The Great Wetsuit Debate

Does the wet suit save you more time during the swim than it cost you taking it off in t1.  The answer for me in an OLY is yes by far.

The more complicated question is if the suit doesn't save you more time than it costs you to take it off, will it allow you to spend less energy during the swim so that you can be faster on the bike and/or run?

I think the OP's question is more, as ohiost said "Will I save more time swimming with a wetsuit than I wiil expend taking it off in T1."

And before you call it a "definitive," maybe you should hear what JeepFleeb found out about his aerohelmet in wind tunnel testing.

So back to the wetsuit ... wetsuits are nearly universally faster, even a hard-to-get off sleeveless for a FOP swimmer . My opinion: for an Oly, for sure, and the energy conservation is harder to measure but also will let you go faster on the bike and run.

Seems to me if you practiced getting it off quickly several times this week, you'd be gold. There are several "tricks" to getting it off faster: see what works for you. Here's one idea (scroll down): http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/wetsuit.shtml. I'm not a big fan of the stomping on the suit: I get it way down on my calves, stick my entire thumb down the side, and slip it off my heel that way.

Upper 70s water temp? That sounds like you could get hot pretty quick with a wetsuit.

Isn't 78 the cutoff for wetsuit legal?

I think if you haven't used a wetsuit to prepare for the event, you'd be better off going without since it's only days away. Unless you get several opportunities to swim in a wetsuit in the next 6 days. You'll want to make sure you can tolerate the unfamiliar chest constriction and heat.

Mine was a bit long, so i've been race by race, taking a 1/2 inch of the bottom.  I think I'm at the right spot now (don't want to go too far).  It is a bit easier to take off.

My horror story was the zipper got jammed and I had to have a spectator unjam it.  It was like a straight jacket.  That cost me probably a minute. 

Funny thing last year I saw one dude riding his bike with his still on.  Wonder if he had the same problem or just liked being hot?

Yes, 78 is usually the cutoff for AG swimmers.  But it almost always behooves the RD to search the water and find that "cold spot" to make it wetsuit legal.  Many people have so many issues with the swim to begin with that to take away the "safety net" of the wetsuit would not be in their best interests and you would get a lot of disgruntled participants.

I've definitely been in races where the RD had to search HARD for that cold spot just to make it legal.  The water temps were easily around 80 ......

For a good swimmer, a sleeveless suit will save you 4-6 seconds per 100 meters. so that's 1-1.5 minutes for 1500. You should without any difficulty be able to get the suit off in way less than a minute.

Here's what I suggest: as soon as you get out of the water, while running, unzip it and peel it down off of your shoulders. As soon as you get it peeled down, stop an p ull it the rest of the way off. If you wait until you get to transition, water in the suit will drain making it more difficult to remove. By taking it off as soon as possible after you exit the water, the layer of water the suit traps will still be present, offering a bit of lubrication and making it much easier to remove.

Also, as the other posters said, lube up before you put it on. Spraying Pam on your lower legs will help tremendously.

 I never thought of that. Makes sense but I have never seen anyone do that in a race.

X3... this isn't really much of a debate. 

Lots of people do it here in California.  But practice this too.... I've seen lots of guys falling on theiur a$$ in 2 feet of water, or in the sand, cuz they can't get their suit off.

Frankly, it's not that hard to get off, water in or out.  It takes me a total of about maybe 10 seconds to do, and that's on the slow side.

I do it.

Xan - 2008-08-11 2:08 PM

run4yrlif - 2008-08-11 10:41 AM

Here's what I suggest: as soon as you get out of the water, while running, unzip it and peel it down off of your shoulders.

Still wearing those one-piece jobbers, eh? There's a two-piece revolution going on.

yeah, I know. But I like the idea of being able to easilly get out of my suit. Zippers are a good thing, IMO.