Wetsuits

[allisonivy]

Hi.
I've done two sprints and am planning on more this summer. I'm thinking of getting a wetsuit. I'm a confident and good swimmer but am curious about it.

xterra is selling their volt sleeveless suit for $99 which sounds like a great deal. Any thoughts on sleeveless vs. sleeves?

I tried a full wetsuit on once (didn't swim) and hated the feeling. I'm wondering if sleeveless is the way to go, or if it even matters at these short distances.

THANKS.

[colby]

If the water is going to be warm enough, sleeveless is nice. You don't feel quite so enclosed/constrained, and you get some benefits of the buoyancy. Also, they are cheaper, can't argue with cheaper! ;) Cold water or you want a little extra support for your arms, sleeves are nice. They are a little tougher to remove, but not a huge difference.

Even for short distances, it may make a difference - you could also just wear it in training to get you into colder water than you can tolerate sans wetsuit, or to cross longer distances in open water.

I started wearing a sleeveless wetsuit for pretty much everything (except cold water) last year and didn't mind it at all. It was nice to shave a few seconds off my swimming times, and taking it off proved to be easier than I thought. Even if it was just a confidence builder and I can move that fast on my own, it was a nice security blanket.

A friend of mine bought an xterra and she likes it. They are a well-regarded brand. Go with what fits and feels comfortable - generally when you get it (I'm pretty sure this is true of xterra wetsuits too), you can try it once (even in the water) and as long as you don't get any bodyglide or nasty stuff on it, you can return it.

The biggest practical lessons for me wearing a wetsuit were learning to get the damn thing off (it turns out if you think about it less, it comes off easier ;)), and figuring out where to put bodyglide (and how much of it to put on). The small stuff. ;)

[Tri Girl]

Just a thought- my DH and I bought xterra wetsuits with the $99 sale, and we LOVE them.

You're in Jersey, so I'm guessing you're swimming in some cold water for much of the season. I'd wait to see what others who live that far north would say. In OK we can get away with a sleeveless the whole season. I tried a full and didn't like the constriction I felt, but that was just me. Do you have a place you could try a full and sleeveless on to see the difference between them? If not, I think you can buy the xterra and return it if you don't like it.

[roadie gal]

I started with a sleeveless suit but ended up buying a full sleeve suit last year. The water around here is just too cold for me to wear the sleeveless until around mid August. It is a little more constricting, but you get used to it, and it gives me a few extra months in the water.

You'll have to decide based on how cold your water is, how much you need the extra buoyancy, and the price. Xterra tends to frequently have half priced sales on most of their suits, so if you want the full sleeved just wait a little bit and you'll be able to get it cheaply, too.

[allisonivy]

Thanks everyone. I'm still up in the air but I appreciate all your responses.