O.K., I am in the market for a new wetsuit (my old one is going towards 4 years and is getting less flexible).
So I read the new edit from Slowman and the QR sales talk about the “rapid foot release technology” where they brabble about the “meta-tarsal head” being the major obstacle in foot release. I think this is BS. The biggest obstacle in getting your foot out is the heel, especially if you have high arches like me.
I tried the new QR and I was less than impressed. The angled leg cutoff doesn’t help at all with heel release.
Right now, even with all the lubricants known to man, I’d rather not wear it in an upcoming sprint (last time it took me 45 sec to get my feet out of it while sitting down)
I am thinking about cutting my current suit down to mid-calf.
For my new “investment”:
Which suit works best with high arches and/or has the best foot-release?
Try the superfull with the panel of more flexible fabric in the ankle. Also, try some suit juice inside the suit for faster/easier removal over the foot.
Do you peel your suit off, or do you try to pull it down? If you have effectively peeled it down past your knees, then all you have to do is a big leg raise kick, and the suit will come off. Have one foot stand on the part of the suit which is on the ground and violently thrust your knee straight up. Your whole leg, including heel should come right out. Works fine for me with my size 13 feet. You should be able to get your suit from being around your waist to completely off in about 4-5 seconds. Pull down to just past knees, then do the motion described above for each leg…ok maybe 6 seconds.
i had a ProMotion wetsuit from the 1990s, one of the last made-in-the-usa models. the suit was very fast to swim in and the two leg zippers (a few inches up toward the calf) made the suit nearly* fall off* my body. my wetsuit transitions beat everyone’s …
I currently have a ProMotion and am in the market for a new one. ProMotion is decent for the budget of a beginner but it’s not ideal for me because, for my size, my pelvis is much wider than my shoulders so I have more room that I’d like in the chest. Thinking about a DeSoto T1 for my next purchase.
The ProMotion suit I have has got zippers at the ankles. Those things do more to SLOW me down that the do to SPEED me up! I have pretty much given up on wetsuit strippers because I’m so dazed after the swim that I forget about the zippers. They’ve pushed me to the ground and are yanking the suit before I can explain to them that I need to undo the ankle zippers! Trying to get that suit off without unzipping the zippers is pretty much impossible…
This discussion is the same as the shoes-on-bike transitions discussion. Amazingly the pros don’t have any difficulty in taking off the wetsuit in transition because they pratice it. Once you know the correct technique and PRACTICE IT, it’s quite easy.
I had the same complaint with my blueseventy helix. When I first got it, it was a pain to get off.
The rep advised me that is the leg seam was taped up 4 inches to allow athletes to trim the bottom of the legs (effectively widening the opening) as needed. No impact on the warranty. I trimmed off the bottom 2 inches of the legs and now it slides off very easily.
Incidently, the rep told me that Andy Potts trims the legs of his suit all to the top of the seam tape.
it’s the supersuit that has the feature you’re looking for. that said, your problem is your tactics, not the suit’s features. for 20 years i’ve been saying the same thing – take your wetsuit off as soon as you hit dry land, and carry it to transition. there are so many good reasons to do this. but very few people do.
smoothskin rubber dries out in about :30 of running. the suit becomes difficult to get off. if you just peel it off as soon as you’re out of the water it’ll just pop off your foot.
if you cut the suit, fine, it’ll come off, but you’re losing speed. you want that float down there.
Now if we could just get race directors to put the timing mats closer to the swim exit (read as edge of the water not after the 1/8 mile run to T1) and have a wide enough area to allow us to take them off on the run up.
At my last sprint people were asking me why I took my wetsuit off before running to T1 (Boulder 5430 Sprint). It was a long enough run I knew the suit would dry out a bit. Of course it’s a wave start so I had all sorts of people around me as I stopped to take off my suit.
Only the Superfull has that feature and it does work well indeed. I have the fattest ankles and big feet, but no issue at all to get that new 07 Superfull off.
The ProMotion suit I have has got zippers at the ankles. Those things do more to SLOW me down that the do to SPEED me up! I have pretty much given up on wetsuit strippers because I’m so dazed after the swim that I forget about the zippers.
then try just one race where you actually use the zippers (yes, practicing helps). you will be stunned. the suit falls off your body like greased lightning.
On the new Nineteen Frequency we listened carefully to what a number of top triathletes were telling us about the problems of getting a wetsuit off and we came up with the EasyOff leg feature - a 2mm super stretch panel ( the grey in the picture) on the back of the leg. EVERY triathlete that has test swam or demo’ed a Frequency has told be that this is the easiest wetsuit to get out of that they have ever tried.
Seconded. I have a ProMotion and it is lightning fast to get off. I also have high arches and fairly chunky and inflexible ankles and I have really struggled with other wetsuit brands in the past.
Good design is helpful, but this is also something that needs to be practiced. From observing many triathlons transitions over the years, it seesm clear to me that many people have not practiced removing their wetsuit in a race situation. Next time you are at the pool ( with your wetsuit) or swimming in open water, practice removing your wetsuit as fast as you can after getting out of the water. Do it a number of times until you find a technique that works for you.
