Subject: RE: Tri Specific Wetsuits Vs. Surfing Wetsuits The biggest difference is going to be that each is cut for the specific mechanics of the two sports. The tri wetsuit is going to be cut to allow you to pull your arms through your stroke in a motion near your midline and allow a heavy overhand recovery (note that a swimmer can rotate quite a bit during swimming that a surfer does not do ). A surfer is generally pulling straight through at shoulder width (sometimes even more depending on the width of the board ) and doesn't require that same flexibility there as surfers generally don't pull through under the board.
The swimming or tri suits also usually have additional thickness material for flotation in the chest area and legs as well as a very nonporous material across the chest for decreased resistance.
Bottom line is...try it out and see. The biggest concerns would be the flexibility you mentioned (unrestricted is the aim ) through the complete stroke, the seals (especially at the neck and wrists ), no excess material causing significant folds (ie drag ) and the ease to take it off. Surf wetsuits in general are not meant to be removed quickly and trying to take off a tight suit fatigues and with cold hands can be very frustrating.
Remember the wetsuit should a tool for improvement in your times. So, I'd suggest you time yourself in a pool (to reduce any variables ) over a 250-300 meter distance with the suit and without to find the difference. If you can swim faster without it, you might reconsider using a surfing wetsuit as most properly fitting tri wetsuits will reduce your time.
Mark
|