Wetsuit advice needed...........
in General Chat
Looking at a wetsuit for my 1st open water swim tri this season. Not flush (managed to sell some old biking gear to fund it) so looking at either an Orca S3 or a Blueseventy Axium (from wiggle).
All other things being equal (fit etc) - is one better than the other? Or should I be considering something else?
Cheers is advance!
All other things being equal (fit etc) - is one better than the other? Or should I be considering something else?
Cheers is advance!
0
Comments
I have had Orca S2, 2Xu Team 0 and B70 Reaction and happy with them all.
Fit, fit, fit. Getting the right fit makes all the difference not too big so you drag half the lake around with you and not too small that you can only doggie paddle and takes you 20 mins to get out.
Anyway that's my two penneth (anyone below 50 won't have heard that one)
If you like the suit you can keep it at the end of the season, if not send it back and you haven't had to pay full price up front.
You can always size up a suit somwhere else before hiring...
Pat...
Options: as above, hire and buy; buy ex hire/end of season or if you want to buy on the day take along a print of internet prices and haggle. Sizes bear little relation to the charts and possibly from model to model so if buying elsewhere you need to be aware of that.
We're about the same chest size, but I have much bigger legs (too much cycling!). It felt fine on the legs, maybe tight on the shoulders - but is this too tight?
Thinking of having a drive to TFN in Nottingham - I guess they'll know. And they stock B70 and Orca. Just not the Axium. Anyone been there before? Whats their service like?
Cheers
Re fit; 2 people to zip up, sounds about right at first, the suit will loosen up a bit. When in the water it won't feel as tight.
Just did a quick search:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvNlEFH8jbw
Should I make sure the S3 fits right, then get of the net or ebay?!
Where is good in this case?
A £400 suit is useless if it is too loose and you drag half the lake around with you or too tight so you can't swim properly.
Get the fit right and for most of us even an entry suit is adeuate. Remember these suits have features that only a few years ago were only found in more expensive suits. Spend a bit more and yes you will find a difference but as with all things it is diminishing returns but then this is triathlon and bling is important
Re Axium this may be useful:
http://www.tritalk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=75805
It's a Speedo STR Pro UK - selling for £108 when the RRP is £260: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=58330
Coming from a competitive swimming background (getting to national level) I've always trusted their swimming gear and so I'm hoping that the quality and attention to details carries forward into their wetsuits - fingers crossed as I haven't actually swam in it yet
Be interested on your thoughts when you do get a swin in.
I used the speedo sizing chart which uses weight and height to find a fit. I knew CRC are really good in terms of sending things back so I knew as long as I was careful unpacking it then I could swap it easily. I got a size slightly (marginally) bigger than on the size chart, but it's still a nice tight fit - which it needs to be (so I am told).
I'll post when I get to try it in the water...
Any advice?
Tried on a Orca (which was good as it turned out I was a size bigger than I thought).
Managed to haggle 15% discount (though they give anyone 10% it seems-so I only got an extra five), but then they didn't have it in stock apart from the demo one!
So despite phoning ahead and asking about stock and checking I could use my Paypal account in store, taking a day off, braving public transport - I came away with nothing!
Just got to order online now. I suppose at least I know my sizes!