I have a four year old Blueseventy Synergie. When I bought it I instantliy dropped my swimtimes with a few seconds/100m compared to my old one. Do they age and become more stiff and less flexible? Or am I just weaker now? My pool fitness is OK but it doesn’t translate into OW speed as it used to…
If your wetsuit has become “Stiffer” you have not taken good care of it.
The neoprene will naturally lose some of its buoyancy over time as the air eventually will seep out of the closed cells, though this happens far slower than say a diving wetsuit where the pressure accelerates this.
What I was thinking was that it might, you know, dry up like old rubber and therefor lose some of it´s flexibility or elasticity…
So what you´re saying is that there is no real reason to buy a new one before the old one is basically trash? I like that! I really don´t want to spend the money right now and hope that it will get better with more time in open water.
The side with the woven nylon laminated to it (the “inside” of the suit that is against your body), will over time trap salt crystals and a collection of natural organisms as it gets used. Rinsing your suit off with plain water after an event doesn’t really get the nylon clean. Typically we doff our wetsuits and leave them wadded up in our transition area (inside out) to bake in the sun while we are off finishing the race. McNett makes a neoprene/wetsuit shampoo that is made specifically to clean the nylon layer and restore the lost stretch. Most SCUBA retailers will carry it as well as kayak and surf retailers.
Hope this helps.
Brett
What I was thinking was that it might, you know, dry up like old rubber and therefor lose some of it´s flexibility or elasticity…
You missed the first part of my statement, which was it will get stiffer and dry if you have not taken care of it… like not rinsing/shampooing, drying in the sun, etc.
Treat the suit poorly and it will not last.
Same goes for the nicks. After every few swim sessions, I touch up all nicks. I may have a bunch of little patch marks, but no big tears which I see on many others. A little care goes a long way