I like to know to, i just did a half in a 12 year old ironman wetsuit, in 35min

Where's an expert when you need one.

No real expert answer for your question, basically wetsuit benefit/performance depends on fit and how you put it on, secondary to that is mm panel distribution and swim abilty.

Having siad that I just blew out my 19 pipeline, a great suit which served me well for 6 years. Bought a Helix, which fits very well, but tested it with the canadian blue 70 rep.

Maurice

Mine is more than 12 years old. The fact that I am too fat to fit into it tells me that I no longer need it for flotation and I save at least 15 seconds in transition not having to rip it off. Ymmv.

Wetsuits have made big advancements in the last 8 years. If you are in a nineteen that is 8 years old I would guess it is
a pipeline? If it is a pipeline it is a great entry level suit that is very durable to wear and tear. One major downside to the
pipeline is the range in motion of the shoulders. Usually people swimming in the pipeline, who then change to another
wetsuit notice how much less they are tired when they come out of the water.

I would say if you switch to another make, or model with nineteen you would be faster if you get a correct fitting wetsuit.
Wetsuits range from $200-1000. A major problem with wetsuits most people are not wearing the correct size.

I have a 21 year old QR full suit that my adult daughter now uses when we hit the beach early in the season. Yeah, it's not ideal, but is still together and does all it really needs to do. My son wears my 15? year old ironman VO2 stealth. The only problem is they ALL tended to tear at the front of the shoulder, and mine/his is no exception. I don't think that is what his speed problem is from however. I swim in about a 4 year old 2XU and if I wasn't so fat now, it would still be excellent. Once I'm in it, I am well sweaty, but can still crank reasonable speed from it.

I much prefer the newer wetsuits. I don't think the neoprene is that much faster, I think the advancements have been made with panel placement for improved shoulder flexibility and better stretch across the back, for freer breathing.

Even top of the range wetsuits are relatively cheap, so there is no real reason for getting anything but the best/fastest suit. They last years and having a good wettie really is a joy to swim in.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Thanks for all the responses, I too have a vintage Highway 19 Pipeline that served me well in 2004, but now tends to collect water in the shoulder area. My Zoot worked well for about six years, but after about 150 swims full of abuse it is now pretty much toasted. I have a ProMotion short sleeve, but the neck is loose and lets water in. Today, it all did not matter, as the Osoyoos 1/2 was a non-wetsuit affair. Very sloth full

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

There have been some advances in wetsuit design in the past 8 years, Nineteen included - particularly with the high-end suits. With some companies these have trickled down through the lines.

The big change from the suit you have, would be the move to use 1.5mm neoprene in most of the arms and shoulder girdle areas. This increases significantly, the flexibility of the arms/shoulders. It also reduces slightly the buoyancy of the upper body, which if you have decent to good technique will put you in a better body position in the water, to take a fuller advantage of leverage - you'll be plowing less, and catching more water.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Queen of Neoprene here, w my observations.
Of course, fast, comfortable swims are about fit (suit) and fitness (you.)
The newer suits these days pretty much rock, best way to check out the options would be to do a wetsuit demo or rent a suit your interested in.
1. Even the lower-end suits these days have better materials than previously. Yamamoto and Sheico are the 2 widely recognized neoprene and I'm seeing plenty of their rubber in US$250-$325 suits.
2. Materials: Look for "dimpled" neoprene, (looks like the textured Zipp carbon wheels) which has a perforated layer sandwiched inside: maximum buoyancy w more flexibility and lower weight.
Photo here, zoom in on torso: http://www.swimoutlet.com/...lon-wetsuit-8124245/
(disclaimer: this is the last suit I designed for Profile Design.. and one of my all time favorites...)
3. Patterning, 1.5 mm in the shoulders and sleeves won't necessarily impact chest flotation, some brands add 2.5 mm underarms transitioning to 5mm chest/torso. Still plenty of float for your boat.
4. More about patterning: one of the coolest innovations has been inserting a panel of thinner rubber down the middle of the chest/torso to add some flexibility to the panel.
5. So many brands, so many different fit blocks. Some brands cater to skinny w narrow shoulders and small arms (runners...) and others have more generous fit.
Please feel free to ask me questions. I'm a wetsuit geek.

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Karen ST Concierge

Which brands fit the skinny runners best? I'm still using my 11 year old QR and the zipper is starting to make me nervous...

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"When the going gets tough, get going!"

All I can say is stay away from the ORCA brand. I've had 2 in 5 years and the quality is awful. They replaced my first one after just one season since it had nothing but holes and tears in it and the replacement one wasn't much better.

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"For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't understand, no explanation is possible."

That's a lot of info.

But to be honest the real question stays the same are there any stats that show a significant speed improvement with the new suits.

In 2008 when the LZR swimsuit came out there was about a 2% improvement at the top end of swimming performance. For those lower down the ranks that may have exceeded 2%, as like slower riders etc, aero gains are amplified at slower speeds.

We now have hydrophobic materials, a knowledge of what compression does and the ability to alter body position with varying levels of buoyancy.

For the Olympic distance, at my speed, a 2% improvement is about 30 seconds, not much really, but for slower swimmers a 2% improvement could take of up to a minute off their time. People spend a couple of thousand on a set of wheels to get that.

So eight years later, what can I reasonably expect to gain from a new suit other than comfort.
To be honest if I wanted comfort, there are other sports, like lawn bowling or something that would be just fine.