I get where you are coming from - kind of - but basically if your intent is to return the suit after you wear it I think you are in the moral wrong. The things are expensive. If everyone did what you plan on doing the prices would be even worse. A good shop can talk you through what is best for your size and skill level.

I bought a CAT5 TYR from trisport. It was clearly used so I guess you aren't the only one who has thought of doing that.

He's talking about companies with a policy to let you try out a wetsuit once or twice. TriSports understands that since most of their customers are buying by mail order, there is a good chance they'll get the wrong wetsuit. It's a long term sales view designed to keep the customer coming back and there no "moral wrong" associated with it.

I dont think he's suggesting that he'll buy a suit, wear it for a race, and send it back.

I think he's suggesting that he'll buy a suit, find out that the suit doesn't fit him perfectly once it's in the water, and want to exchange it for the right size or a different suit.

Exactly.

In fact, I bought my first wetsuit from TriSports for this very reason/policy.

Isn't that what local shops are for? Unless the OP is in an area where that's not an option, I think taking the risk of buying online before you know your exact size is a wasted effort. There are also plenty of rental companies that will apply that cost to a purchase. That's probably the best way to go.

That's always an option too - but there are LOTS of places that don't have a triathlon shop within a reasonable distance. Also, assuming that's the case, renting a wetsuit would ultimately amount to the same thing. Actually, renting might even be worse because if he rents a used suit that has been stretched overtime - it might not fit the same as a new suit of the same make/model. This could lead to him ordering the wrong size anyway.

I like the policy and think it's great - it's just a difficult one to do because I'm sure they deal with the "No way! I returned it in brand new condition" (when the suit is beat up) all the time.

This is exactly what local shops are for, despite the fact that they may not be able to compete the prices of online retailers.
I have no issue with paying the extra if I get great service and knowledge. There are many shops that rent wetsuits and I would happily buy one that I know fit me, regardless of whether its the latest / greatest.

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I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com

Perhaps offering a list of the suits you would like to try, may bring some companies out to offer you a demo suit...?

jake

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Get outside!

Xterra will let you try out the suit and send it back for a full refund if it does not fit. BUT, don't use Bodyglide when you are using it. You cannot get the Bodyglide off it and they cannot resell the suit so it is a loss for them. They will give you credit still though, something like 75%.

None of my local shops (and we have many) sold DeSoto. In fact, I don't think any of them do even now.

I contacted Huub and just received a response indicating a liberal return policy & a bit of a discount. None of their retailers would allow such a return. My wife & I will be trying a couple of their suits and a couple from trisports as part of the decision making process. The plan is to hopefully find 2-3 that feel reasonably comfortable then do a few timed sets in the pool to see if there is any difference in speed and/or feel (of course, the pool is not open water but it's closer than dry land). The suit with the best feel & time stays and the others go back. I am willing to pay the return shipping for the opportunity to make an informed decision. Even if I don't buy one of their suits, the retailer is likely to be on the short list when I make my next tri purchase because I know I won't run into problems with future purchases.

I really don't understand the "immorality" of trying a wetsuit in the water (I think suits should be designed to withstand moisture damage). Of course, if the pool water causes a problem (e.g. I don't rinse it out) or I used it for a month or I rip it when putting it on, then I accept the responsibility of buying the suit. I have never noticed any damage to a suit after swimming in it once or twice. This is not much different than taking a bike out for a test ride before buying it; it could be argued that bike testing is worse as there is a reasonable chance of road wear on the tires. Asking a shop to just recommend a size/model is like asking the Ford dealer which car is best for me (they are unlikely to try to sell me a Mazda). Find me a shop that sells all brands & sizes and I will check them out. TriSports has a pretty good selection and even they don't have half the models I am considering (19 Rogue, Matuse, Aquasphere Racer, Xterra Vendetta, Huub). Local shops have crap selection at best even if I were willing to drive 50+ miles and spend a day or 2 shopping. I live not far from Philadelphia so I can imagine people living far from a major metro area would have even worse selection.

This boggles my mind. So you send back the wetsuits with waters marks and smelling of chlorine ?

Next customer who receives this wetsuit is gonna be annoyed at the water marks, smell and obvious signs its been used before. I bet shops would love to slap a customer like you.

Water marks?? It's not a cell phone or sheet of paper. What does that even look like? Did your wetsuit disintegrate & discolor after your first race?? Regarding the chlorine, rinsing it out after 5-10 min in the pool should take care of it. Perhaps you don't realize that I was talking about a WETsuit. Shops don't have to put up with that--just don't offer such a return. I really like dealing with swimoutlet for most swimming purchases (great price matching, fast & free shipping, great prices and knowledgeable customer service). However, they don't allow returns of wetsuits that get wet so they won't get my wetsuit dollars whereas TriSports and/or Huub will.

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Funny you should mention damage as one of the little jobs my mate at Peach City Runners in Penticton gives me to keep me out of trouble when I visit is to repair the demo suits that have cuts in them from peoples fingernails..They have stopped selling wetsuits so now I'm going to have to find something else to do...

