I know that this was talked about earlier this month, and someone asked about how much faster you would be with the sharkskin suit on in the water. I remember that someone said that it is fast when it is dry and for short distances…the reason is that it retains water…now, my questions is that don’t all trisuits retain water and create more drag???
Easy answer is yes…the question is does the time lost in the water surpass the time changing in transition?
There was a study last summer in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise last summer. You can look it up on pub med. I don’t think they talked about water retention. However, they did report that the suits only showed a benefit for swimmers who were under 1:06/100M. A wetsuit is going to be way faster for most swimmers.
The point of getting into and out of the suit is a very good one however, and obviously applies to both wetsuits and the high tech swimsuits (if you choose to change out of it, that is).
Phil