kajet wrote:
I read the article about price vs. speed:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...he_Fastest_7992.html Very interesting, and totally in concert with what I've been told about entry level vs. intermediate vs. advanced wetsuits.
What about durability though? Those TYR wetsuits famously break at the stitches below the shoulder, in front of the armpit. I think durability is a big consideration for those of us who aren't sponsored athletes. And that's quite a few.
i have not had that problem with TYR's wetsuits that you describe. the problem i did have was blowing out the calf when you put your heel through the wetsuit - when putting it on. TYR's suits have, for me, been really good suits, really fast, but i've had to be very careful with them.
standard suits, that don't have really think forearms and ankles, are less likely to rip when you're putting the suit on. this is where the suit is most vulnerable to a tear: when you're putting it on. also, the more expensive suits that try to mate really thin rubber to thick rubber at the seams - if you're glueing and sewing 2mm rubber to 5mm rubber - these are the tender parts of the wetsuit.
however, that SCS coating, that shiny coating, that goes on these wetsuits, that's not just a speed feature, but it adds a lot of durability. i actually think this is that coating's best feature. if you put yamamoto #39 rubber in a wetsuit, and it's not coated with SCS, that is absoutely the stretchiest rubber you can put in a wetsuit. putting that coating on - and it's kind of just painted on - makes that rubber a little less stretchy. but it makes it much harder to tear with your fingernails. it adds a lot of durability.
so, the strongest, most durable wetsuits, while remaining fast, high performance wetsuits, will be those mid-priced wetsuits that don't have really thin rubber or fabric panels, and have yamamoto $39 rubber with an SCS coating (either black or "metal", which is that silver color). de soto's green goma appears to bear a lot of similarity to this rubber i'm talking about.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman