[reply]To buy one and then wear it or now?[/reply]

huh?

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mcoker

Yes... uh, I think.

Yes definitely buy one and wear it or now.

You make a very confusing point.

Yes....right! Definitely maybe, I think.

To buy one and wear it---or to not buy one?




By the way, many thanks to Tom D. for the advice!

Well, buying one and NOT wearing it would be quite silly.

And not buying one and wearing it would be theft (or perhaps "looting", or "finding", depending on your geography, race, and socio-economic background)

So we can rule out those 2 options. ;-)

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float , hammer , and jog

When it comes to wetsuits, I never leave home without it. Definitely buy one and use it.

absolutely use a wetsuit for the race. It will make it easier to swim and shave time off. You can rent them, or just buy one if you think you'll use it more than a few times.

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mcoker

There are several factors to consider... Are you a strong swimmer? Overheat easily? Feel at home with or without one in the open water?



I had warm water and a hot race this summer and personally I sacrificed the 5 minutes in order to feel refreshed when coming out of the water… If you do go with the wetsuit, I'd go sleeveless for sure though.

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Don't hold back

I am not comfortable with a full-sleeve wetsuit, even with the new technology that's out there. I feel overheated, and my arms feel more fatigued with a full. However, I wouldn't ditch the idea of a wetsuit in spite of these factors. I always race with a sleeveless.

I agree, a sleeveless is probably appropriate... and in my case I only have a full which as you said is not fun in warm water.

I guess my point is that there are factors to consider before feeling like you HAVE to run out and quickly buy a wetsuit right before a warm water race, especially if you haven't used one before. Maybe renting is another option...

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Don't hold back

before you ditch the sleeved idea completely, I was a die hard sleeveless fan until this year. Nothing is faster than sleeves. I've swam in several sleeved models, the top of the line Ironman suit, can't remember the name, the Exterra Vector pro (again top of thier line) and the QR Hydrofull.

The hydrofull feels like it is going to chafe and kill your arms while standing around in it. Then you swim and it is just like a sleeveless suit, IMO, only faster. No restrictions, no inhibition no extra fatigue, more flexible than any other wetsuit I have swam in this year and faster than the others mentioned, judging from my swim times. I'd honestly ballpark it about :20 per K faster than the others. I'm a solid 1:10-12 and faster swimmer.

Seriously I see no reason not to buy a sleeveless after swimming in the QR Hydrofull. If I had the choice, for next season of buying the QR or being given another wetsuit, I'd pay out of pocket for the QR.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I believe that the lake is too shallow for use of a wetsuit.

No seriously, one fact is missing: when is the race?

You will definitely want to swim in your wetsuit a few times before the race. It is different, and sometimes due to a feeling of constriction, people report bad first-time experiences. Last year, I put mine on for the first time in a year for a race and felt awkward and had an unpleasant swim.

HH

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev