The Wetsuit thread *gasp*
Laflamme02
Member
Similar to the OW goggles thread, what is/are the best farmer john wetsuits for marathon swimming? I would prefer not to spend $500 but I would rather have something that is enjoyable to wear than cheap. I would be using it for one-off OW races 2-5 miles in length, but its primary purpose would be for training in 50-60 degree water.
I know the general consensus is going to be "buck up and acclimatize!" to that question and while I don't necessarily disagree with that sentiment it doesn't help me in the short term. I'm hoping to ease into this whole cold water nonsense that seems to be such a necessary part of open water swimming and a farmer john wetsuit seems like the best idea. And being in Maine I like how wetsuits are able to extend what is already a very very short season. I currently own a full sleeved Profile Design Wahoo, which I loathe intensely due to the restricted arm movement as well as how confined and boxed in I feel. I suspect that has to do with to the low quality of the suit.
Additionally, and this might be something that someone has advice about, I FEEL safer in a wetsuit. I struggle pretty intensely with fear of deep water (not of drowning, just of the unseen) and when I'm in a wet suit I'm able to calm myself down a little more easily when there is 300 feet of blackness below me, or just 15. It's the illusion of security. But the idea of conquering that fear is one of the major elements that attracts me to open water swimming. It terrifies the hell out of me. Swimming out to sea from the shore is so unthinkable to me I bet my heart would explode if I tried it, even with a kayaker, fins, a flotation device, hand paddles, a pull buoy, and...a streamer.
p.s. - I looked through the archived threads and didn't see one that corresponded so I thought I would spin up a new one.
I know the general consensus is going to be "buck up and acclimatize!" to that question and while I don't necessarily disagree with that sentiment it doesn't help me in the short term. I'm hoping to ease into this whole cold water nonsense that seems to be such a necessary part of open water swimming and a farmer john wetsuit seems like the best idea. And being in Maine I like how wetsuits are able to extend what is already a very very short season. I currently own a full sleeved Profile Design Wahoo, which I loathe intensely due to the restricted arm movement as well as how confined and boxed in I feel. I suspect that has to do with to the low quality of the suit.
Additionally, and this might be something that someone has advice about, I FEEL safer in a wetsuit. I struggle pretty intensely with fear of deep water (not of drowning, just of the unseen) and when I'm in a wet suit I'm able to calm myself down a little more easily when there is 300 feet of blackness below me, or just 15. It's the illusion of security. But the idea of conquering that fear is one of the major elements that attracts me to open water swimming. It terrifies the hell out of me. Swimming out to sea from the shore is so unthinkable to me I bet my heart would explode if I tried it, even with a kayaker, fins, a flotation device, hand paddles, a pull buoy, and...a streamer.
p.s. - I looked through the archived threads and didn't see one that corresponded so I thought I would spin up a new one.
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From memory most of the tri-wetsuit makes tended to have models that fall into the $200/$400/$600 brackets. I'd still look at a sleeved mid tier model or a last years high end model (often you can get a good deal) rather than a farmer john, the better wetsuits really have almost no impact on your stroke and sleeved will definitely make it easier when the temps get down to 50.
The other thing would be to trial the wetsuit - in SF at least there are some retailers who will let you rent a wetsuit and will put the rental cost towards the purchase price of a new wetsuit. This would allow you to check out different models and make a better decision on sleeved vs non sleeved.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
Sisu: a Finnish term meaning strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.
Sisu: a Finnish term meaning strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde
Given that the video appears to be of the endurance race I think it's one of those pills that measures core body temperature.
When I started off in open water, I had a Blueseventy Reactor suit that was fairly decent. My triathlete friends are raving about HUUB suits.
Someone told me that swimmers get the most out of the high end suits. I completely agree. They are more flexible, and I forget I have mine on. Look for very thin 1 mm to 2 mm in areas under and down the arms, and across the shoulders. The advantage to a john is that there is no coverage in most of those areas. This allows you to avoid the high priced top of the line full suits (which are amazing nevertheless). Xterra is constantly having sales so you should never have to pay list price if you plan ahead.
I use a freezer bag. Put your foot in the bag, push it down the leg of the suit. Repeat with the other foot and your hands. Slips easily into the suit, negates the need to worry about finger and toenails.
Jon
I tried to convince myself, but, orange flavour electrolyte, mixed with hot chocolate,
tastes nothing like Terry's Chocolate Orange ....
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
That will allow you to rent a suit, and try it out a couple of days before the race. That should be adequate. with the sleeveless full suit you'll also be able to put in a cracker jack time for your team mates.
Wetsuits only become optional for Triathlon Ireland events at temperatures that @loneswimmer would describe as "entirely theoretical"
@Kevin_in_MD
I have a suit already but on the couple of occasions that I used it I found it a bit strange. My stroke just felt different, a bit like wearing the wrong size shoes or something .... Just wondering how much practice to take away that feeling?
I tried to convince myself, but, orange flavour electrolyte, mixed with hot chocolate,
tastes nothing like Terry's Chocolate Orange ....
This morning, I swam in Lake Michigan off downtown Chicago with Open Water Chicago. The water temperature was a frigid 53F, so most swimmers wore wetsuits.
