Question for those with more swimrun experience than me: Is there any major advantage to swimrun wetsuits vs taking an old tri suit and cutting the legs and maybe arms off?
I know swimrun suits have a front zip to supposedly help with ventilation, but in every swimrun I’ve seen or done, the athletes wear a jersey which makes it kinda hard to unzip it regardless.
Are they easier to run in? Do the small pockets really provide enough storage to be worthwhile?
Trying to justify a new suit purchase…
Ever looked at one?
Way more than the zipper placement. The better ones have significant differences regarding reinforcement at exposed/critical areas and other design particulars.
I’ll predict you will use your ‘hacked swim suit’ exactly once…
Question for those with more swimrun experience than me: Is there any major advantage to swimrun wetsuits vs taking an old tri suit and cutting the legs and maybe arms off?
I know swimrun suits have a front zip to supposedly help with ventilation, but in every swimrun I’ve seen or done, the athletes wear a jersey which makes it kinda hard to unzip it regardless.
Are they easier to run in? Do the small pockets really provide enough storage to be worthwhile?
Trying to justify a new suit purchase…
Haven’t had a chance to as no local shops carry them, hence the question.
Care to elaborate on the critical reinforcements, etc? Are you talking just a little something on the bum to keep from tearing or something legit like being designed for easier running… what are the “design particulars” you referred to that set them apart?
Keep in mind that (good) swim/tri wetsuits are ALREADY designed for efficient movement.
Please help me out here instead of just saying it wouldn’t work, because as a LG I ran and swam many, many miles in plain old surf wetsuits for years, and those are way less comfy for running than tri suits are, so I know I CAN do it in a regular wetsuit.
I’m not saying that a hacked tri suit would be as swizzo keen as a specifically designed swimrun one, I’m asking what exactly are the particulars that would justify a 10+ fold expenditure from option A (hack up a used suit from CL for 30 bucks) to option B ( brand new 400 dollar “swimrun specific” suit), or even a 200 dollar “entry level” swimrun suit…
The other problem is that with the lack of swimrun races here in Ca, I may only get to use a SR specific suit once as well…
Ever looked at one?
Way more than the zipper placement. The better ones have significant differences regarding reinforcement at exposed/critical areas and other design particulars.
I’ll predict you will use your ‘hacked swim suit’ exactly once…
Question for those with more swimrun experience than me: Is there any major advantage to swimrun wetsuits vs taking an old tri suit and cutting the legs and maybe arms off?
I know swimrun suits have a front zip to supposedly help with ventilation, but in every swimrun I’ve seen or done, the athletes wear a jersey which makes it kinda hard to unzip it regardless.
Are they easier to run in? Do the small pockets really provide enough storage to be worthwhile?
Trying to justify a new suit purchase…
Some SwimRun suits have two zippers, others just one in the front. Most have pockets, but the designs vary greatly. Some of the suits have built in tether attachments and several suits feature whistles in the front zipper pull.
The neoprene fabric on most SwimRun suits is also different especially in the crotch where you want more flexibility and durability. Slippery and buoyant is not what you need for the wetsuit lower half in a SwimRun race, because you are allowed to race with a pull buoy. Also manufacturers are using different fabrics in the uppers too, since that part is usually covered by a bib number jersey.
But this is all changing and developing fast. With new brands (blueseventy) coming to play and others like Head, Orca, Zone 3 and Huub updating their SwimRun suits with details they learned from previous versions.
But for that first SwimRun race you can easily do it with an old triathlon wetsuit you modified, and see how you like it. But with the Orca Core suit available at $200 that is surely the path of least resistance. It has a front zipper suit, has a lot of jersey fabric on the outside for durability, a whistle in the zipper, a small pocket and the sleeves are detached, so you do not have to cut them if you want to race without them. For most races in North America that is likely sufficient as these races are shorter.
I really like my Huub Amphibia wetsuit with the front and back zipper and 3 generous pockets, and that worked great in Engadin and I also raced it at SwimRun North Carolina.
