tl;dr: Research here a lot, buy online, try on and return if fit isn't good.

My story: I bought my very first wetsuit from a local store about a week before my first HIM (and first OWS). I had borrowed two wetsuits that I was hoping to use for the race, but both were too small. So, I but a best-value suit that fit at a store that was selling some of their old stock. I spent $200 on a sleeved Zone3 Vision.

I bought my 2nd wetsuit at the end of 2018 online after a lot of research in this forum plus a few other reviews. I concluded that each maker's 2nd from the top level would probably be best for me and that there are probably three most-likely-to-be-fastest brands: blueseventy, Roka, and De Soto. I loved the look and brand image of Roka the most, but I bought a blueseventy sleeved Reaction because it was the best value.

Pretty much everyone lets you buy, try on, and return. I tried on my Reaction, and it fit well. So, I am waiting for my first cold swim to use it.

Buy about 6 of them online.

Return the ones that don't-fit-you the least.

I rented a wetsuit from tri rental company. I gave them my measurements and body type, and they recommended a brand, model, and size. I think the rental period was about 3 weeks, I swam in it several times during that time.

It fit great, and I ended up buying the suit. They discounted the rental price from the purchase amount.

I don't own one (yet) but if I do need one I'll rent one from my tri-club. At least I'll know who peed in it.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

That's one aspect that I think I prefer to maintain the veil of plausible deniability.

I'll another caveat to your quest.
Sleeved or non sleeved.
I believe it's a question of how much you would like to spend and maybe where you're gonna be racing/water temp.
Beyond fit issues.

You pay for mobility in a wetsuit, generally the more you spend the more "naked" feel you should receive.
If you don't mind spending $800 and up buy a full sleeve. Full sleeve tend to be faster, warmer and overall nicer.

If you wanna spend $200 and below buy a sleeveless suit. You'll still get the shoulder mobility/rotation, warmth and body positioning seen in the $$$ options.

Personally I would not spend money on the inbetweeners but thats just my thoughts.

So I'm a frequent customer at Moxie Multi-Sport. Not as frequent as some...I should have just went there first!

I found the best price on suits from an online wetsuit retailer here in Phoenix...went all over god's creation thinking we could go to a storefront because Google told me they had a storefront...not so.

Went back to Moxie, was originally wanting a Blue Seventy. It wasn't Blake, but one of his guys sized me up and said: NOPE. Years of chest development and genetics with broad shoulders didn't allow for that whoonya. Had me try on a Zoot in my size from their rental stock because the Blue Seventy was rented anyways. They didn't have one in my size for purchase so I then went on swimoutlet and got one.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Which site do you rent from? I've seen a couple, and I'll be renting this year, purchasing next year.

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- John
"Have courage, and be kind."

It was tri wetsuit rental.

I rented from DeSoto. Then I bought the same suit in their Black Friday sale.
Got to use it in a race before committing that way

Dan

Agree with these posts and would plug Roka. I was sort of between sizes and emailed them. Got immediate response with a size rec

Turns out the one I wanted wasn’t in stock. About 2 months later they sent me an email that they were having a sale and had my size and got it for I think half price

It fit great but they would have taken it back if it didn’t

Quality was great too

I bought my 1st one by buying about 6 different suits of different brands and sizes from swim outlet. Then, I returned all but the one that I liked best.

Good thing, because I hated the one with best reviews.

Hi Harry,

I sent you a DM. Happy to see if we can help.

We highly recommend you test one or more suits out in the water to confirm your size. Can be difficult in a store or at an event, since the suits can feel different when dry. We accept returns within 30 days, whether you got it wet to test it out or not, so it is a pretty riskless process.

Would love an opportunity to earn your business.

Best,
Rob

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rob canales
ceo + co-founder at ROKA
http://www.roka.com

Companies like Roka and De Soto (and maybe others) have a 30-day trial period worth taking advantage of.