Up until now, I've only been participating in a regular wetsuit/swimsuit, bike shorts and a T/jersey. But this year I'm stepping up my game with some half dozen tris including IMAZ in November so I'm looking at a dedicated tri suit. But the reality is I am at best a middle-of-the-pack age grouper on a limited budget. I see suits for $300 and $400 and that doesn't just blow my budget, it nukes it from space (only way to be sure). I'm not looking for the absolute cheapest thing out there. I could always go on Amazon and get some really cheap crap from China for <$40. I don't want to do that but I kind of need to keep it at $100 or less. I could probably stretch it to $150 if someone could make a really convincing argument as to why, but that's beside the point.
Back to Amazon. Personally, I hate shopping there because Jeff already has plenty of money, but it's just the best resource for, well, pretty much anything you could want.
Right now I'm looking at one from Sparx that gets pretty good reviews and it's only $50.
I also see one from Kona that's within the budget. It only has a few reviews, most of which are good but one pretty much trashes the product.
They also list a Synergy suit that's more than what I *want* to spend, but not a budget buster.
There's some brand called SLS3, which I've never heard of.
I do see some Zoot suits I would consider, even though they're well over my preferred price range. But the biggest thing with the Zoot suits I see is the colors. I can generally work around a lot, but I do not want to wear a dark color out here. Might as well be wearing a thermal in the middle of summer.
Of course, there are the dozens of Chinese knock offs that are of *questionable* quality.
Right now I'm leaning towards the Sparx just to see if I see a value in it. If I like it, I can always upgrade later and just use this one for training. If I don't really see a value, I'm only out $50 and I can still just use it for training. The other option is the Synergy, even though it's more than what I really want to spend, but it would likely be a one-and-done purchase. Unless I determine I just can no longer compete without a tri suit.
If you guys have any personal experience with any of these brands, or you have suggestions of brands within my budget range I don't know about, please enlighten me.
Back to Amazon. Personally, I hate shopping there because Jeff already has plenty of money, but it's just the best resource for, well, pretty much anything you could want.
Right now I'm looking at one from Sparx that gets pretty good reviews and it's only $50.
I also see one from Kona that's within the budget. It only has a few reviews, most of which are good but one pretty much trashes the product.
They also list a Synergy suit that's more than what I *want* to spend, but not a budget buster.
There's some brand called SLS3, which I've never heard of.
I do see some Zoot suits I would consider, even though they're well over my preferred price range. But the biggest thing with the Zoot suits I see is the colors. I can generally work around a lot, but I do not want to wear a dark color out here. Might as well be wearing a thermal in the middle of summer.
Of course, there are the dozens of Chinese knock offs that are of *questionable* quality.
Right now I'm leaning towards the Sparx just to see if I see a value in it. If I like it, I can always upgrade later and just use this one for training. If I don't really see a value, I'm only out $50 and I can still just use it for training. The other option is the Synergy, even though it's more than what I really want to spend, but it would likely be a one-and-done purchase. Unless I determine I just can no longer compete without a tri suit.
If you guys have any personal experience with any of these brands, or you have suggestions of brands within my budget range I don't know about, please enlighten me.