Mine is en route, but I may still be able to answer your question. BlueSeventy definitely cuts "lean." So the sizes are designed around a pro-athlete body type. If you look in the mirror and see Bruce Lee, then size down. Otherwise, I'd size up. Especially since you'll likely be wearing clothes under it for any race without a changing tent.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Rappster,

Well when I look in the mirror i do see an Asian man, but i don't know if I'd consider myself Bruce Lee. The problem i'm having is that the sizing chart for XS is 5'4", but i'm in between 5'6 and 5'7, weighing approx 130. The small fits my height better, but the weight is 12lbs more. I'm definitely not that bulky. I think you're right, I may have to size down, hopefully it doesn't crush my manhood.

E

Lol... Go by weight with these things, especially since it is sleeveless and knee-length. Weight is the overriding factor in sizing, not height.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

In fact, Rappstar had the priviledge of zipping up an XS Helix (full size BlueSeventy wetsuit) on someone who is about 5'9" 132lbs. At the time I believe the answer to the question of whether or not it was too small was, "Basically if you can get it on, it's the right size." And again, that was a wetsuit with sleeves so definitely go for the XS pointzero3 if you are in that weight range.

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Team Timex 2014
@ajhodges

qcassidy and rappstar--how much would you estimate they improve swim speed for those at the pointy end of the swim? is it 1-2 seconds per hundred? the speedo fastskins (at least the originial ones) helped a few 1/10s of a second per 100 yards. do these suits assist more than those? thanks!

I havent got mine yet so I'm not really sure. However, Ben from BlueSeventy said that these suits have very close to the same coefficient of drag as a faskskin. Therefore, its not faster than just swimming in a fastskin but fastskins are designed to be the only thing you where. If you do ITU this isnt a problem but most long course folks dont race in fastskins which is why the pointzero3 is nice. You get the benefit of something with very low drag that you can then take off in transition. Most importantly IMHO, you eliminate the parachute that most tri shorts and tops turn into in the water. I'm excited about getting mine and will let you know how it feels once I get to swim in it.

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Team Timex 2014
@ajhodges

Oh, qcassidy, messing up the sponsors data... Maybe if you weren't oggling all the ladies and were paying attention...

The Pt03 has a coefficient of drag MUCH lower than the speedo fastskins. They have done flume testing. Of course, it was done by B70, so no one will believe impartial data, but it is there. The data, IIRC, was that human skin has a drag coefficient of roughly 0.5, fastskins and such are about 0.1, and the Pt03 is obviously 0.03.

And you call yourself an engineer...

Believe me, if Michael Phelps could wear this suit, he would. It is, also, right on the borderline for legal buoyancy, unlike a fastskin which provides no buoyancy at all...

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

For triathlon, who determines whether it's legal or not, in terms of buoyancy? Does B70 have to send the PointZero3 to USAT or ITU for testing prior to its release? Just curious because I remember seeing Normann and others in Kona's TZ thinking, "Man, that looks like a wetsuit..."

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Shawn
TORRE Consulting Services, LLC
http://www.TORREcs.com

ITU has sanctionings rules, I know, which 2XU had to meet for their race suit with the Hydrocell buoyancy panels. I do not know if WTC or USAT have their own, if they use the ITU rules, or if they don't have any at all. B70 did have to seek approval from the ITU before release, which the received.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

They specifically say that the pointzero3 has been tested and is eligible for all USAT and WTC races.

I haven't received mine yet either! Sheesh! Luckily its too cold here for it. Tomorrow we are doing the first OWS of the season.

As far as sizing goes, its tough, I was borderline and sized up...when i should have sized down. I now have a suit that is WAY to big. So, with that being said, I agree with Jordan, the smallest size you can wear is the best!

