I recently purchased the Rocket Science Sports 20 Bpm Racesuit this past week and tried it out on my last long(ish) ride of my Ironman training (2.5 hours) and then followed it up with a 35 minute run. First of all this suit is an awesome piece of apparel. The detail and quality put into this piece is really good. I purchased the Mens Small (same size as my other Orca one piece) and it fit much more comfortably than my Orca one. My Orca one always pulled at the shoulders causing some discomfort. This race suit sat next to the skin very well and was very comfortable fit in the shoulders and groin area. After only minutes of having it on it felt like I had nothing on. I read some comments on Slowtwitch about this piece that it was too see through for some peoples liking but I did not experience any see through issues on the white portions of the fabric, even when wet and sweated in.
This piece claims to lower your HR by 20 bpm during activity by using sun deflection technology, compression and good ventilation. I dont know about 20 bpm but my experience on the run portion of this workout with this race suit has me believing it does help with keeping a lower heart rate versus basic tri shorts and tri top. Here is why I know this…My workouts call for many of my runs to be ran @ 75% to max HR, which for me is about 158 bpm. I usually cannot keep myself under control and I always go above that to about 78-80% to max HR which is about 162-164 bpm. This is about a 7:30-7:40 pace per mile after jumping off of a long ride. I jumped off the bike and Carrie and I started our run, I look down at my watch and we are running a 7:45 pace and my HR is at 66%…ok well usually after the first mile it jumps really high so I waited for our second mile split…below 7:30, I think it was around 7:25…my HR was only hovering around 70-71% to max HR (152 bpm). I was very shocked to see this…for the rest of the run I STRUGGLED to get my HR up to 74%. I was laying down a 7:10 pace at one point. This would mean if I would have held myself back and stayed in the 7:30 range I would have stayed @ 70% to Max HR, which is about a 151 bpm for me. This means I averaged about 10-12 beats per minute lower than my typical average on a run after a long bike throughout this ironman training. I would with the combination of keeping your body cool and the compression sleeves it made a noticable difference. NOTE: I did not wear the arm sleeves on the run. I took them. Only on the bike.
Arm Sleeves - I didnt know what to think about the arm sleeves but since it came with the whole package of the suit I decided to give them a try. Chris Lieto wears arm sleeves on the bike and swears by them so why not give them a shot? These too were also very comfortable. They felt cooling and light right when I put them on. During the bike they made being down in the aerobars much more enjoyable. I poured a little water on them in the middle of the ride and it was surprising how much they helped in cooling me down a little in the humid 82 degrees we were riding in. I like them!
Chamois Pad - One thing I couldnt stand about my Orca Killa racesuit was the chamois pad in it. It was horrible no matter how much chamois butter I would use. 10 miles into any bike I was already getting chafing on the inside of my left leg and I was always moving around on my seat like crazy during the whole race to get comfortable. I thought maybe all racesuits were like this until I tried this one…incredible chamois pad. The website states that this pad reduces vibration by 80% vs. other triathlon shorts and one pieces. I would say thats pretty close because the pad and my groin area felt awesome for the entire 50 mile ride (with no chamois butter I might add!!), Thumbs up on the chamois pad.
Back Pocket - One big reason I got this one piece is the back pocket. It looked like it was integrated into the suite comfortably and it was large enough to hold nutrition items you may need on the bike in a HIM or IM. I held 3 GU’s, one package of chomps, and my pill bottle of salt tablets in it. It couldnt hold much more at that point and it took a bit to move all the stuff around to get it comfortable but it zipped shut and held everything in place really well. The only thing I did not like about it that I found out is I dont really like zip back pockets. Never had an apparel piece with a zip back pocket on the bike but if thats the only thing I hate about it, I can make it work.
Zipper in front - Again, another thing I did NOT like about my Orca suit is the zipper was in the back. Now with the new rule that Men HAVE to have their torso covered in an Ironman or Half Ironman event I couldnt pull down my Orca suit halfway like I like to do on the run. I had to leave it fully zipped and over my shoulders. With the long zipper in the front of the RSP suit it is very easy to unzip or zip up on the fly. I unzipped the zipper on the run and I was much more comfortable than my Orca suit.
Compression calf sleeves - I have tried other compression items before and was curious to try some different ones out. The thing I like about these is they are not a full sock. Meaning, you can wear your own socks with these calf sleeves and they still go all the way down to the very bottom of your ankles. The stirrup design on these is what I really liked. You can wear these under your wetsuit and they are already on instead of having to put on actual compression socks in T1 (same with the arm sleeves) The only thing I didnt like is after I took them off, the next day where the calf sleeve ended (just below my knee) I was a little sore. I dont think I was used to having something that tight around my leg on that muscle. One other difference that was very weird was when i got of the bike my feet were tingling a little. This could mean blood was not circulating as much to my feet on the bike but as soon as I stood up for awhile it went away. More blood must have naturally moved down to my feet as I was standing.
Another downside is the price @ $300.00. I was a little scared to pay that much not knowing how comfortable it was but now im fine with that price tag. To have a one piece that is super comfortable is priceless