I have the Kansas half this Sunday. I picked up a Body Glove wetsuit (short sleeve and short legs) at Sports Authority. Is it worth using this wetsuit or should I just return it and go without or pickup one at the Expo. My questions centers around if the Body Glove which is not made for triathlons so different from wetsuits made for tris that I should not use it and return it. Would I be better with none. Thoughts on the use of this Body Glove wetsuit for IronMan tri, half and full.
Your mileage may vary.
You will get some added buoyancy which will help body position wise, but the Body Glove suits tend to be designed for surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, etc.
A triathlon wetsuit is designed for swimming, will have extra flexibility (i.e. thinner areas) in the shoulders to allow for better movement and generally be designed to reduce drag in the water where most of the BodyGlove suits will not incorporate many of these features.
My biggest concern would be flexibility in the shoulders and working your arms harder.
I can’t speak to the Body Glove, but if it isn’t designed for tri then I wouldn’t attempt to race in it, ESPECIALLY if I hadn’t tried it out a few times. Something not designed for tri is likely to be designed only to keep you warm and may seriously restrict your arm movement or chafe you in some dreadful way.
Again, I know nothing about the Body Glove, so take it for a test spin and see what happens. I’m a firm believer in the “never try anything new in a race” rule.
Victor
I picked up a cheap Body Glove wetsuit on swimoulet.com last year for use in my first Oly race. Did a few practices OW swims in it and felt like I could float around all day and just chalked up the slowness to me being an anchor in the water. Come race day about half way through the swim I realized why I was the only one sporting Body Glove, I was dragging around a few extra gallons of water on every stroke. It was so brutal that I contemplated taking it off in the middle of the swim. My advice is ditch the Body Glove and spring for a real tri-wetsuit or go natural. I kept mine but that’s because I ride a stand-up in Lake Michigan into the fall.
Good luck with your race!
What’s your race goal? Just to finish? Then you’ll be fine with the BG suit. It will give you a little buoyancy and keep you warmer than you’d be without a suit. If you want to get serious and race a lot of tris, strongly consider a tri-specific suit. I am a lifelong surfer/bodyboarder and used surf wetsuits my first few tris, but then got a DeSoto tri-specific suit. Big difference!
Thanks, I will take your advice and return it.
Return it. It will be slower than going without; the arms/shoulders are not designed for a swimming stroke (read: constriction and chafing). Pick up an intro level ($150-$200) suit at the expo if you fell you need one for warmth.
Make sure to get some BodyGlide!