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DeSoto will let you swim in it and return it if its not what you want.

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

As others have mentioned Huub do.

I've got a Cat 5 and mid range Huub and only race in the Huub now. It is a fantastic suit

Which Huub do you have? I am going to try the Aegis (50% off!!) and the Archimedes--this represents the high and low end so I hope to notice a difference.

x3 - I paid for a wetsuit from Huub.. they shipped it... and if it didnt' work, I could have returned it. I was skeptical about the size and it was perfect.
I tried it out in a pool and rinsed it throughly on both sides immediately following. Ditto on not using Body Glide if you're trying out a suit.

Customer service at Huub was most excellent .. as is the suit. I got the Aerious 4:4.

k

Hey Randy I've got the Aerious 3.5. I picked it up when they were first launched here in Aust back in August.

Mine is the mid range suit, it has all of the features of the Archimedes apart from the BR X-O Skeleton for aided buoyancy and the calf and bicep release panels.

Here's our policy at Xterra Wetsuits about returning your wetsuit after swimming in it:

1 - we encourage you to swim in our wetsuit
2 - you get 30 days to test out your wetsuit. Yes, you can race in it.
3 a - return it if you're not happy for a full refund, exchange, upgrade, etc.
3 b - if you return it, please return it dry and in good condition
3 c - "good condition" includes your not having put your name on the inside of it.
4 - we are not going to sell your "tested" wetsuit. Instead, it goes into our rental inventory.

I think that DeSoto has a similar policy, and you can find their policy and ours on our respective websites.

If you have any other questions write us at info@xterrawetsuits.com or send Keith Simmons or me a personal message.

- Turq (one of the owners)

Randy,

If the any of the Aqua Sphere suits (Racer included) are on your list, send me a PM and I'll get you setup with a suit to demo.

jake

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Get outside!

We are happy to send out a test suit. Drop us an email. Usa@huubdesign.com

Hi Chris,

I have a couple Aegis suits on the way (hard to beat those prices!). The Archimedes is back-ordered so I will have to wait a bit for them. All this swimming discussion (and the single digit temps) are getting me excited about spending more time in the pool. Hopefully it will all pay off in a couple months.

Randy,

You will not find a better suit on the market than the entire Huub product line. The amazing thing about the Aegis is it can very well compete with most companies top of the line suit.

I've only tried the Aerious 4:4 so far, but I can honestly say it's the most comfortable thing I've ever tried on, has extreme breath-ability and can really get you right in the water. That's not even their top of the line stuff, that's what's amazing to me.

It's wicked easy to get on, the rubber feels more flexible than any other suit I've owned(helix, alpha, etc) and because of that it's also easy to get off. Little extra features like an xo skeleton to prevent fishtailing and poor lower body mechanics.

For the past few years I have been using a mid-range long john (2XU T:2). I have no complaints but popular opinion seems to favor that a decent full sleeve will give me a bit of additional speed. I don't have a swimming background but have been able to go + 1 hr for IM; I'm looking for a suit that will offer superb flexibility in the shoulders, not be constricting in the chest but also not let in as much water as the long john suits. My ideal suit would be something that is super thin for the upper body (to allow expansion and flexibility) and offer a little bit of buoyancy for the lower body. That would be a 1:3 or 2:3 in Huub's verbiage but as I haven't found anything like that, the 3:5 will hopefully do the trick. The full sleeve suits I have tried in the past always feel too tight in the chest no matter what I have done in terms of adjustments (i.e. working the suit up as high as possible).

this sort of return policy ought to be standard among wetsuit companies. when we incepted this category, a quarter century ago, our policy was this: 14 days, do what you want in the wetsuit, return for a full refund if unhappy, just, don't write the name in it, and we want it clean (no vaseline, etc.).

we were roundly pilloried by both retailers and the other (surf) wetsuit companies, who said we were setting a very dangerous precedent. we sold 13,000 or 14,000 wetsuits a year, we got maybe 5 or 10 wetsuits returned each year. maybe some triathletes buy a wetsuit, race in it, and return it for a refund. but very, very few, and these few folks shouldn't cause a wetsuit company to shoot itself in the foot by refusing to offer this money back policy.

we'd take all the wetsuits we'd get back over course of the year, through returns (very few), and warranty, we'd fix them, sell them all to a retailer at the end of the year for his demo sale or rental program. this is the industry standard, and any wetsuit company ought to meet this standard.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Dan was super helpful when I got my first suit from him 20 years ago. We are emulating that at Huub with a 2 week test as well.

I won't buy a wetsuit I can't try on and swim in first and I won't buy shoes I can't at least take an easy treadmill run in and I won't buy a bike I can't take for a decent ride. So I go to retailers that allow for this. For me I ended up with Xterra, though I have seen great service from other companies as well.

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Ian

In researching my next wetsuit I was encouraged by this post

Then looked at their website

Can’t try a wetsuit anymore or they charge 50%

10 years things change

https://huubusa.com/...exchanges-warranties