looking to buy a roka wetsuit soon for 70.3 galveston
just wondering what are y’alls thoughts on sleeveless wetsuits vs the sleeved version?
thanks
Sleeves are faster. I don’t get why people buy sleeveless wetsuits.
Sleeveless get more shoulder mobility. Typically better for more advanced swimmers or someone that is top heavy.
Why are they faster?
Let too much water in?
Skin is slow.
If you have a place handy that rents wetsuits, I’d try out a couple of different sleeved vs sleeveless. Last time I bought a wetsuit (which was admittedly a really long time ago) the sleeveless definitely suited me better. The newer sleeved suits are probably better.
Last time I tried a sleeved suit I was slower than in my sleeveless due to shoulder fatigue.
Even shaved?
With that in mind, my wetsuit arms only go just below my elbow. Might need longer arms!
I would suggest a sleeved wetsuit unless you are one of the people that have an upper body like the Under Armour manikin at the sporting good stores. If your upper body does look like that, get a sleeveless, you will waste more energy and send your heart rate sky high trying to swim in a sleeved suit and likely swim slower than a sleeveless.
A sleeved one will take a little getting use to, but will be the faster option.
Even shaved?
With that in mind, my wetsuit arms only go just below my elbow. Might need longer arms!
Shaved is fast, but the SCS coating on smoothskin neoprene has a lower drag coefficient (aka faster). The neoprene also helps to give you a little more buoyancy in the reach/ glide phase of your stroke.
A full sleeve suit’s sleeves should come down within 1-2 inches of your wrist.
A sleeveless suit is better for some, but for most a proper fitting full sleeve is the fastest option.
jake
Agree…a high quality, proper fitting sleeved wetsuit is your fastest option.
Yeh they don’t on me as no one makes a suit which fits my short body and long arms and legs
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alright thanks guys,
for some background ive been swimming for a while, my normal pace for 2000 yards non stop is about 1:10-1:15/100yd.
i will most likely find some place local and test each suit out and pick the one that feels more comfortable
Full sleeve = faster
Make sure you get the right size. Don’t go to big, too small. Too baggy = bad. Too small = can’t wear it or limited mobility in the arms.
SNUG up the crotch to make sure you get enough room in the shoulders to swim.
Proper fit = the arms allow you to reach without pulling you back = energy suck.
Sleeveless has water catching at the arm holes.
No buoyancy for the arms.
No neoprene streamline for your arms entering the water.
I gained 4 minutes from IMLF last year in the ocean with a full sleeve over IMTX in a pond sleeveless. If minutes count, it’s the better option to go full.
I’ve seen this again and again. Back in the day when wetsuits were less flexible it was a legit question. But as even lower end suits are pretty awesome now of days sleeves are just generally faster. The exception would be a very advanced Div 1 type college swimmer because they have such a refined stroke.
Skin is slow.
I have a sleeved suit and have only worn a sleeved suit. I do wonder about sleeveless however. I have seen many comments like this that the wet-suit material has less drag than skin. For the purposes of my comments/questions lets take that as true… Skin is slow, wet-suit material is faster…
First, Is that a good thing on your arms? I want as much grip on the water as possible during the catch and pull phase of my stroke. When swimming, we try very hard to get in a position to decrease resistance for everything except the catch and the pull, where we should be increasing the resistance as much as possible to pull more water. I wonder how having a slipperier material on the forearm effects this…
Second, When I swim in my wetsuit, I absolutely loose feel for the water. I have wondered if I would prefer a sleeveless suit so that I can still feel the water with my arm. The flip-side of that however is, does the wetsuit increase the surface area of my paddle materially enough to provide benefit?
I’ve seen this again and again. Back in the day when wetsuits were less flexible it was a legit question. But as even lower end suits are pretty awesome now of days sleeves are just generally faster. The exception would be a very advanced Div 1 type college swimmer because they have such a refined stroke.
Thanks for the reply. For what you said about D1 type swimmers, are you saying it is faster for them to wear sleeveless?
Skin is slow.
Second, When I swim in my wetsuit, I absolutely loose feel for the water.
The grammar police have sent you to the penalty tent and therefore, everyone has ignored any substance to your post.
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Sleeves are faster. I don’t get why people buy sleeveless wetsuits.
This thread should have stopped here 
**Sleeves are faster. ** I don’t get why people buy sleeveless wetsuits.
Except when they are slower, which for me is about any water temperature over 72. Any speed gains from the sleeves are more than offset by the overheating they will cause. YMMV.
Full sleeve = faster
I gained 4 minutes from IMLF last year in the ocean with a full sleeve over IMTX in a pond sleeveless. If minutes count, it’s the better option to go full.
I’m not arguing your point that full sleeves are faster (if you aren’t overheating) but I think it is an error to ascribe the 4 mins savings between your two races to strictly the wetsuit. I would argue that the vast majority of that 4 minutes is due to the buoyancy of salt water compared to the fresh water swim at Texas.