, pulling if off while still in the water, Bodyglide everywhers, etc., and none works anywhere near as effectively for me as the Pam. I do the stepping on it thing, but without Pam it always sticks on my calves and/or ankles. Perhaps a difference is that I have large calves and the suit fits very tight in that area, whereas people with smaller calves don't have such problems.

When you do open water swim training use every session as an opportunity to practice removing your wetsuit fast. This is where you can try various things to find exactly what works well for you. That way you can go into a race with the confidence you will be able to remove your suit quickly.

LOL...laughing because I kept hearing yea and nay on Pam up to and on the day of my tri last weekend. I had read on here, bad from some, good from others. At the gym I met a girl who said get Pam! I bought it and Body Glide. The morning of at the triathlon a veteran and her bf said don't use the Pam, just use the Body Glide. I had put lotion on after my shower the night before and she said that would help. Anyway, I had the Pam in my bag, but getting ready to put on my wetsuit I just put some BG on my ankles. While I was doing that, another woman told me Pam works really well. I was dying, there it was sitting a foot away in my bag and I didn't know what to do. I didn't use it in the end, but did not have any trouble getting the wetsuit off or stuck on my ankles. Maybe it was the lotion...that actually makes a lot of sense. Wet lotion on your body gets pretty slippery.

Just keep in mind that petroleum-based lotion is bad on neoprene, and PAM may void the warranty of your wetsuit. 

This works for me also.....

x3 Best tip I've used.

Thanks for all the great tips! I used a few of them and everything went extremely well today at my first Olympic tri....I placed 1st in my age group! Super excited!!