Blatant Ad: 2010 De Soto Liftfoil Speedskin-SCS USAT Approved ready for Kona!

Triathlon Forum
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IMAGES DOWN BELOW!

Who cares about FINA? We are triathletes not just swimmers!

The 2010 De Soto Liftfoil Speedskin-SCS has received approval by USAT for use in triathlons at any water temperature. This means it is also approved for use in the 2009 Ironman in Kona.

ABOUT THE 2010 LIFTFOIL SPEEDSKIN-SCS - This new Speedskin is made of Liftfoil™ Skin panels combined with new 0.3mm Yamamoto SCS -Super Composite Skin - Fabric panels to offer optimum dynamic buoyancy. The men’s model has a 16-inch YKK® zipper in front (women’s model - soon available - has the zipper in back), Hydrolinear™ seam lines, white contrast flatstitch, UTB™ (Ultra Thin Buoyant) one piece tri-pad. This Speedskin is now designed solely for wearing during the swim portion of a triathlon.

SCS Fabric is the slick smooth rubber part found on the outside of our T1 Wetsuit laminated to our Liftfoil fabric. This part of the Liftfoil is not breathable, but it certainly floats you better! We kept the pad in it as we have found that it can still be worn for sprint races lasting less than one hour.

Our tests have shown varied improvements of swim times of 4-7 seconds per 100 meters. This translates to 1’00"-1’45" for 1500 meters and 2’40"-4’40" for an Ironman distance swim of 4000 meters. Of course, as with all our products, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So we invite you to test it for yourself, you too will be blown away. If you do not find it performs to your expectations, you may return it for a complete refund.

To summarize:

  1. Swim fast in it
  2. Take it off after the swim
  3. Made for race that do not allow wetsuits.
  4. SCS laminate panels makes it fast for swimming, but not breathable.
  5. Some panels in between SCS panels are Liftfoil Fabric without SCS laminate so those are very breathable, so
  6. you can wear it to swim, bike, and run in sprint races lasting less than one hour.
  7. 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Below is the official email from Charlie Crawford at USAT:

I am pleased to advise you that I have performed the standard buoyancy test on your product, the Desoto Liftfoil Tri Speedskin and both the men’s and the women’s version of the suit passed. Therefore the Desoto Liftfoil Tri Speedskin is approved for use in USAT events at any water temperature. Your product is eligible to receive the USAT approval logo. To obtain the logo, you must contact Tim Yount, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications, who will provide the details of usage. I will mail your suits back in the envelope you provided.

Sincerely,

Charlie Crawford
Commissioner of Officials
USA TRIATHLON
1365 Garden of the Gods :: Suite 250 | Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907

This suit is now available in limited quantities. To order click here:

2010 De Soto Liftfoil Speedskin-SCS

http://www.desotosport.com/images/products/LF/full/LFblack.jpghttp://www.desotosport.com/images/products/LF/full/LFback.jpg

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Do you make them in any color besides black? Hot days and black do not mix.

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"This Speedskin is now designed solely for wearing during the swim portion of a triathlon. "

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Do you make them in any color besides black? Hot days and black do not mix.
If you are in the water shouldn’t be much of a problem.

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"This Speedskin is now designed solely for wearing during the swim portion of a triathlon. "

So this is merely a swimsuit? THey expect people to take this thing off in transition?

Then what of the “we are triathletes not swimmers” comment?

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I’m assuming it’s supposed to be like all of the other swim skins on the market. Wear it for the swim, take it off in T1. Just like Blue70, Xterra, etc.
Basically for all the wetsuit-illegal races out there.
Emilio would have to chime in to verify, but that is my interpretation.

The ad does say:
“We kept the pad in it as we have found that it can still be worn for sprint races lasting less than one hour.”

The material in it that makes it fast for swimming is probably just not very good for heat management while cycling/running. (ie. non-porous neoprene/rubber)

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Emilio,

Very nice, again. Myself and customers love your stuff. I will be racing your gear in Kona this year.

You going to be in Kona?

Cheers,

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Do you make them in any color besides black? Hot days and black do not mix.
Sorry we do not. But remember this suit now becomes the replacement for your wetsuit…you remove it after the swim.

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I’m assuming it’s supposed to be like all of the other swim skins on the market. Wear it for the swim, take it off in T1. Just like Blue70, Xterra, etc.
Basically for all the wetsuit-illegal races out there.
Emilio would have to chime in to verify, but that is my interpretation.

The ad does say:
“We kept the pad in it as we have found that it can still be worn for sprint races lasting less than one hour.”

The material in it that makes it fast for swimming is probably just not very good for heat management while cycling/running. (ie. non-porous neoprene/rubber)

      All your comments are correct here.  Take it off after the swim, made for races that do not allow wetsuits, SCS is makes it fast for swimming, but not breathable, but one more thing, we did leave certain panels in between (see images) of Liftfoil Fabric without SCS laminate, so those are very breathable....which is why we say you can wear it for races shorter than one hour.

You write very well, I ought to hire you to write my marketing materials!

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Emilio,

Very nice, again. Myself and customers love your stuff. I will be racing your gear in Kona this year.

