Wetsuit Recommendations

I bought a full wetsuit from Ironman a few years back for about $250 - it has served me well. I would recommend going with the full suit vs. a shorty or farmerjohn. Trisports.com has a good selection and their sales people tend to be pretty helpful. Good luck.

If you have had any shoulder peoblems in the past, go with a higher end full suit. I had shoulder surgery and could not wear a cheaper suit because of the restriction, I actuall got a sleeveless instead. Now with the advancements in wetsuit technology the higher end suits are flexible enough. Get something that fits. It should feel a bit restrictive with movement out of the water but feel great in the water. (Where I say restrictive up above, that means with your range of motion, not your breathing.)

Different suits fit different so try a number of different brands.

Never wore a full but do own my first and only 2 piece T1. It has served me well and have the option of a full or Bibjohn suit for different temps. Fit's me well too.

Here is my wetsuit saga:
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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.

For IMAZ I rented a full suit from wetsuitrental.com, and was very surprised to see a $300 Xterra Vortex show up at my door. Not quite as flexible as the uber high end ones, but it served me well. Plus, it was delivered to me 3 weeks prior for a total cost of $30.

I'm placing a plug for promotion. I rented a blue seventy and thought that the neoprene was too stiff. By the end of my 1.2 my arms were exhausted. I called the promotion people, gave them my measurements over the phone, got a 10% discount because of BT, and my wetsuit arrived in three days. I got the top of line fullsuit with a neoprene cap, and it cost me $300. I have used it in two races so far, a HIM and IM CDA. I have never even needed to wear bodyglide. I get NO wetsuit abrasions, and no arm fatigue. The bouyancy is incredible. At IM CDA with the water temps in the high 50's to low 60's you will want a full suit. Just my 2 cents.