any thoughts on the better entry-level full wetsuits?
anyone have good/bad experiences with any of these? any other suggestios?
thanks for all the input!
best bet is to call Emilio at Desoto Sports and he will ask your measurements and tell you exactly what size you will need and send it to you. Can’t beat getting the info and the wetsuit directly from the designer himself. Not to mention it’s (IMO) the best wetsuit out there.
I agree on DeSoto’s products. I just bought my first wetsuit the T1 First Wave and love it. Grant it, it was my first wet suit purchase as well…but, after all the positive posts about the wetsuit and Emilio I knew that I was leaning towards this suit. I tried on the Orca and felt like I was suffocating.
Best bet is to try them all on, swim in them if you can, and get the one that is the most comfortable.
Try the Xterra ventilator as a nice entry level suit - or even the vortex
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second that, very impressed with Xterra.
good price, better wetsuit
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I finally pulled the trigger earlier this year on a new QR - tested zoot, xterra, orca, desoto, nineteen and aquaman - when I say tested i define that as either a minimum 15 min swim in an endless pool or 30mins (one lap) of our local lake - highly pleased with the QR - in EVERY other wetsuit I’ve tried I ALWAYS had a fair bit of shoulder fatigue due to lack of flexibility - with my QR i have zero fatigue other than the normal from swimming - superb flexibility in the shoulder area - my other issue is i’ve always felt that to many manufactures have to much rubber around the thigh area - fyi i have a strong swimming background
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QR has been great for me and they are the original triathlon wetsuit company. great shoulder flexibility
Not exactly answering you question, but find your sign and buy a used one on eBay. Maybe even step-up a model.
Also you can rent wetsuits($35 per) so rent a different one for each sprint event and try it out in real world conditions.
If you are interested in entry price point check out Highway 19. These are pretty darn nice. The suits are made for Highway 19 by a factory that makes other wetsuit brands. They are worth a look.
I’ve been very pleased with the Blueseventy Reaction I picked up this year. The price was really reasonable. Just did my first race with it on the weekend (a 1/2 IM) and no chafing or shoulder mobility issues. I tried on quite a few suits before buying and regardless of price this was the one that just felt right and fit the best.
Tom