Sugino Techonfine tri shorts are very nice. It is the fabric that makes them nice. The pad is pretty adequate even for Ironman.

I wore them IMNZ and had zero chafing and was as comfortable as you can be at an Ironman distance event.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Just gotta try them out and see...

Desoto-the standard it seems in tri shorts. The pad is a standard fleece pad, my favorite kind and the shorts like most tri shorts have no center seam. Bummer the fabric doesn't do a very good job at staying dry in my opinion, but on the same note I've never had a problem with chafing in them. The large flat stitching did do a number on my legs once in a long swim though. NO "gripper" elastic leg openings, which some people love about these. I'm racing in a desoto power skin suit right now which I love the fit on even though I still don't like the fabric much.

Zoot-Nicer fabric I think and better construction. They also hold up waaaay better than Desoto in Chlorine (not that you should be using them in chlorine, but you know...). Heavier fabric but a tad shorter than desoto in the standard version but offered in a longer version as well. Nice seaming, same type of pad as desoto but they have leg grippers which i don't mind but some people hate.

TYR-The fabric is more like a thin bike short fabric, not the softest and the seams are sometimes a bit harsh. The pad is minimalistic and encased between two sheets of fabric which some love some don't like. Leg grippers are ultra durable silicone and also don't tend to pull leg hair as much. But gotta warn you the leg grippers are tight the first time you try them and it takes a while to get used too. To me it felt lilke these shorts were attached to me at the waist and the bottom of the leg with nothign in between. Nice shorts though just a very different fit.

Thanks, folks. I have a pair of Sugio's, and they have a small area that crosses the crotch seam that is seemless, but the pad is skimpier than the de Soto's and the QR's that I've seen. Sometimes the pads change after a few washings.

I don't mind the grippers on my bike shorts, but really don't like them on the tri shorts.

Anyone tried the QR's (I can't remember if they had grippers) or any of the others?

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_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I like the DeSoto Tri-Power shorts. They're longer than the regular tri shorts and don't ride up on you. I find the padding comfortable for 1/2 IM distance races.

I like the desoto's. I own the power tri shorts and a power skin suit. I actually prefer the shorts that are built in to the skin suit to the actual shorts. The pocket built in to the shorts is a nice touch.

Does the skin suit interfere with your swim when you wear it under your wetsuit, or do you not do that.

(Oops I just realized that I misspelled SUGOI.) Oh! well.

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Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I use the power suit for IMs and its never even ben noticeable under the wetsuit. The power shorts are also great if you prefer two piece. 3 IMs and 5 halfs in Desoto powersuits and zero complaints.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

I have bought a pair of the QR shorts and they are very comfy. The pad seems a bit bigger than the Desoto's. Rode with them for three hours and they were just as good as regular bike shorts. They do have the gripper around the legs. I definitely recommend those. Running in 'em is fine also.

What is the attraction of one piece suits? I'm about to buy another pair of shorts and another shirt so I was wondering what people like about them.

A couple things I like about the skin suit.

1) You can swim in it with no trouble at all - with or without a wetsuit

2) There is no waistband - so no chafing or discomfort there - like cycling bib shorts.

3) The zipper goes down a long way in front - nice on a hot day.

All of the above in John's post plus:

Faster transitions.

Better sun protection (shoulders and lower back).

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS