Bump

I race mostly sprints and olympics. I opted to trim the legs of my wetsuit for easier removal. Arms should be easy enough for you to get off while running to transition.

I would imagine the "short" answer is that you do not. That said, I have a shorty, sleeveless and a full and I live in central Florida where wetsuit season for sprints is March, maybe April and possibly in late October. For sprint triathlons in marginally wetsuit legal water, the shorty is my go-to suit because I can run faster in it, take it off in virtually a nanosecond, and I won't overheat. Compared to my sleeveless, I'm giving up about 6 to 8 inches of neoprene on the lower legs.

I use my sleeveless for Oly's and up when the water temperature is about 72-76, and the full for Olys and up when the water is under 72 ... generally at destination races outside of Florida. Yes, I know the full is always a faster option, but I heat up easily.

Since you take the arms off while you are running to transition a shorty or sleeveless will not come off any faster than a full.

jaretj

Well the legs seems to be the hardest part to get off for me, so I think it would matter.

What model of shorty do you use? Does it offer any buoyancy?

It is a QR - my oldest suit - don't even know if QR still makes them. Of course it offers buoyancy, it IS a wetsuit. The only difference between a shorty and a sleeveless wetsuit is the shorty goes down to the knees and the sleeveless, assuming you don't cut it, goes down to the ankles. As I noted above, the difference between the two suits in my case is about 6 to 8" shorter on the legs. Because the leg holes are seamed just above my knees, when I unzip the suit, I can just drop it to the ground. No stepping on the legs or pretending that you are dancing on hot coals trying to get it around your ankles.

I think that's what would work best for me. Thanks.

I'd just get a pair of SIM shorts (or core....or T1)...and get a T1 speed vest. Works great and won't break the bank. It "might" take me 3 seconds to get out of my core shorts.

Do the core shorts offer noticeable buoyancy?

I think the De Soto T1 Espresso suit would be less expensive and maybe more effective. Thoughts?

Yes. It's similar to a pull buoy....only better.

I don't see a shorty suit being any advantage.............unless cost is an issue.

You can get a pair of buoyancy shorts and a T1 speed vest for probably $225.

Just curious, why are the legs the hardest part to get off? Is your particular wetsuit unusually tight around the ankles or perhaps some other reason?

jaretj

No, you do not NEED a shortie wetsuit. That said, I have had the same QR Shortjohn wetsuit for 15 years. I bought it for the S.O.S where you run 20 miles in your wetsuit. I use it all the time even though I also have full suit. Always take it on vacation. Took it to South Beach Tri with a Roka swim skin just in case the water was cold enough. It was wetsuit legal and I swam the 36th best swim in the race in it.

It's slower than a full suit but it feels the same swimming in it. If you find a deal on one, buy it. It's great to have.

---

---------------------------
''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Significant amount of buoyancy. I swim in them occasionally and they are around 3s quicker per 100m. Obviously this varies with swimmers. Personally I would just wear the wetsuit and work on getting it off quicker. A 400m sprint, I'd gain maybe 40s by wearing a wetsuit and it doesn't take me 40s to take it off, more like 5 - 10s. I'm taking it off as I run up the beach, by the time I get to my bike, it's down below my waist.

Simply untrue. A shorty will come off faster than any sleeveless/full wetsuit any day of the week and three times faster on race day. As long as a wetsuit has a leg opening that is narrower than your heel/ankle complex it will require a little more work, a pull or two, a step or two, to get that material off. By contrast, when you unzip the shorty, it just drops off and you step out of it...no lubricant required. This video is about as fast as you can take off a full wetsuit...doesn't work like that for me when I wear a full. But I can get my shorty off faster. Not to mention that you run faster when you aren't trying to remove sleeves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdCrf0vcsR0

I see the point now.

jaretj