There is also a link in the article to the first two that i did on the tyr suits…Here is the forum discussion on that series if anyone is interested, and if there any questions on this or the past test, you can post them up here and i will answer if i can…
My goal here is to test as many as possible and to inform you the consumer whether these are a good option, and which ones fit into which categories. On deck are Huub, Aqua Sphere, and Kiwami.
I know this is probably more of a PITA to do, but, as I mentioned to Ken, most of these suits would be worn with a racing top of sorts underneath. I’m curious how much that would change the speed of these suits.
Just FYI, the picture is the 1.0. The 2.0 doesn’t have the biowrap grid. And it has a locking zipper. Thanks for the great review. The SpeedZoot is great. I used the 1.0 in Texas, and the 2.0 in NYC & Kona. The 2.0 is a step up from the 1.0 and puts the Zoot squarely in the upper echelon.
One detail from review got my attention quickly. The pool was hot, 85F, Monty was overheating in the end. I overheat very easy in hot water and this is a concern. Can you shed some light on that aspect of these suits. What has been your experience with Zoot and other suits in that regard. If that is a factor, I am more inclined to select Amphibian and take a slight penalty, come out with more normal body core temp, as overheating kills my bike and run both. Thanks.
One detail from review got my attention quickly. The pool was hot, 85F, Monty was overheating in the end. I overheat very easy in hot water and this is a concern. Can you shed some light on that aspect of these suits. What has been your experience with Zoot and other suits in that regard. If that is a factor, I am more inclined to select Amphibian and take a slight penalty, come out with more normal body core temp, as overheating kills my bike and run both. Thanks.
Where would you be swimming that would be 85 degrees in open water ???
One detail from review got my attention quickly. The pool was hot, 85F, Monty was overheating in the end. I overheat very easy in hot water and this is a concern. Can you shed some light on that aspect of these suits. What has been your experience with Zoot and other suits in that regard. If that is a factor, I am more inclined to select Amphibian and take a slight penalty, come out with more normal body core temp, as overheating kills my bike and run both. Thanks.
To me, it’s a non-issue. It’s very rare to find any non-wetsuit swim that truly approaches the temperatures you find in a too warm pool. And small temp changes make a huge difference. I.e. the difference between an 85F pool and a 83F pool is MASSIVE. In my experience, you just don’t see water temps of 85F in races.
Look at it this way, the textile suits are notably slower than the rubber suits, which would have been MUCH warmer than a textile suit. And yet elite swimmers - generating way more waste heat - still broke all kinds of records in the pool.
The others are right in that unless you live in florida or palm springs in the summer, not too many spots will approach that 85 degrees. I have done races in that hot of water, and even used a wetsuit once in 85 ocean water in hilton head. And just like the decision i made back then, i would do the same now, go for the speed and deal with the heat. The swims are so short and flipping off your cap makes such a difference, that it just makes sense if you are someone going after every second. If not, then you can bust out the old speedo and have at it.
As to the rubber suits and pool swimmers, what jordan did not mentione was that they would usually swim in 78 or 79 degree water, which is competiton temps. So naturally in short pool swims it would not be a concern for them. But interesting in all this discussion is that the only record that never fell during all those suit wars, was the 1500 free. Now i would not read anything into that, but it is curious that the only race where any swimmer would have a chance to heat up, the record did not fall. Probably just a fluke of the decade and who was swimming during that time, but still curious that a swim where one would expect 10 to 20+ second gains from the suit, no one got really close to knocking that one down…
I never paid much attention to these swim skins but after reading the review I’m finding myself intrigued. I normally just wear a swim brief and was wondering if stepping up to these skins would be beneficial in the type of races I do (oly and sprint mainly)?
I think i said it in my 1st review that i would wear one of these suits in any race down to sprint distance if wetsuits were not allowed. This weekend for example was a sprint and it took me just over 10 minutes for the swim, so factoring in a quick change, or wearing one of the all 3 sport suits, i would save quite a bit of time. So my answer for me is yes, each person will have to take a look at the results and decide if they want to take the plunge…
Do you have a picture or link to what the 2.0 version looks like? I keep hearing about 1.0 versus 2.0 but cannot figure out which is which. My model does not look like the one in the article but it has the biowrap grid. Maybe I have version 0.0.
I would say there’s an alternative to the choice swimskin - speedo. Our Amphibian is one of them. Most probably faster than a speedo or any tri short and with 0 sec lost in T1… plus of course the peace of mind regarding the risk of overheating (whatever that risk is).
I would say there’s an alternative to the choice swimskin - speedo. Our Amphibian is one of them. Most probably faster than a speedo or any tri short and with 0 sec lost in T1… plus of course the peace of mind regarding the risk of overheating (whatever that risk is).
I am curious about something: A competitor of your’s, FINIS, also had a swimsuit line called the Amphibian. I figured suit makers trademarked their names, no?
For a super sprint triathlon I agree, the absolute best option is a pool speed suit. If you want compression, try the Kiwami Jammy. I don’t need a pad for sprints, but maybe some do
For a super sprint triathlon I agree, the absolute best option is a pool speed suit. If you want compression, try the Kiwami Jammy. I don’t need a pad for sprints, but maybe some do//
If money is no object or you are a sponsored athlete and it is not 90+ degrees outside, then maybe. I would tend to lead towards one of the all 3 sport suits like desoto’s liftfoil or the amphibian. At the end of the skin tests i will be testing these two suits and any others that fit that category. I would not want to ruin a nearly $400 swim skin biking and running in it, not that much to gain in a supersprint…
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