You going to be in Kona?

Cheers,
Thanks for your kind words…I will not be in Kona, as I will be recovering from shoulder surgery (surgery is on October 1), but I will be following all De Soto customers online!

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Sorry, I saw “LiftFoil” and couldnt get the idea of a the regular trisuit version out of my head. Would be nice to be able get THAT in something besides black.

Or does this SCS version replace the regular LiftFoil? Are you repositioning it as a swim only thing rather than a full trisuit?

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“Dynamic buoyancy”

Is this neutral buoyancy (does not sink but does not float), or does this have positive buoyancy (floats)?

How does this compare to the .03 in terms of buoyancy?

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Sorry, I saw “LiftFoil” and couldnt get the idea of a the regular trisuit version out of my head. Would be nice to be able get THAT in something besides black.

Or does this SCS version replace the regular LiftFoil? Are you repositioning it as a swim only thing rather than a full trisuit?
Just like wetsuits, I can tell you that for every one of these suit we sell in another color, we will sell 25-50 in black. This is why very few companies offer anything other than black.

Great questions too. Here are the answers: THE SCS VERSION DOES REPLACE THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE LIFTFOIL. We ARE repositioning it as a swim-only suit.

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“Dynamic buoyancy”

Is this neutral buoyancy (does not sink but does not float), or does this have positive buoyancy (floats)?

How does this compare to the .03 in terms of buoyancy?
The definition of buoyancy as I memorized it when I studied Mechanical Engineering at UCSB (I have a BSME): An object will float if it weighs less than the water it displaces.

Yes, this suit floats, so to answer your question in the terms you are using, it has positive buoyancy.

Now, my definitiion of dynamic buoyancy: An buoyant object is more buoyant in a dynamic state than in a static state as long as the object is positioned with a positive lift force.

My definition of dynamic buoyancy can be best described with an analogy: A water ski cannot support a water skier above the water in a static state (standing stil), but a water ski can support a water skier above the water in a dynamic state (when moving at a certain speed). The positive lift position is with the nose of the ski pointing up.

A negative lift position would can be best analogized by what what a plow does to soil when it is pulled.

I have a feeling I am going to be getting responses by physicists and engineers. The fun begins, as this stuff only makes my product and my theories more accurate through discussion.

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Emilio: When it’s designed for swimming, why didn’t you make it with long legs?

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All your comments are correct here. Take it off after the swim, made for races that do not allow wetsuits, SCS is makes it fast for swimming, but not breathable, but one more thing, we did leave certain panels in between (see images) of Liftfoil Fabric without SCS laminate, so those are very breathable…which is why we say you can wear it for races shorter than one hour.

You write very well, I ought to hire you to write my marketing materials!

Haha, thanks! I’ll keep that in mind when I graduate next year :wink:

Yes, this suit floats, so to answer your question in the terms you are using, it has positive buoyancy.

I thought swim skins had to be neutrally buoyant (neither float nor sink) in order to be USAT legal?
Or maybe I’m just mixing things up with past FINA rulings.

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Emilio,another great product in your already best in the industry tri gear.

Dumb question for you…all my comparative tests in your T1 First Wave wetsuit show I swim about 7 secs/100 m faster than in a speedo jammer.

Are you saying this “non floation” suit can do about the same?

ps. black is fine with me, supposely keeps sharks away vs brighter colors according to US Navy research.

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Emilio,another great product in your already best in the industry tri gear.

Dumb question for you…all my comparative tests in your T1 First Wave wetsuit show I swim about 7 secs/100 m faster than in a speedo jammer.

Are you saying this “non floation” suit can do about the same?

ps. black is fine with me, supposely keeps sharks away vs brighter colors according to US Navy research.
Thanks for your kind words. Our tests showed 4-7"/100m faster. The difference depended on who was using it. If your First Wave is only 7 seconds per 100 than a jammer, then you must be pretty quick already. Either that or you may be trying to kick too much in the First Wave. I always tell people to let the First Wave do its job keeping your hips afloat and to focus your efforts on forward propulsion.

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Emilio: When it’s designed for swimming, why didn’t you make it with long legs?
Great question. Four basic reasons (though there are more):

  1. Ease of removal in T1 (Transition 1)
  2. Long legs would have made it float too much which would not have allowed it to pass USAT testing.
  3. The same suit with long legs was not any faster.
  4. Lift affect (dynamic buoyancy) occurs in the body and hips as a result SCS fabric strategically placed along the center back and hips.
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Yes, this suit floats, so to answer your question in the terms you are using, it has positive buoyancy.

I thought swim skins had to be neutrally buoyant (neither float nor sink) in order to be USAT legal?

Or maybe I’m just mixing things up with past FINA rulings.
Charlie Crawford’s criteria are pretty basic. He figures that if a suit will sink when he applies a 2 ounce weight, then it is accepted by USAT. A quarter (25¢) weight 2/10th of an ounce. So if you tape 10 quarters together and attached it to any part of the suit, and it sinks, you are legal.

The Liftfoil Speedskin-SCS does float (without the quarters on it). So we have got it about as buoyant and legal as any suit can be.