I borrowed a wetsuit, which kept me toasty warm, but I felt like I was swimming in a submarine with only my bare arms windmilling outside padded neoprene walls. It felt like I was participating in an activity entirely different from open water swimming. Now, I know there are plenty of folks who use wetsuits, and I don't intend to dismiss their choice at all. Everyone's body is different: to each her own. But for me, my whole body felt so disconnected from itself, wearing this thing. I kept forgetting to kick, it felt like my arms weren't connected to my torso, and the wetsuit chafed an angry red line on my neck.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to swim a mile in 53 degree water. But the kind of swimmer I am, I'd much prefer to swim a shorter distance and feel the lake's chill cradle me instead of being all sausaged up in a wetsuit. I love my relationship with the water, how it yields to accommodate exactly my shape, how it provides exactly the amount of resistance I ask of it to propel me forward. The lake and I are in conversation, and it's my bare (well, mostly bare) skin that's the main instrument of our communication.
When the lake gets too cold for me, that's OK. I know it has its own conversation with nature and the seasons, and I can't always be included in it. It makes me appreciate the short time I have with it all the more.
This is what I learned today wearing a wetsuit.
@Alison
I hear you on this. My swim group has stopped open water swims for the season. My goal was to go as long as I could without a wetsuit, and that apparently was 62 degrees, air temp in 50s. After that, coach ordered me to wear a wetsuit. I respect him and he's mindful of his responsibility to see to all swimmers' safety. So when I was shivering like crazy and wearing winter clothes after swimming skin one evening, that had him concerned. Fortunately, we got a few warm days w/ water temp climbing to 65 and air temp 80, so he relented and let me go skin one more time. But at the end of October, on another warm day that had been preceded by some chilly weather, the water went down to 55, and I was back in a wetsuit, although feeling wimpy. Still, my thought is that my wetsuit is a species of "training wheels." My acclimation to cold water is definitely a work in progress.
I will say, I responded a lot better this year to the 55 water temp than I did last year--in a wetsuit--to 58 degrees. I was able to last longer, and I'd hoped to try it skin the following week, but as I was the only person on board with a swim the first Sunday in November and they needed 5, the swim was canceled. C'est la vie!
And now, with open water swimming done for the season, I have to content myself with cold showers!
But I hear you... when I swim with a wetsuit, I feel so constricted and it's harder to get into my stroke rhythm. I have one so as to extend the swim season and (as mentioned) to work my way into swimming skin in cooler water). I like it better not to have a wetsuit on. It's so freeing. Yet I also don't like freezing. Dilemmas, dilemmas!
I have been swimming for a bit over a year. I've never done open water. I live near Lake Tahoe and think I should get a wetsuit. Please let me know what I should buy (brand, model, etc.). Also, where should I buy? Do I just order over the internet? I don't see many options for trying them on around me. Thank you! Any other advice is also welcome!
Hi! I guess most swimmers in this forum are not using wetsuits, for various reasons like not liking, accommodating to cold or doing marathon swims in a compliant way; so there are more valid opinions on vaseline usage than on wetsuits.
From my exp before marathon swimming, in triathlons, the thickness of the model depended on the water temp of the waters you swim in. I wouldn't go for a thick one, in a gentle cold water.
The models and prices vary, but there's already a market so in g-ral the prices show the quality and the marketing of the brand. Big names, more expensive, probably offer better quality.
Independent on brand name, avoid products that are old/ not newly produced, because these have a tendency to break faster. Imho they should not be older than 1 year. Usually promotions hide old productions.
You need to test the product, so I don't advice buying online, because sizes are relative and it depends on your body.
If you go open water by yourself, I would advice attaching also a safety buoy.
I owned a shorty and a normal one for a few years, another shorty for swimruns, and I'm surrounded by people wearing one even in water at 24ºC, so I have formed an opinion
(And yes, in case you are wondering, people do it. I was in a swim in France 3 weeks ago, water at 24ºC, 400 swimmers, and I counted only 38 in skins. It was a 6 km swim...)
Don't buy online. You need to try it on. Moreover, try on a few of them, different makes and different sizes. If possible, do so with an expert beside you, because it has to be tight but beginners tend to choose a size above the good one. What you feel tight in the shop will be slightly looser in the water.
Also, this person would teach you how to put it on properly (though for this, there are dozens of videos around).
Check thickness, mainly in torso area. 3 mm is enough unless you are going to swim for a long time (> 2h) in cold water (for me in the Mediterranean this means <14ºC). Otherwise go for 4 or 4.5 mm, but I think it's better to get used to the cold when the water is really cold (you'll be cold on hands, feet and face anyway). Moreover, with 4 mm you won't be able to use it with water >18ºC because you'll cook yourself in it.
In a 2 mm wetsuit (torso), you'll be cold in water <14º, and probably uncomfortable up to 16ºC. But perhaps you'll get to like it... ;P
As @BogdanZ said, prices show the quality. But quality doesn't mean durability. In fact, usually it's the other way round: expensive wetsuits use to get scratched more easily. You have to be extra careful with them.
(Very generic, therefore unfair advice): Do not listen to advice from triatletes. They swim very short distances, so their experience is not useful for us long range swimmers.
For a quick overview of features, I recommend this website. It's a Spanish maker, you won't probably find them in the States, but explanations (discounted the commercial talk) will give you food for thought. https://www.sailfish.com/en/products/wetsuits/
Here in Spain, a few retailers hire wetsuits for a fair price (low-range ones). If you have the chance, do so in order to test which features you like or not. And if you know someone of your size who can lend you one, try it.
dieciseisgrados.com/
@BogdanZ take a day trip to a shop and try some suits on.
I grew up in wetsuits and thought I had my sizing spot on.
Swimming wetsuits fit different from surfing wetsuits.
My thought process was to get her bare bones I needed since my longer term plan is to skins swim.
Sleeveless 2/3mm worked great in mid 60s.
Also get some body glide that will help with the chaffing
I was almost surprised when I saw this gadget