what kind of time savings would you estimate a full wetsuit gives over, say, a 1500m swim…or /100m if you prefer.
Totally depends on how good/sucky you are to begin with… A fast swimmer will generally benefit much less because his/her body position in the water is already pretty good. Slower swimmers will benefit much more, because the addt’l buoyancy will help keep their legs from dragging nearly as much and lift their body into line better. I know some who’ll pick up close to 5 min (35 vs 40) in an open-water 1500m (plus of course that also eliminates their sucky pool turns). For me being able to do a decent flip turn, it’s about even (~22-24 min either way). I’ve found more time variation in the distance accuracy from one lake/event to the next.
When I got a new wetsuit last Spring and was still a much newer swimmer (still am ‘new’ IMO) I tried tried it out in the pool one morning at swim practice so as not to race in it the first time I wore it.
If I remember right I was very surprised. I think I was 10 seconds faster per 100 with what I thought was the same effort. I noticed that it was a lot like swimming with a pull buoy in that I didn’t need to kick at all…and I think I’m faster that way due to the saved oxygen.
So over a 1500 that would have equalled 150 seconds.
i’m about 1:45/100 (over 1500) in the o/w, but lose a couple minutes in the pool. might be the crappy turns too.
by no means am i a great swimmer, but i’m not dragging my legs through the water either. i suppose even if the
suit isn’t really helping my ‘position’ in the water, the extra buoyancy must at least reduce the ‘weight’ that i’m
pulling through the water.
that’s pretty close to the time savings i’ve noticed with the wetsuit…a couple minutes over 1500.
So far I’ve found out about 10sec per 100yd for a full suit.
Anyone know how that compares with a swim skin? Is it 2-3 sec/100?
that’s pretty close to the time savings i’ve noticed with the wetsuit…a couple minutes over 1500.
So what’s the deal!!! You already knew how much time a wetsuit would save you and you still asked??? 
hey…i’m definitely no expert! i wanted to see if it was just me or not. it looks like my experience is similar to others.
thanks all : )
im still waiting for your wetsuit summary. did the wetsuit companies bully you into not disclosing the info to slowtwitch?
Flanagan had a good post on this subject a while back
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1050075;search_string=wetsuit;#1050075
.
Since they paid me $0 I have and will fully disclose. I’ve been a little side tracked with impending layoffs from my company. It seems more prudent to find a possible new position in case I get laid off vs writing about wet suits right now. I’m still writing about wet suits just not as fast as I thought I would.
Anyone know how that compares with a swim skin? Is it 2-3 sec/100? \
Put a . in front of the 2 and 3, and you have a somewhat valid question…And then my answer would be maybe…
As for wetsuits, it can be anywhere from 5 seconds to about 30 seconds per 100… 5 seconds for the super fast swimmer who relies on their kick for a lot of their speed, and 30 seconds for that person that just makes the cutoff time, and sinks like a rock…Most people are in the 7 to 12 second range I would say…
thanks…good link.
thanks monty. it’s looking like the 10sec/100 is a pretty good estimate all around.
thanks monty. it’s looking like the 10sec/100 is a pretty good estimate all around.
Last winter I was training in both a outdoor unheated (in a wetsuit) and a heated (no wetsuit) pool. I was consistently 8-12 seconds/100y faster in the wetsuit for my swim sets.
I was a 1:40-1:45 for 100y send-off (non-wetsuit) swimmer then. More of a 1:30 send-off now. And I mostly use just a light 2-beat kick, wetsuit or no.
Rik
I thought you were a triathlon coach? I guess that must be a side job?
I am looking forward to hearing the results of your wetsuit testing. I am planning to buy a wetsuit in the near future, but I may not have the patience to wait for your results before I pull the trigger. 
Good luck with your job worries!
damn, thats pretty serious. i hope you find a better/secure position.
While I have never used a full wet suit, I recently tested a Blue Seventy swim skin and noticed an average of 5 seconds per 100 savings. Definitely worth it if you can afford it.
In my experience…In addition to the time savings, you also save on effeciency in the water. This is especially evident with a full sleeve. Better hydrodynamics, less work for same result…increase the work/pull and see the speed increase further.