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"Enhanced" Wetsuits
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I have a buddy about to do his first sprint this weekend! He has swim issues, and hasn't put enough effort into the swim imo. I keep saying it's triathlon. Oh well, he's about to get schooled. Anyway, I digress.

It got me to thinking though, I was wondering if there is any benefit in putting more rubber in the legs of the wetsuit to give a guy with tree trunk legs more flotation. I'm sure there's a rule against that, but I'm too fat and lazy right now to gurgle it. Who actually checks wetsuits to see if a fellow competitor has the equivalent of a pull buoy glued to the inside of the legs? I'm usually focused on my own space at that before the race. How much extra buoyancy would you get from an extra 5 mm thick patch of rubber anyway? I would think it would be obvious, I don't know. Thoughts?
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Re: "Enhanced" Wetsuits [triathlung] [ In reply to ]
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Actually, there is a trend towards some of the newer designs taking this approach - offering 4mm top/4mm bottom for the more balanced swimmers, while offering a 3mm top/5 mm bottom for people who are more leg heavy (which triathletes tend to be). Aquaman and Huub Design are two companies that are offering their take on this concept. I'm pretty sure there are others, but I can't remember who else.

As far as the rules go, these suits are all currently legal - they don't exceed the 5mm thickness specifications.

Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador
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Re: "Enhanced" Wetsuits [triathlung] [ In reply to ]
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Or you could just get one of the 2-piece wetsuits (DeSoto makes a fine one) and just wear the bottoms.

However...if a racer truly *needs* to have a wetsuit for a sprint race, then as you point out--much more training is required. Best of luck to your friend.


***

Riding the Awesome Train With: Dark Horse Coaching
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Re: "Enhanced" Wetsuits [ChromeMobius] [ In reply to ]
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or just get the bottoms a size larger than you probably need. more rubber because they are larger. you shouldn't have to worry about them filling with water because the top fits.

I don't think you'd want to wear just the bottom...that's a LOT of drag.
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Re: "Enhanced" Wetsuits [triathlung] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
Thoughts?

http://www.slowtwitch.com/

read the Orca review. If you scan down a page or so there are 1 or 2 threads about this.

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

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