Wetsuit for warm water sprint triathlons

Triathlon Forum
1

I am finally acknowledging that I have “grown out of” my wetsuit (ie put on enough weight I need to size up). I mainly do sprint and super sprint tris with swims of 800 m or less. Putting on the wetsuit is honestly my least favorite part of triathlon, both for races and open water swim training. I am a decent swimmer with swim team background as a kid but I get nervous in open water. Hence, even when it’s warm, I usually wear a wetsuit for the mental comfort the buoyancy gives me. If I’m on my own or with a couple other people, I don’t need the wetsuit and will skip it if it’s warm, but when I’m in the crowded environment of an actual tri, I get uncomfortable and really like having the buoyancy. I did one tri without a wetsuit and regretted it.

I’d say 100% of the swimming I plan to do will be in water 70 degrees or warmer. Therefore, I’m considering buying some kind of shortie wetsuit that would hopefully give me the buoyancy I’m looking for without being so annoying to try and put on. My question is - will a shortie wetsuit give me enough buoyancy? Or should I get a sleeveless wetsuit with full legs? In my last tri I really didn’t like the feeling that I couldn’t move my arms as freely as I would have liked, though I do think that having gained weight and the wetsuit being small contributed.

I am also a bit between wetsuit sizes at 5’6" / 135-140 lbs. I plan to buy the larger size (WML). Is that a bad idea?

I’m looking at these two options:
https://www.xterrawetsuits.com/collections/womens-sleeveless/products/womens-vengeance-sleeveless-triathlon-wetsuit?variant=8700416032878
https://www.wetsuitwearhouse.com/products/wwsgsj?variant=41731175415988

Thanks in advance for any advice.

2

I’d suggest lava pants or Roka sim shorts

Almost all the benefit of a wetsuit, much more comfortable (no chest compression) and actually faster in transition
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3

Take a look at the wetsuit cut off temps for water before you invest. I think it starts at 75* for anything. You can overheat and die. Lava pants / roka shorts are also options

4

1000 meters at :15 secs slower is 2 1/2 mins. With your swimming background, you may not even drop 15 secs per 100m. You may find that even just buoyance shorts is enough for you to keep decent speed, remain comfortable and, even being a little slower, make it up in T1 with the easy removal. But I would think a shorty would be better than a sleeveless for short distances.

5

Take a look at the wetsuit cut off temps for water before you invest. I think it starts at 75* for anything. You can overheat and die. Lava pants / roka shorts are also options

Thank you for your feedback. USAT says wetsuits are allowed under 78 degrees. Between 78 and 84, you can wear a wetsuit but are ineligible for awards. I live in the PNW and have never participated in a tri where wetsuits were not allowed or where water was above around 78.

With that said, I have been concerned about overheating. Is this a health concern? I thought it would just be uncomfortable. Remember I’m not doing Ironmans here - just shorter events.

6

I’d suggest lava pants or Roka sim shorts

Almost all the benefit of a wetsuit, much more comfortable (no chest compression) and actually faster in transition

Thanks for the advice! Lava pants look like a great option. I’m surprised they’re not more popular. I’d never heard of them before.

7

1000 meters at :15 secs slower is 2 1/2 mins. With your swimming background, you may not even drop 15 secs per 100m. You may find that even just buoyance shorts is enough for you to keep decent speed, remain comfortable and, even being a little slower, make it up in T1 with the easy removal. But I would think a shorty would be better than a sleeveless for short distances.

Thanks for the feedback. I sincerely doubt the wetsuit is making me faster for these short races given the added time in transition. I mainly just wear it to ease anxiety in crowded swim situations (due to the buoyancy) and hope that I break even or nearly break even on time. I also swim faster when I feel comfortable in the water. I do like the idea of the buoyance shorts, and the lower price tag is appealing as well.

8

Take a look at the wetsuit cut off temps for water before you invest. I think it starts at 75* for anything. You can overheat and die. Lava pants / roka shorts are also options

Thank you for your feedback. USAT says wetsuits are allowed under 78 degrees. Between 78 and 84, you can wear a wetsuit but are ineligible for awards. I live in the PNW and have never participated in a tri where wetsuits were not allowed or where water was above around 78.

With that said, I have been concerned about overheating. Is this a health concern? I thought it would just be uncomfortable. Remember I’m not doing Ironmans here - just shorter events.

Everything when you are in open water can be a concern, but a wetsuit in sub 78 does not seem to be on the riskier side for a sprint. Overheating on the swim in a sprint is the one thing I’ve never been concerned about. Now sharks - that’s concerning.

9

We don’t have a lot of sharks in our northwest lakes either, but I’ll keep an eye out.

10

We don’t have a lot of sharks in our northwest lakes either, but I’ll keep an eye out.

Sharknado - coming soon to a lake near you…

11

So, my two cents…

I’ve raced a few times now in the PNW (3 races in Seattle area lakes) and I wore my full sleeve wetsuit and was warm, so I get it. I started OWS in the SF Bay Area, so lots of cold bay swimming with murky water. The PNW lakes are SO beautiful!!

I am a swimmer by background too. I started doing tri with a sleeveless, long leg wetsuit. I think that would be a great fit for your situation. Definitely buoyant, will keep you warm for the ‘colder than a pool but not THAT cold’ swimming you’ll be doing, and be freeing for your arms. You may run into some frustration around finding the right fit, though. I know I can be between sizes with long sleeve wetsuits, but can often squeeze into smaller sleeveless wetsuits. Whatever you end up trying, I’d make sure you can return the wetsuit in case its the wrong size - I remember Xterra being good about that but worth a double check.

And, for what its worth, I’ve never seen the capri cut like on the Vengeance but that’s a cool idea. Lots of pros snip the bottoms of their wetsuits for transition speed!

