Do the pockets in a tri top slow you down, or will it not make any difference? I have been racing in a two piece suit and have been putting the top on in T1. It takes me forever to get the top on while I’m wet and was thinking about swimming in it for my upcoming A race. Thanks.
And yes, I know everyone has a one piece now, but I’m too poor for that.
Do the pockets in a tri top slow you down, or will it not make any difference? I have been racing in a two piece suit and have been putting the top on in T1. It takes me forever to get the top on while I’m wet and was thinking about swimming in it for my upcoming A race. Thanks.
And yes, I know everyone has a one piece now, but I’m too poor for that.
I can’t imagine any time lost wearing a top, if any, exceeds the time it takes you to put on a top, while wet, in T1. JMHO
If not wearing a wet suit or skin suit, put on your top then unzip it, roll it down to around your waist (like wearing a belt) & tuck it into your tri shorts. Coming out of the water start to pull it up & slide arms through holes. It’s not perfectly hydrodynamic but it’s better than having the back pockets act as a drag shirt.
If you can’t afford a swim skin, then yes keep the top on for the swim. If there is a minuscule penalty for the pockets (they should be tight enough that they don’t open because of water) that is probably cancelled out by the material itself moving better through the water than human skin.
Just make sure and practice in it. I chafed the hell out of my arm pits swimming in salt water for the first time at IMAC 70.3 this past weekend. It was a sleeved top under a wet suit and I only had swam fresh water in it without issues prior. Definitely regretting that move…
I swim in my tri top. One less thing to worry with.
My first tri top had flaps over the pockets to keep them from becoming water parachutes. My current top has horizontal openings for the pockets, which has the same effect.
For the pockets, use the solution that works for everything in the real world: duct tape.
Not to be snarky but it is a Tri Top, meaning it is meant to wear during a triathlon. I have never had any issues with the pockets.
Swam my latest sprint in just my tri suit after a surprise non wetsuit legal ruling day of and leaving my swim skin sitting peacefully at home. Can’t imagine I lost a whole lot of time at sprint distance but I came out with a real live crab in the pocket in my back after swimming through a patch of seaweed ina bay swim. That was a nice surprise in T1 trying to stuff a gel in there. Id probably wear a swim skin at all times after just for that.
Yes, but then I’m firmly towards the back end of the MOP and don’t care overly much.
Thats pretty funny.
My race is Chatt and it is never wetsuit legal and I don’t have a swim skin either. I’ll probably try swimming in the top and try to keep the wildlife out of my pockets with some duck tape.
It depends…………
If your tri-top is lose…yes some people like it that way…it will act like a parachute in the water and that sucks. If its tight there will be some drag but not a lot. Swim Skins fix that problem and you will be faster. Tri-suits almost always fix that problem too. Trying to put on a top while wet is like trying to wrap yourself up in scotch tape. Don’t do it!
I know it’s an added expense, but I would strongly recommend a swim skin. It’s super easy to get on and off, it’s faster, and you can also keep nutrition in your tri suit without worrying about it falling off. I put my bike gels in my tri suit before the swim don’t even notice they are there. Putting on any clothing while wet is tough.
The time you lose trying to get a top onto a wet body in T1 would far outweigh any time the pockets in a tri top would slow you down… if they even would. Most tri tops, or suits, have minimalistic pockets and mesh material so it is not an issue to catch or fill up with water.
Unless your top has the cycling style bulkier pockets I would wear the top in the swim.
TIp… put some body glide on to prevent chaffing
I swim in a DeSoto Fli-Suit (one-piece). I’ve worn it under a wetsuit and without a wetsuit. I’ve always kept it zipped up and had no problem.