I am considering purchasing a wetsuit for my daughter. She is 11 years old and a very good swimmer, 5:15 for 400 yards pool swim. We live in Florida and she will being doing 1/4 to 1 mile open water swims. I am looking at a QR Quickjohn and an Ironman Sprint closeout. I am seeking advice and opinions on these two suits. Also, I will have to replace her wetsuit within a year or two due to growth, so cost is a huge consideration. Are there any other suits that I should be looking at?
A racing wetsuit only lasts about two seasons anyway.
Is this due to the breakdown of the material over time or because of use? She will probably only use the wetsuit once in early spring and then again once in late fall.
really? Can you explain? That makes things much more expensive. I’m going into season 2 with a Desoto.
Well, if you do a lot of racing and travelling the suit sees its share of wear and tear: Packing in gear bags, being stepped on in the transition area, abuse from getting in and out of the water on a dock or boat ramp- getting in and out of a boat if you do that- heck, just putting the thing on and taking it off in a hurry is rough on them over time.
Racing wetsuits are fragile and require care. Most people don;t take care of them- so they only last a couple years.
Thank you for the clarification on wear. I am happy to hear it is not material breakdown. I have considered renting wetsuits for my daughter until she is done growing, but I can buy a past season one for what it would cost me to rent twice.
On a related note, I was just looking at the Speedo Speedskins. At $200+ a pop, they are listed as “For championship competition only. Each suit will last for one to two meets.”
Competition suits have a very short life. My daughter’s race suits only last one season. We alternate between 3 race suits, using the oldest for less important swims, the middle for prelims swims and usually a new suit for finals at championship meets. Gets very expensive at $100 bucks a pop! Now you know why I NEED to save money on the wetsuit!
Holy cow! And I thought I had it bad because I go through 3-4 speedos a year.