Short story, I need to buy wetsuits for the whole family. Most of them will almost never be used. Does anyone have buying tips for me? It looks like my best option is to look for sales/discounts and buy whatever I can find at the time.
Long story: The whole family qualified for sprint nationals. I think it will be a big memory for the kids and maybe the last time that we are all together enough to do this. While we do pretty well in local races we will be solidly MOP at nationals. The point for us is a celebration, not a race.
It looks like the water is pretty cold hence the need for a wetsuit. We will also have at least one other race that needs a wetsuit.
Oldest daughter is done growing, is a mediocre swimmer but will probably stop doing tri when she leaves for college.Son is only 16 so will probably keep growing. He is freakishly fast in and out of the water and will probably do tri for a long time.Youngest daughter might be done growing? She is a shark in the water. Who knows what she will do in the future, she is the typical 3rd child wild card.My wife and I will continue doing tri for the foreseeable future and I don’t mind buying nicer wetsuits for us. I figure I’ll search the forum for wisdom in buying fast/nice wetsuits. I should also mention a big thanks to Mike Plumb/TriPower for changing me from a long time MOP into consistently placing in local races. He also took my wife from a newbie to winning most local races.
blueseventy frequently has outlet sales of returned wetsuits. They do not have anything going on now, but when the do, the prices are very good. Other manufacturers probably do the same. https://outlet.blueseventy.com/
I’ve owned $500 wetsuits and $100 wetsuits, the cut is more important than the price. Go through the hoops of measuring them and consulting the sizing chart and do it all early enough to send them back if necessary.
I have the same size Xterra wetsuit, same model other than sleeves or no sleeves and it fits very differently.
Also, I wouldn’t be scared to call and ask if your mini tri club qualifies for a 5 wetsuit deal.
I know Playtri will be there with rental suits. Why buy a cheap suit even? There’s practice swim time to get used to the suit. Save a bundle and rent as others have said.
Try eBay for gently used if not new wetsuits, bought my wife and daughter brand new Blue Seventy Helix wetsuits that were a few years old for a fraction of the price. Helps if they are small or X-small for availability. Many stores sell their old stock on eBay. This is also a good time of year for closeouts (as mentioned, Blue Seventy clearance/outlet), but also consider the entry level suits. Check out Roka for their clearance suits, sleeveless is a steal at $95 for women’s Maverick Comp. https://www.roka.com/collections/virtual-warehouse
I’ve got 2 Xterra wetsuits I’ll sell for like $25 each. One is women’s (size medium; cheapest model) and the other men’s (size: small long , ‘SLO’; mid grade model). Both in good shape, probably used less than 5x each.
I’d be looking at sleeveless for sure. Not just because of price, but because of comfort at that price point. It seems like the shoulder and sleeve areas of cheap wetsuits are usually less flexible and less comfortable than the more expensive suits. With a sleeveless suit, it seems like there is a lot less that can give you issues.
vote for xterra. If you’re confident on sizes, check out the xterra outlet. I believe this is where they sell their rentals, demos and returns. Looks like their cheapest sleeveless suits are going for $59 at the moment.