Interesting wetsuit comparison/review

The comparison is valid for those swimming in the suit. My and your findings could easily be different.

It is very interesting. The article even explain how many variables are not controlled , hence making the data quite arbitrary.

I'm a horrible swimmer, but still surprised that the sleeveless suits weren't that far behind the better full suits.
Looking forward to these researchers' next test!

Distance per stroke is interesting, but ultimately not all that relevant. Wouldn't actual speed or time be more relevant? So my suit should allow me to travel 15% farther per stroke, but that does not translate to 15% faster race times, which ultimately is what all triathletes care about right?

Very interesting indeed. The most surprising to me was how well the sleeveless suits fared. Having only ever worn a scuba wetsuit before I took up the sport I went with a full sleeve based on almost universal recommendation from other triathletes. As a power swimmer I was more comfortable in a sleeveless but went with those that had the experience. Maybe someday when I can afford it I will get a sleeveless (provided I can get one that fits really well) for events that the water is not very cold.

Thanks for posting this.

I'm not all that surprised that a top of the line xterra had results similar to entry level or mid level suits of other brands nor am I that surprised that the desoto 2 piece didn't play out that well, but I'm wondering what made them pick the suits they picked. I would think they would do all entry level or all top of the line, not a big mixture like that. I also agree that there are so many factors at play that it would be really hard to be truly objective about results (like not kicking during the test, or stroke fatigue on less flexible suits). Interesting read though. Thanks for posting.

This. The authors deserve kudos for being clear that it is virtually impossible to extrapolate the results to any other swimmer. And that even for these swimmers the conclusions are somewhat limited. And, yet, it's just as clear that people will ignore that part and make conclusions that cannot be validated with the data.

Interesting article, but like everyone said, it's quite arbitrary. I would be more interested in the fit diagram like Runningwarehouse has for shoes. I would have to think that the fit plays a huge role in the performance of the suit.