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First triathlon - need kit!

Hi there,

I am a 26 year old female who is competing in my first ever triathlon in Cardiff Bay in June. I have decided to take the plunge and go for the Olympic distance. I'm looking to spend between £100-150 on kit and I am completely clueless. Any advice on swimming wetsuits and trisuits for the cycle/run would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Lucy

Comments

  • Jamie220Jamie220 Posts: 168

    Hi Lucy, the latest issue of 220 Triathlon (on sale today) contains our big 2015 wetsuits grouptest, and tests six women's tri-suits. Together however they will take you past the £150 mark – have you considered renting a wetsuit?

    http://www.220triathlon.com/news/june-2015-issue-of-220-triathlon-on-sale-now/10046.html

  • Andrew4Andrew4 Posts: 190

    Lucy

    I would echo the wetsuit rent suggestion. Its worth remembering most will let you buy the suit if come the end of the year you are hooked and can't wait for your next race (normally with a decent discount). That should then free you up a bit of spare cash. 

    As a newbie I took the tri shorts a top route on the basis that these can be independently useful - afterall you are unlikely to want to spend all your training time in a tri suit but its good to get some bike and run time clocked up in tri shorts. Also this gives you a bit more wiggle room to find what's comfortable for you. You should easily be able to get a decent shorts and top combo with the money you'd have left from a rental (and if you went very cost effective you might still come out the other side with some spare change)

  • Perhaps try a pool based triathlon initially. Smaller events are good for you to try out what you need and practice everything first.

    I have a Zone3 Vision female wetsuit it was £190ish - they do a Venture as well which is about £120.

    I would recommend you also buy a decent sports bra so when you wear it under your trisuit and wetsuit - it doesnt soak up loads of water.

    Wetsuit rental would be your best bet really. Our local outdoor sports shop has a diving pit attached so you can try wetsuits before you buy. If you have somewhere like this it really helps as I tried loads on - up to about £400 and ended up buying the cheapest because it fit me the best.

  • risris Posts: 1,002

    this is going to be another 'agreeing with the above' response - but i'd look at what you have and what you need to have, then what you'd like to have.

    what you will need (mandatory for race):

    bike, wetsuit (unless uk june temps break all records...), helmet, running shoes, swimming cossie.

    what you would like to have (makes life easier):

    trisuit/short/top, racebelt, bike shoes, sunnies, elastic laces, chipstrap, cycling mitts, goggles, gels (list is probably endless).

    if you can minimise the cost of getting a wetsuit (rental, second hand, borrow off a similarly sized friend) then it would seem to be the most effective thing for you - particularly as it is your first season! Let's be honest, if you buy a wetusit and hate triathlon then it's not got many uses, other than fancy dress. 

     

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