I’m in the same boat as you and the same size (5-9+, 160 lbs, swimmers build)
I tried a 2XU comp last year and it seemed like a great suit but it didn’t fit. Tri-sports took it back and the customer service guy talked me into a blue70 reaction.
I swam it once in a HIM last year and had a 30 min swim in rough waters so I was ok with it. 3 weeks ago at an olympic (Edinboro PA) I had an awful swim in that my shoulders/arms got tired right away. Ended up avg about a 1:33/100 pace when all my workouts have been at a 1:20/100 pace. My right tricep was a little sore so that may have had something to do with it. I will give it another shot this weekend at the Mountaineer HIM but if I have a sub par swim again or feel like I’m fighting the suit I will be looking for another before IMWI, and I don’t really ahve any choice but mail order and try them on.
I swam it once in a HIM last year and had a 30 min swim in rough waters so I was ok with it. 3 weeks ago at an olympic (Edinboro PA) I had an awful swim in that my shoulders/arms got tired right away. Ended up avg about a 1:33/100 pace when all my workouts have been at a 1:20/100 pace.\\
This is the stuff that drives me crazy. I’m not picking on you personally, but you CANNOT compare times in open water swimming to anything, except what others did in that exact swim. Your 30 min swim may have been way short or long, so it has no bearing to what you have been doing in the pool. What you can do in the open water, is have a feel for the suit, but that does not tell you if the suit is fast or slow. You know what feels really good, a speedo in warm water, but it is the slowest. There is only one place to test a suit, and that is in the pool, preferably a 50 meter one, during the winter when the pools are colder. You know what your pool times are, so there is a direct, and accurate comparison. SOmetimes suits feel worse, but are faster. You will never know that in the open water. Most people assume that feel good=faster swimming. It can be, but no way to know for sure, unless you test that suit under controlled conditions. We just did that with Jordan, and he was quite suprised at the results, and he is a seasoned pro… As to your shoulders, one problem I see a lot, is that people do not train in their suits. You should be doing at least a 1/3 or your swimming in your suit 3 weeks prior to each race. Not saying that is your problem exactly, it could be fit too, but most find that they have sore shoulders after their first wetsuit pool or lake swim…Then it gets better and goes away after a couple more swims…Keep the comparisons apples to apples…
Ahhh…so you found my secret identity.
Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on that some day soon. Like I said, I am going to give my current wetsuit another shot this weekend in Morgantown, but if I feel restricted again and my arms tire out I will be looking for a new one Monday.
Edinboro was an awful swim for me, but my arm was sore so I’m giving the suit another shot. Plus I got stuck behind a pack that couldn’t swim straight and a guy doing breastroke every 10 seconds or so that took me way to long to get around.
Testing should be done in a pool, if for no other reason than it’s a very contolled environment. Thats what we do when testing our suits with our core group of testers. However, I have had media types tell me that the only place to test a suit is in open water and that they will not test the suit in the pool!
Agreed, that people should swim in their wetsuit regularly if they can. Strange that more do not do this. Perhaps it is lack of access to open water that they can swim in.
I have a QR Superjohn (the last year before discontinued). I wear the small and it fits me great. I am 5’9.5" 145lb with 32" cycling inseam, 30" waist, and 36" chest. My waist fluctuates depending on how lean I want to get from 135 - 150, and the wetsuit fits well at all of those weights. I cannot comment on how much extra room there are in the shoulders (mine are certainly slighter than yours).
If you need any more specific help (pics of fit, etc) just let me know.
The only partial truth to this is that a 50m pool will be better than a 25yd pool in terms of recreating the feel of open water. And, if you are lucky enough to have a moderately long marked course (we have a 300m open water course where we train), then that is also probably a bit better. But if the choice is between taking the suit for a swim in the ocean vs. swimming in even a 25yd pool, the pool is the right place for testing. The flip turns do make pool swimming in a wetsuit more uncomfortable than in open water…
The only partial truth to this is that a 50m pool will be better than a 25yd pool in terms of recreating the feel of open water.
Jordan/Mark,
So here is an interesting question for you then. It seems to be popular trend now to install an Endless pool or something similar in a triathlon shop, so that people can “test” wetsuits. What use, purpose or help then would the Endless Pool testing be to the customer doing the testing? You can’t time your self in an Endless Pool.
Yes and no. If you pay for it, you can get the “speedometer” for your endless pool, which measures how your effective speed. I’d have the shop crank it up and increase the speed incrementally and see where I essentially was “on the rivet.” Then have them tell me what that pace was. If the shop doesn’t have the “speedometer,” the testing is somewhat useful in that you are actually swimming, but not as good as going and actually timing yourself so that you can really see how one suit which doesnt feel “quite as good” might actually be a LOT slower…
It would be basically the same as open water, actually less effective since we don’t race in flumes. It would force an extra amount of water into the suit that would not otherwise go into it, the same as flip turning in a pool. That is whay 50m is better than 25, less turns. The force of coming out of a turn does funny things to suits, and you have to acknowlege it, and ignore it in the context that it will not happen in open water…Using the endless pool is just about fit and feel…
**…Using the endless pool is just about fit and feel… **
So is it worth it then for shops to invest in such a thing as an Endless Pool. I have to imagine that it is not an inexpensive feature to have and to maintain.
