I’m taking three wetsuits to the beach in Taupo, NZ for IMNZ: A Desoto T1, A QR Superfull, and a new Orca P Flex.
At the moment my favorite is the T1, but I’m trying others. I’ll let you know which one I decide to use in the race.
Tom, I think it’s all ready pretty obvious which one is the best.
-Give Up?
-It’s the one that cost’s the most!!!
-It’s not how fast you are, it’s how fast you spend your cash
With all the stuff you’re carrying, how much extra is the airline charging you?
I’m an artist at packing light. You would not believe how little stuff I am bringing.
Actually, Ze Gopha, to be honest the suit of these three I like the best is the least expensive, the DeSoto T1. But I am going to swim in all three with a stopwatch and heart rate monitor to check the differences.
As it stands right now, before the test, I carry into it a prejudice that the cheapest is the best (the T1) (most cofrotable, best fitting, fastest, easiet to swim in, easiest to remove, etc.).
Tom, when I was there in 2000 they held a practice race a few days before the event. Look for it. Might be a good time trial option. Of all the swim courses around, they have one of the best there.
Good luck.
Tom,
I hope you arent one of those guys that hangs around all week in the same speedo? Some of the euro guys in Kona could pack their 2 weeks worth of clothing in a wallet. We met one guy from Germany about 8 days before the race out riding. 3 or 4 days later we saw him again in the same singlet and speedo, not the same model…the same exact one. By now the flys were beginning to gather on him and you couldnt stand downwind. We saw him on race day coming down Alii drive in the same getup, we recognized some of the food stains on it from earlier in the week. You could smell him coming before you saw him. I am convinced he flew home in the same gear.
Here’s my packing list for IMNZ:
1 white thong bathing suit.
200 count box of Q-Tips.
100 foot roll of Aluminum foil.
6 pairs sunglasses.
1 large container talcum powder.
2 industrial strength coil springs.
16X binoculars.
That is it.
Sounds like a metrosexual ex-SPECWAR guy on a mission to blow up something. Only thing missing is the tux for the cocktail party beforehand.
why pack? sounds like you could just wear that on the plane.
Um, where do I put the springs? No jokes here please…
Tom, I can’t believe that after all those other posts I get to tell “Use the one that fits!” Good luck in your race. I can’t think of anything that makes a difference in wetsuits other than comfort.
Thanks Sweeney!
Tom - I think I heard that Ironman Wetsuits will be there too. You may find that since they are there you should try one…objectivity and all that.
tim
I agree. If I can bum a suit off them I’ll give it a shot.
Got to agree with Tim, maybe a wetsuit is like a bike fit…? I tried a few and was sold on the IM VO2 Stealth… Hey this suit has exited the water in 1st place a few times last season 
Tom (and every one else doing IMNZ), enjoy! One of my programmers from NZ tells me the weather is better in Taupo just Auckland where you will need your wetsuit in the streets!
About the most fun you can have in Taupo before the race is to go to the QR wetsuit store and get helped into a wetsuit by the female salespersons there (read: QR marketing babes). Their hands-on tutoring on what/when to tug is pretty enlightening. I still get excited when I see a killer whale. Oh, and the Huka Falls jet boat ride is OK too.
The day after Ironman I am doing a 15,000 foot free fall HALO jump with oxygen. This will be the first parachute jump I’ve made since my accident in 1987, and the first jump I’ve made during the day in a long, long time- as well as the first jump I’ve made above 2,000 ft (WAY above) and my first jump on oxygen.
Is that a tandem jump, and with a commercial outfit or thru a buddy? Sounds a little better than doing the bungee jump with the pros the day after the race. And it beats the hell out of getting sucked out of a C-141 on a static line at Benning (been there done that)…
Sadly, it is a tandem jump, and I am merely cargo. However, I told myself a long time ago I would never jump out of an airplane again if I ever walked again.
Seems I’ve gotten over it.
It’s been kind of a goal to jump under 700 feet, from a jet (C-141), in some other circumstances and above 10,000 ft. So I figure this will complete that- then I’m done.