i made it through last season without a wetsuit. i am pretty cold tolerant (spent a lot of time kiteboarding in northern california). however i am facing a race which i think is just too cold to muscle (or fat as the case may be) my way through - white lake half in NC in may.
apparently the water temp is almost always under 70. if it was 69 i might go for it, but i hear it can be as cold as 62. other than that race, i probably wont be doing really any other races that really need a wetsuit.
besides not getting the full speed benefit, do i lose a lot of cold protection with a speed suit instead of a wet suit?
im not really concerned with the incremental time difference i might lose or gain between the wetsuit and speedsuit.
i didnt think there would be much time difference on a half iron assuming the same swimmer - using a speedsuit and the other a full wetsuit.
i prefer to own vs rent, and a speedsuit is something i am much more likely to use on the 4-6 tris i do a year, so i figure that it would make (more) sense to buy a speedsuit vs rent a wetsuit. that being said, renting is probably the way to go cause there is almost NO way i get a new suit AND a new bike this year. and i am holding out hope that the bike part actually happens.
I second the notion of wetsuit rental…these are good folk…triathlete focused! This was the company owned by Jim McCann, a triathlete well known in the San Diego area before his untimely passing. I believe his sister or family members are continuing with the business. Here is their website.
I have used their service three times before and found a wetsuit that I loved…so for a very little expense (i.e. less than $100 total for all three rentals), I tested different wetsuits before laying out money for my own wetsuit.
You basically make your request including size (use their sizing chart), they federal express it, you use it, and federal express it back to them. I received my wetsuit in advance so that I could practice swimming in it in an open water condition.
Dude, I did WL last year, and was absolutly FREEZING before my wave start in a longjohn suit. You’re definitly gonna want the most insulation you can get. Even the guys near me in fullsuits were shivering. But once everything got rolling I was better, but damn, its cold in May. Add to that the fact that the bike was really chilly for the first couple of hours. I had arm warmers on and was still feeling it. All the spectators in my pics have on hoodies, jeans, and beanies. But then on the run, it really got hot. So plan on all possible temps!
All that aside, I cannot wait for WL this year. I think getting in was harder than the race itself!
PS If you’re near Cary, roll on down to Inside Out Sports and try wetsuits in their endless pool. It might actaully be operational by now, as it has been broke everytime I went there last year. If nothing else, its always fun to look at their bikes.