I’m in the market for my first wetsuit and was interested in some feedback on the Desoto Wetsuits. Anyone own the T1 or the Dos? If so, do you like it and what are the advantages/disadvantages vs. other suit manufacturers?
Thanks in advance…
I’m in the market for my first wetsuit and was interested in some feedback on the Desoto Wetsuits. Anyone own the T1 or the Dos? If so, do you like it and what are the advantages/disadvantages vs. other suit manufacturers?
Thanks in advance…
I just bought a dos last week for a couple of reasons, but one is that the price is low due to the fact they are/will be discontinued. They will be replaced by the “Tres”. Since they discontinued production, sizes are limited, though you can find them in other sizes if you look hard enough in on-line stores.
This is my first wetsuit, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Also, be sure to read reviews on this site and others. I liked it. It was difficult to put on when dry, and needed a hand to pull the back down. It felt fine in the pool, and removing it was pretty easy when the suit was wet. Check out www.t1wetsuits.com for a quick-time movie on how to remove it. It was pretty comfortable, though I only swam a few hundred yards. I purchased it due to potential comfort savings (compared to one-piece suits) in longer races I plan on doing.
I got a T1, my first wetsuit, for xmas. I haven’t worn it in the water yet, so I can’t tell you how it feels in the water. BUT, I have practiced putting it on/taking it off. X-Mas morning, both putting it on and taking it off was a BEAR!! I practiced once a day (call me crazy, but it has worked), and now I am like a pro. (in transitions anyway). So my point is, it is really easy to take off, if you want it to be, and if you work at it. To me, its worth the work.
If you don’t want to put effort into T1, and your not going to be doing more than an oly, possibly consider the Piel. Just a thought, around the same price point of the T1.
Hope this helps…Bob
I love the DEsoto dos.
I bought mine at full retail and I still thought that it was worth it. It takes some time to get to use to getting off but practice makes it work. The best thing about it is the amazing customer service. They took care of all of my problems with my retailer adn took everything in their own hands when my retailer would not help me out… very helpful on the phone. Great company
I find it helps getting the top pulled on if I fold the bottom of the top out first (hopefully that sentence makes sense). Keeps it from rolling up; then I just unfold it to finish donning it…
buy them both. I’d recommend trying the orca predator 2 for the one piece. I swim in a T1. When my wife needed a wetsuit, I called one of the online tri shops (tri-zone or trisports, I don’t remember which) and asked if I could buy both and send the one back that I didn’t want. “Sure, No Problem, we do that all the time”. a few days later the house looked like a fetish shop. A couple swims later she decided to keep the orca.
the aquaman is interesting if you like the reverse zipper.
as
Below is the recent slowtwitch thread I recently posted my opinion regarding the T1 and the Peil:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=968#968
This thread may help answer your question (lot’s of other opinions as well).
If you want the quick (but incomplete) answer to your question. IMHO, the Piel is the wetsuit of choice for sprints. And, yes - it is stiffer than the T1 but the effort (and the resulting speed) from removal is a plus for shorter distance tris. That is not to say the T1 is not a good wetsuit. Just that the T1 is better suited for longer tris.
Joe Moya
Hi Guys,
I have this wetsuit from ZOOZ…
Very confortable for cycling and running but I’m still not convinced that this is the better option for swimming because of the Butt PAD.
Maybe this is a language barrier… but, that is not a wetsuit. Also, it looks like a ZOOT suit (not ZOOZ - see, http://store.yahoo.com/zootstore/mentriracsui.html )
A wetsuit is made of neoprene. Specifically, a T1 Wetsuit is an unusual design. See,
As for the padding, it’s not that much of an hinderance and will not slow you down that much. Typically, these are worn under a wetsuit and the padding will have no effect on your swimming.
FWIW Joe Moya
Hi Joe,
I made two mistakes… The name is really ZOOT… the problem is that since I bought I always call the ZOOZ, which is wrong… I read better and realize the the T is almost like Z on the suit…
You are right is language barrier !!! I thought you guys were talking about that kind of suit…
Sorry… In Brazil we call a wetsuit “ROUPA DE BORRACHA” which the correct translation for english is Rubber Clothes…
Thanks for the answer…
I bought my first wetsuit this past season and bought the T1. I can’t compare it to another suit but I do know this. The swim has gone from my worst event to my best event. After doing a couple test runs on removing it, it was easy and fast. I take the top off immediately after exiting the water then the bottom in the transition area.