It is a intermediate distance tri, 1000m/18mi/4.5mi. I am about 15min non wetsuit 1000m swimmer, water temp will be 85-86F. Debating wether to use Velocity++ or just go in my Desoto Forza riviera shorts/no top.
How much time can I shave skin vs. tri shorts, how much time and hassel to remove in T1. I swam in Velocity++ a couple of times. It does not come off easy over my ankle and heel. There would be some time loss removing it in T1. I am not the sharpest pencil in T1. Little on the clumsy side.
Thanks
I think that the question may very well be related to how much body fat you have and/or how hot you operate. If I were swimming in water of that temperature, I would be suffering big time due to the heat of the water, so I would have to ask myself whether the speed benefit from the wetsuit would be worth it.
I may be an oddball here, not a super high body fat (10-12% maybe), but I burn hot.
regards,
r.b.
He’s talking about a speedsuit/swim skin and not a wetsuit.
I go 6-7 seconds faster per 100 in my full skinsuit, and 3-4 seconds in the partial. For 1000 meters, if you’re similar, and could exit your skinsuit in under 30-40 seconds, it’d be worth it. Throw your suit and do some pool work to compare your times.
Ben Greenfield
I think that the question may very well be related to how much body fat you have and/or how hot you operate. If I were swimming in water of that temperature, I would be suffering big time due to the heat of the water, so I would have to ask myself whether the speed benefit from the wetsuit would be worth it.
I may be an oddball here, not a super high body fat (10-12% maybe), but I burn hot.
regards,
r.b.
Yes, it is a swim skin not a wetsuit. I think I would have died from heat exhaustion prior to entering water in a wetsuit.
I am at 5% body fat but do get very hot swimming. At 85F pool water, my performance greatly suffers due to heat. I don’t wear wetsuit in anything over 72-73F.
I just was not aware that a swim skin gives that much of a speed savings over normal tri shorts. Is it really 5-6sec/100m. I thought that is what wetsuit gives, but skin a lot less. I probably should have tested in the pool.
Thanks to all of you for your input. I am still scratching my head over this.
6-7? That’s a ridiculously high number for just a swim skin. I’ve seen more like 1-2 seconds/100 (yards). Did you test in long course or short course? Meters or yards?
As far as the OP goes, I’d definitely wear it. I have the same speed suit and I stretched out the bottom leg opening by just pulling it a lot higher up my calf when I initially put it on; that seems to help open it up a little bit.
This was a 5x100 meter test in the pool.
How much a swim skin helps is highly dependent on the individual. This is what I have concluded from my own experience and posts on the web.
Any ideas on why it’s so subjective? I haven’t done much testing (on me personally) - pretty much just one time swimming in the pool and paying attention to times w/ the skin although that was a yearish ago - so I don’t have a great idea about its effectiveness.
Any ideas on why it’s so subjective? I haven’t done much testing (on me personally) - pretty much just one time swimming in the pool and paying attention to times w/ the skin although that was a yearish ago - so I don’t have a great idea about its effectiveness.
I am guessing, no expert here, it does not provide any additional flotation and does not raise your hips and legs as the wetsuit does, so you depend more on your own natural body position in the water as opposed to wetsuit that pretty much evens everyone out, poor body position becomes a good one.
So, now, if you are ok swimmer, no sinking legs, you end up only gaining for reduction in friction/drag through the water when compared to tri suit/shorts or even naked skin, as these materials claim to have lower coefficient of drag than human skin. This is where I think 6-10sec/100m is a little excessive when we talk about swim skin. Just thinking out loud, not sure. If it is only 1-2 sec/100m, 85F water, hot, gaining 10-20sec and overheating, than removing in T1…don’t know.
I will sleep on it and make the call race morning comes. Most likely not not worth it.
Again, thanks everyone for a nice healthy talk about this. Just shocked it hasn’t turned into an argument as it usually does here.
I believe it is because wearing a swim skin is very tight and helps with your position. So if you drop your legs a lot then the skin will help you keep them higher. Which creates a bigger improvement than simply the friction from the skin.
Waste of time and money for you. Don’t do it.
No way you get 7 seconds per hundred by using a skin, lol. Anyone who pushes more than 1 second must work for the swim skin companies.
Perhaps this attests to my need for working on balance / buoyancy in the water, but that was how many seconds I saved when “pushing” in a 100m test.
For 500m, I also tested, and I did 5:46 with and 6:01 without. Again, this is just me, and I do NOT work for any skinsuit companies. And I will grant that some of it could be a placebo effect - swimming faster because you feel faster with the tight skinsuit on.
Ben
So, got up this morning, made the call, swim skin ON, what a hell, might as well experiment.
Water temp was nice. The end result is, no time to report, did not wear timex, during the run, the race got cancelled due to weather, however, was out of the water first in my AG. That does not mean much, I know.
I wish I had a time to report. Subjectively, felt very comfy in it, can not tell the speed. It came off quick in T1, I guess I am getting better at something, at least.
Thanks everyone for the input.