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Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area
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Looking for a recommended place to buy a sleeved wetsuit in the Bay Area. It'll be my first wetsuit -- I've rented sleeveless Blueseventy's for my first 3 tris. Sports Basement upped the rental price this year and I figured I should just bite the bullet and get my own.

I'd like a lot of handholding for this purchase. I want a skilled salesperson to help me with the fit. I have broad shoulders for a woman relative to my waist size (I have problems buying shirts because of this -- fit the waist and too tight in the shoulders, fit the shoulders and baggy in the torso) so I'd like a good selection of brands to choose from to get the best fit. My local Sports Basement only stocks blueseventys and Rokas -- I'd like to try other brands as well. Also want a generous return policy in case it doesn't work.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Erin C.] [ In reply to ]
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I think they might actually be the best place to find inventory, unfortunately. I know at some point Forward Motion in Danville rented them, but I don't know if that's the case anymore. At the very least, it'd give you an idea of whether Nineteen Wetsuits is one that would work for you. Give them a call and see.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Erin C.] [ In reply to ]
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SB is probably the best selection in the Bay Area. The other option I've had good luck with was ordering direct from the mfgr. Most of them will provide sizing guidance, and have fairly generous return policies. If you are hard to fit, consider De Soto (since you can mix and match the top/bottom).

On a related note, get a sleeved suit. Not only are they faster, but the water here in the Bay Area often calls for a fullsuit.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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Sounds like you would be a good candidate for a two-piece such as Emilio's T series.

Not affiliated, don't get kickbacks and don't even own his suit, but I heard good things about his suit fitting difficult "proportions" and great DeSoto online customer service experience...

Titanflexr wrote:
SB is probably the best selection in the Bay Area. The other option I've had good luck with was ordering direct from the mfgr. Most of them will provide sizing guidance, and have fairly generous return policies. If you are hard to fit, consider De Soto (since you can mix and match the top/bottom).

On a related note, get a sleeved suit. Not only are they faster, but the water here in the Bay Area often calls for a fullsuit.
Last edited by: windschatten: Jun 30, 15 15:56
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [AndresLD] [ In reply to ]
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AndresLD wrote:
I think they might actually be the best place to find inventory, unfortunately. I know at some point Forward Motion in Danville rented them, but I don't know if that's the case anymore. At the very least, it'd give you an idea of whether Nineteen Wetsuits is one that would work for you. Give them a call and see.

I thought they got rid of their wetsuits, but I'll doublecheck. Thanks!
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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Titanflexr wrote:
SB is probably the best selection in the Bay Area. The other option I've had good luck with was ordering direct from the mfgr. Most of them will provide sizing guidance, and have fairly generous return policies. If you are hard to fit, consider De Soto (since you can mix and match the top/bottom).

On a related note, get a sleeved suit. Not only are they faster, but the water here in the Bay Area often calls for a fullsuit.

I'm surprised that there seems to be nothing but Sports Basement here! I may have to try the manufactuer's websites instead.

Oh, definitely a fullsleeve. Buying only a sleeveless doesn't seem like a good way to spend my money.

I didn't stress too much about the fit of the sleeveless since I didn't have to worry about the shoulders. I just want to get that shoulder fit right.

I did try on a sleeved blueseventy Reaction and it felt horrible in the store so I went with the sleeveless for the rental.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Erin C.] [ In reply to ]
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One nice thing about Emilio's suits is the ability to exchange or return the suit without penalty. Some other companies may come close, but I'm pretty sure DeSoto has the best return policy in the business.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [niccolo] [ In reply to ]
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niccolo wrote:
One nice thing about Emilio's suits is the ability to exchange or return the suit without penalty. Some other companies may come close, but I'm pretty sure DeSoto has the best return policy in the business.

I'll look into those as well. Guess if I'm going mail order I might as well get a bunch and try them out.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Erin C.] [ In reply to ]
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If you get down to SoCal, try Nytro or De Soto.

The SB in Sunnyvale had ~4 brands the last time I was there IIRC; might want to give them a call. The downside of SB is tri-specific expertise. The guy working the wetsuits might have been in the hiking boots section an hour ago. Just tell them you are a 24hr. fitness member to get the 10% discount BTW.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Erin C.] [ In reply to ]
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The Sports Basement in Walnut Creek has Roka, Tyr, Blue Seventy, and Orca.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [kenpetruzzelli] [ In reply to ]
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kenpetruzzelli wrote:
The Sports Basement in Walnut Creek has Roka, Tyr, Blue Seventy, and Orca.

I'll have to look again. I think I saw that they had the $700 Orca (which is out of my price range!). Don't remember seeing any Tyr.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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Titanflexr wrote:
If you get down to SoCal, try Nytro or De Soto.

The SB in Sunnyvale had ~4 brands the last time I was there IIRC; might want to give them a call. The downside of SB is tri-specific expertise. The guy working the wetsuits might have been in the hiking boots section an hour ago. Just tell them you are a 24hr. fitness member to get the 10% discount BTW.

Yeah, there's one woman at the WC SB that is knowledgeable (she helped me fit my first rental) but the rest, not so much.

I think there must be a billion 10% SB discount codes. I use the one that gives our local schools some cash.
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Re: Wetsuit Purchase S.F. Bay Area [Erin C.] [ In reply to ]
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Erin C. wrote:
Yeah, there's one woman at the WC SB that is knowledgeable (she helped me fit my first rental) but the rest, not so much...
I got my Blue Seventy from the Bryant St. SB location. I don't know if the guy that helped me is still there but he was very into triathlon and quite knowledgable & helpful. Last time I checked the Presidio store also had plenty of wetsuits.

Alex
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