IF it doesn’t break the bank, then sure, they are nice to have around. It’s 10 times better to try on your suit in a flume, than a dressing room, and you can compare fits between suits. I just don’t think you can compare the different speeds of the suits. They are also great for training. For two years up here before I built my pool, I only swam in an endless pool. I liked it because of the mental relaxation it affored while swimming. I could just set the speed for a 54 min Ironman swim, and swim for an hour. No turns, no sighting, no counting, just mindless swimming. I got to where I really dug that, and I had some great swims over those two years, so it worked as well as a pool would have…It’s only the anal" WHat was my time" in me, that keeps me in a regular pool now…
LOL…it’s a small tri community here. Actually, you mentioned you QUAD time, so I just put it together.
Don’t worry about the Edinboro swim time. If the weeds didn’t get you, the boats that were lined up for the course weren’t lined up straight and drifted throughout the morning. My swim out ended up being more of a loop at the end. This happens every year at this race.
My race turned into pure pain as I threw my back out on the second half of the bike and actually walked the first part of the run.
Whenever you want to try the suit just PM me. The lake was 67 yesterday…almost perfect!
LOL…it’s a small tri community here. Actually, you mentioned you QUAD time, so I just put it together.
Don’t worry about the Edinboro swim time. If the weeds didn’t get you, the boats that were lined up for the course weren’t lined up straight and drifted throughout the morning. My swim out ended up being more of a loop at the end. This happens every year at this race.
My race turned into pure pain as I threw my back out on the second half of the bike and actually walked the first part of the run.
Whenever you want to try the suit just PM me. The lake was 67 yesterday…almost perfect!
I swam it once in a HIM last year and had a 30 min swim in rough waters so I was ok with it. 3 weeks ago at an olympic (Edinboro PA) I had an awful swim in that my shoulders/arms got tired right away. Ended up avg about a 1:33/100 pace when all my workouts have been at a 1:20/100 pace.\
This is the stuff that drives me crazy. I’m not picking on you personally, but you CANNOT compare times in open water swimming to anything, except what others did in that exact swim. Your 30 min swim may have been way short or long, so it has no bearing to what you have been doing in the pool. What you can do in the open water, is have a feel for the suit, but that does not tell you if the suit is fast or slow. You know what feels really good, a speedo in warm water, but it is the slowest. There is only one place to test a suit, and that is in the pool, preferably a 50 meter one, during the winter when the pools are colder. You know what your pool times are, so there is a direct, and accurate comparison. SOmetimes suits feel worse, but are faster. You will never know that in the open water. Most people assume that feel good=faster swimming. It can be, but no way to know for sure, unless you test that suit under controlled conditions. We just did that with Jordan, and he was quite suprised at the results, and he is a seasoned pro… As to your shoulders, one problem I see a lot, is that people do not train in their suits. You should be doing at least a 1/3 or your swimming in your suit 3 weeks prior to each race. Not saying that is your problem exactly, it could be fit too, but most find that they have sore shoulders after their first wetsuit pool or lake swim…Then it gets better and goes away after a couple more swims…Keep the comparisons apples to apples…
I agree.
I don’t understand why people don’t test their suits in the pool so they can compare apples to apples.
If you look at the OP the problem they had, and my problem too, is that there aren’t any tri-shops in the area. If I could I would go get several suits and try them out in a pool, or even better yet in open water at our cottage on the lake (I know they don’t want you to try suits on in OW).
In an ideal world everyone would have access to a good local tri shop and a 50m pool, but that doesn’t always happen!
Plus, my problem with the reaction seems to be that it fits me better than the 2xu did but I feel like I was fighting the shoulders/limited flexibility. I have been swimming since I was 5 (I’m 35 now) so I have a pretty decent feel for the water and what not.
The craftmanship on the 2xu is off the hook. You need to test them both, though.
Someone around here tested all the top ones and showed the Helix and 2XU were tops - but YMMV.
I will secnond that the 2xU seemed like a great suit. It just didn’t fit my build for whatever reason and when I called to return it after talking with the guy at Trisports he sold me on the blue70, wich fit better for me.
If you look at the OP the problem they had, and my problem too, is that there aren’t any tri-shops in the area. If I could I would go get several suits and try them out in a pool, or even better yet in open water at our cottage on the lake (I know they don’t want you to try suits on in OW). \
Call DeSoto and get a two piece suit sent out to you. You have 14 days to test it and see if you like it. Just don’t write your name in it, and you can send it back for a full refund. Not having a shop around you is not an excuse these days of the internet and mail order…You can do a search on this forum on what people think about Emilio’s service and return policy…