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Which wetsuit?
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Having decided to take the plunge at Wimbleball, I'm now looking for a wetsuit, undeterred by the fact that I've never swam 1.2 miles or in open water. Swimmimg seems to be coming on ok as long as I use a pull buoy since I seem to have heavy runners legs. I'm hoping a wetsuit will provide a similar level of buoyancy? I'm thinking 2xu T2/3 or Z1 or possibly something from Blue Seventy. Dont want to go nuts with expense since I dont know how much open water I'l do in the future. June will decide. Any thoughts?
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Comments
The wetsuit will normally provide more buoyancy than you would get from a pull buoy.
If your not sure about whether or not you will carry on with OW swimming have you thought about just hiring one for this year? It would be a cheaper option for you and then if you don't decide to carry on with it you wouldn't have spent 100-200 quid.
Fit is the main priority, you don't want it to tight, especially around the shoulders or they will fatigue quicker, if you can try and get to a shop that sells them and try a few on to see which fits is best.
Several of the open water swimming venues have a "try before you buy" option with a range of wet suites on sale - may help you get the fit right and check what it is like in the water. May be worth checking out any local to you?
Hadnt considered hiring, will have a look at that. Theres a good open water loch nearby which you can hire to practice so I will experiment before then.
Getting the fit right is crucial. However, for triathlon wetties there is a broad range of size descriptions available, which include variables for height and weight.
Personally I bought from ebay, the guideling price is half to 2/3 of full price for a virtually unused, but last year's model.
The other approach is to buy an ex-hire suit. £50. The end of season is the right time to buy. Once spring arrives there will be fewer deals. Oh, the shops will shout about 10% discount, but they'll have put the price up first. Happy hunting.