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Jeanne Roth
Team Timex 2007/2008
http://jeannejeannie.blogspot.com/

I was just making sure YOU were paying attention. ;)

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Team Timex 2014
@ajhodges

Thanks for the info. It seems to me the biggest benefit of these suits is their bouyancy. The reduced drag is great, but it is not going to make a huge difference. As you mentioned, the drag coefficient for shaved skin and a fastskin are 0.5 and 0.1 respectively. It is my experience that this makes a difference of less than 1/2 second per 100 yards. A further reduction of .07 seems like it would have a similar difference, based on percentage, so another 1/2 second max. Adding bouyancy to the suit is where these really help.

I'm not sure if this is still the case with fastskins, but we were told and found that they performed better in shorter events. The reason for this was that the maximum benefit of the suit was derived before it became saturated with water. The thought was that swimming over 400 or 800m (4:00-8:00) would become a breakeven point where the benefit of the suit would be negated due to it holding too much water and minimizing the channeling of water which made it faster in the first place.

I do completely agree with qcassidy's point that the suits will always be faster than a normal triathlon suit which comes complete with parachutes, I mean pockets. Do you know if QR has one of these coming up in their product line?

Yeah, these suits are obviously designed around the USAT "wetsuit" rule (anything thicker than 1mm is a defined as a "wetsuit") with the major benefit being buoyancy.

hey guys, just enjoying the discussion.
i am one of the directors at 2xu and the product guy in the business. the claims blue seventy are making are true, and i am a competitor. i guess the difference between what they do and what we have done in our super elite suit, is that we have the mod-tech(the correct name minus the b.s. marketing) on the roll bar and the result is that you can wear the suit through the whole event without overheating. our suits can be used in itu and usat events because the ruling is that you must where the suit through the whole event, you can't take off your the suit after the swim. For Hawaii last year we had MJ amongst others wearing a full mod tech version, cause there rules are more accepting, and we will have a similar version available for hawaii this year, but with a few added options just to make a little quicker again. the buoyancy is just below the legal limit, but FINA(swimming federation) has not approved this kind of suit yet, but should be legal, so only a matter of time.

hi jamie,

will you not have to make some level of tradeoff in terms of heat / sweat management. It would seem that there is no way that a buoyant, slippery fabric could ever be as cool as something designed to optimize those features (vs. buoyancy/speed in the water). Ultimately, do you not need to balance out based on race conditions, your needs (i.e. ITU racers NEED to be out in the first pack), etc.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

So does this mean a fastskin type suit (no bouyancy improvement, just drag improvement) is not allowed if it is taken off in T1? That doesn't seem to make sense. Also, if you looks at photos from a race such as St. A's you will notice some pros who wore some type of speedsuit in the water but did not do the rest of the race in it. Are there only certain suits which fall under the rule regarding having to wear it the whole race?

ITU rules specify that you cannot remove clothing in transition (except a wetsuit). That is where it comes from. In a ITU world cup, you could not wear a speedsuit for the swim and then take it off.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

there is a tradeoff. thats why we have the neoprene on the side of the trisuit, to elevate the hips the most important part of the trisuit where you want bouyancy, full fronted neoprene trisuit are not really practical, whereas our pro's who wear them havn't noticed the roll bar on the side in regards to lose of breathability, whereas they have noticed the extra buoyancy in the swim.

ST Anothonys does not full under ITU rules and has been a race in the past where they have had very liberal views to when it comes to what the athlete wears. I was part of the ITU athletes commission when the rule was put in place about 6 years ago, where you can't even roll down your trisuit during bike and run, you need to wear as per worn in the swim.

Jamie,

Do you know if races such as FL 70.3 mandate that you wear the same suit throughout the race?

Thanks,

Eric

No, because that's a USAT sanctioned race...

Thanks, I guess I read Jamie's post to say that certain USAT races didn't allow you to strip out of a speedsuit in T1.

Eric

Hi eric, sorry can't answer your question. if it falls under the rules of WTC then it could possibly be allowed as they are allowed in Hawaii. But if USAT is also involved can't answer. Sorry. If not allowed then that is where our super elite suits comes in handy, as it can be used throughout the whole race.
Thx jamie