Last comments. As far as overheating goes, from my limited experience in PNW lakes, I don’t think you’ll be at risk of overheating unless you’re in a really shallow / small lake with higher temps. Especially with shorter swims you should be FINE. But, to answer your question, yes, overheating is a risk particularly in warm (non-wetsuit legal) swims and long swims. Certainly not trying to scare you, but Fran Crippen was an international level open water swimmer, and a marathon swimming race in warm (86*) water may have led to his death. Again, I don’t think you will have this to worry about in any PNW lakes at a sprint distance!! Also, no sharks to worry about either :wink:

12

So, my two cents…

I’ve raced a few times now in the PNW (3 races in Seattle area lakes) and I wore my full sleeve wetsuit and was warm, so I get it. I started OWS in the SF Bay Area, so lots of cold bay swimming with murky water. The PNW lakes are SO beautiful!!

I am a swimmer by background too. I started doing tri with a sleeveless, long leg wetsuit. I think that would be a great fit for your situation. Definitely buoyant, will keep you warm for the ‘colder than a pool but not THAT cold’ swimming you’ll be doing, and be freeing for your arms. You may run into some frustration around finding the right fit, though. I know I can be between sizes with long sleeve wetsuits, but can often squeeze into smaller sleeveless wetsuits. Whatever you end up trying, I’d make sure you can return the wetsuit in case its the wrong size - I remember Xterra being good about that but worth a double check.

And, for what its worth, I’ve never seen the capri cut like on the Vengeance but that’s a cool idea. Lots of pros snip the bottoms of their wetsuits for transition speed!

Last comments. As far as overheating goes, from my limited experience in PNW lakes, I don’t think you’ll be at risk of overheating unless you’re in a really shallow / small lake with higher temps. Especially with shorter swims you should be FINE. But, to answer your question, yes, overheating is a risk particularly in warm (non-wetsuit legal) swims and long swims. Certainly not trying to scare you, but Fran Crippen was an international level open water swimmer, and a marathon swimming race in warm (86*) water may have led to his death. Again, I don’t think you will have this to worry about in any PNW lakes at a sprint distance!! Also, no sharks to worry about either :wink:

Thank you for the feedback. We do have some beautiful lakes out here! And the higher altitude ones can be VERY cold in early summer.

I am a little worried about a shorts-only option for early season in the PNW. Depending on the year, summer can sometimes come very late, as you know. I am thinking I’ll order 2 or 3 options and keep whatever feels reasonable.

That is a really sad story about Fran Crippen. I will certainly keep it in mind if I ever have a chance to swim in water over 80 degrees.

13

1000 meters at :15 secs slower is 2 1/2 mins. With your swimming background, you may not even drop 15 secs per 100m. You may find that even just buoyance shorts is enough for you to keep decent speed, remain comfortable and, even being a little slower, make it up in T1 with the easy removal. But I would think a shorty would be better than a sleeveless for short distances.

I’m a terrible swimmer technically so I max out benefit from a wetsuit and I’d guess wetsuit is 3-5sec faster than no suit maximum, for a proper swimmer maybe less. Not sure 15sec per 100 would be the gain for most.

I have an xterra suit, excellent value, often on sale, for shoulder flexibility the sleeved ones are great I’m slightly oversized in a MT 6ft tall but slim so it leaks a little cold water in but soooooo worth it from shoulder rotation view, if u want even more rotation sleeveless makes sense, and can use for longer distance or colder later on too. Key is yanking up the crotch a lot so all the looseness is up top but I guess u know that. Soaking in water before putting on in the shoulders also helps a lot.

Wetsuit even in short races might save your legs a bit and keep u warm I’d guess makes open water longer distance swimming in cover weather more fun too.

14

1000 meters at :15 secs slower is 2 1/2 mins. With your swimming background, you may not even drop 15 secs per 100m. You may find that even just buoyance shorts is enough for you to keep decent speed, remain comfortable and, even being a little slower, make it up in T1 with the easy removal. But I would think a shorty would be better than a sleeveless for short distances.

I’m a terrible swimmer technically so I max out benefit from a wetsuit and I’d guess wetsuit is 3-5sec faster than no suit maximum, for a proper swimmer maybe less. Not sure 15sec per 100 would be the gain for most.

I was referring to the LOSS not the gain. For example, for you, in a shorty, would you lose 5 secs compared to a full wetsuit? 10? If 3-5 secs you’d lose 30-50 secs over 1000m. You’d make up some of that time when removing the shorty versus a full wetsuit (especially if you have big feet like I do - takes forever to get that full wetsuit off my legs).

For the OP, his concern was a slight fear and to feel comfortable, without worrying about overheating, I think a shorty would fit the bill. That’s assuming they are comfortable with the water temp and are not using the wetsuit because of the temp.

15

I’m definitely pro-wetsuit for practically anyone, even at sprint distance. I feel like a lot of people underestimate the time gains, even with adding in the time to take off the wetsuit. Conservatively, you’ll be one minute faster in the swim for a standard 750 meter distance (for the faster swimmers), and much more than a minute for slower swimmers. With practice wetsuits can be taken off in 15 seconds or less. Also factor in the energy saved by swimming a full minute or more less that can be applied to the rest of the race.

I think a sleeveless wetsuit is the way to go for you. You keep most of the buoyancy and speed boost a full-sleeved wetsuit gives you but without any shoulder issues and also less of a pain to put on. But in general I’d recommend sizing down if you’re between sizes. A wetsuit too big will fill up with water while you race, ballooning out and slowing you down.

Do not worry at all about overheating for sprint races with water temps in the 70s, as at least one person has said here. That’s a non-issue.