My wife and I raced Breca Buttermere this year in standard Xterra suits cut off at the knees and elbows – mine was an old Vortex and her’s was a Vector Pro. We both had a race belt with pockets to attach a bungee. We had no real trouble and given how cold the race was, ran with the suits up almost the whole time, just unzipping the back for some ventilation.
Dedicated SwimRun wetsuits will certainly be “better” as they’re designed for the event, but I don’t know that they are worth it if you won’t be racing/training in the suit often.
My wife and I picked up Orca SR wetsuits for SRNC. They are much better to run in than my BS helix. More than anything else, that difference is worth it unless you are only going to do one. Even the lowest cost orca (what we have) is a great wetsuit. You probably could sell one if you decide SR is not for you. Personally, we will be adding 2 or so a year to our racing schedule.
Some SwimRun suits have two zippers, others just one in the front. Most have pockets, but the designs vary greatly. Some of the suits have built in tether attachments and several suits feature whistles in the front zipper pull.
The neoprene fabric on most SwimRun suits is also different especially in the crotch where you want more flexibility and durability. Slippery and buoyant is not what you need for the wetsuit lower half in a SwimRun race, because you are allowed to race with a pull buoy. Also manufacturers are using different fabrics in the uppers too, since that part is usually covered by a bib number jersey.
But this is all changing and developing fast. With new brands (blueseventy) coming to play and others like Head, Orca, Zone 3 and Huub updating their SwimRun suits with details they learned from previous versions.
But for that first SwimRun race you can easily do it with an old triathlon wetsuit you modified, and see how you like it. But with the Orca Core suit available at $200 that is surely the path of least resistance. It has a front zipper suit, has a lot of jersey fabric on the outside for durability, a whistle in the zipper, a small pocket and the sleeves are detached, so you do not have to cut them if you want to race without them. For most races in North America that is likely sufficient as these races are shorter.
I really like my Huub Amphibia wetsuit with the front and back zipper and 3 generous pockets, and that worked great in Engadin and I also raced it at SwimRun North Carolina.
Dude, THANKYOU!
That was exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
Longest race we have here in Ca is a 42 k, and my partner isn’t interested in that distance (yet, gonna see if I can talk her into it), so we’ll only be doing a 22k race. We did a 12k a couple months ago and had a blast, but didnt need wetsuits as the water was almost 70.
I really like the idea of swinruns as a fun race to include/plan vaca around. Traveling to races is so much easier logistically if you dont need to bring a bike.
Race some of the East Coast events, Casco Bay Maine, SwimRun VA and of course SwimRun NC at Hanging Rock North Carolina.
I still like my bike and will race triathlons too, but my focus in terms of bigger events is SwimRun. The two however are not mutually exclusive
It depends really on want you want to do. I have done my first 2 OtillO with an old (Orca) triathlon wetsuit … because there were no swimrun specific wetsuits. It worked, and everybody was doing the same. We wore race bibs, and it was a pain to remove to open up the top in the long run sections. Now I have wetsuits with zips at the front (e.g. Camaro, Zone3), some with front and back (Head, Huub, Colting, etc), and I much prefer the later. Even with a bib, it’s very easy to open the front whilst running, or front and back, and only if it’s really hot would I completely remove the top. Regulating the temperature in the runnign sections is in some races really important. So can you do a swimrun with an old triathlon wetsuit? Yes of course, it’s just slower and less convenient. Is there are real gain with a swimrun wetsuit? It depends on the weather. And as Herbert wrote, some provide more flexibility for running (although I have to admit I can’t always feel the difference).
Not all swimrun wetsuits are equal. I have tried most of what isavailable on the market and some prototypes for 2017. There are real differences. Some are cut for thin people (Zone3 for instance), some less (e.g. Huub). Some are very technical with many different panels (e.g. Head competition), some are simpler (e.g. Mako). Finally the quality of the neoprene is important and some are really flexible (e.g. Colting). The most important thing is to have a go and have fun !
The front zip is nice esp. if there are longer runs involved. Partner and I went for an in-between option and cut up old (Xterra) triathlon wetsuits and had zippers put in the fronts of our suits. Found a dive shop that did wetsuit alterations, was very easy and worked very well.