Afternoon all, I am having big problems with the back of my wetsuit chafing my neck and am looking for advice please.
Every time I swim open water my neck is red raw from the rubbing and it takes a week to recover, then I swim again and it is removing the scabbing and is just making the area worse.
I am using loads of Bodyglide each time hoping it will help but after 10 minutes the chafing seems to rub through the layer of lube.
I have looked at buying a hooded rash vest to totally cover the area, but am unsure if these would be legal to wear during a race. Hopefully some of you with more experience of the rules could confirm for me if rash vests are allowed.
I have The Long Course Weekend this weekend so would really appreciate any ideas that you have so that hopefully I can sort this before then.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Comments
Rash vest...don't think you would need a hooded one and as you say doubt they are allowed anyway
I have found liberal chunks of Vaseline do the job perfectly well. It's a lot more cost effective than the same volume of Bodyglide. Some wetsuit manufacturers don't like you using it with their neoprene but it's what I've found works for me and my Snugg.
I would say a rash vest should sort it........or liberal vaseline.......and also make sure that the wetsuit is pulled up all the way.stretch with you arms etc before getting into the water so there is less chance of friction through the tightness
rash vests - or even a tri top/suit - are fine under wetsuit provided that not too much is protruding which would rule out a hooded one.
You might find baby oil useful if vasaline doesn't work, but vasaline is the way forward.
I used to have this problem and found a rash vest (not a hooded one) works a treat!
I have used a buff round my neck. Certainly for training so your neck heals by the time you race (realise it is a bit late in your case). A lot of people in our club use them to help with the chaffing.
A friend of mine recommended Hawaiian tropic after Sun body butter I've used it for two seasons now no chafing, kind to the wet suit, two for a tenner delivered on Amazon, slip a bit on your legs and suit comes off great lasts ages and you smell all coconutty
Pirate buff.
Shall I start a kit list ??
I've tried others but the pirate buff definitely works best.
Expensive cure - but I just bought a new wetsuit, a Zone3 Aspire. I've always had the same problem as you but with the Aspire there's no chafing at all. The neckline is cut lower than any other I've tried. Another bonus is the shoulder area is less restrictive than other suits.
Chamois cream, I use Chamois Butt'r, it's just a skin lubricant so you can use it anywhere, easy to apply and lasts a good while too.
I've got a zone 3 aspire too so maybe it's bugger all to do with the Hawaiian tropic stuff
yeah I had a zone 3 for a while - zero chaffing ever - no bodyglide. Got a blueseventy now which is a better floatation profile for me - but the high neck = mega chaffing. I use a spray called strong skin SLIK which is great and sorts out the problem.
Thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply.
Definitely going to try a high neck rash vest now that I know they are legal and probably a good dollop of vaseline too just to make sure.
Cheers all.
Johnson's baby oil gel, Works a treat but a bit messy.
Does anyone else get chafing behind their knees? I do and particularly today as I forgot to Body Glide! Mentioned it to a girl in the changing rooms and she looked horrifed and suggested I wasn't kicking properly or that my wetsuit didn't fit properly...any thoughts? As i said, if I use body glide then it's not a drama but could it be some underlying issue or was this girl just talking nonsense?
I never ever kick so maybe why i have never had a problem behind the knees
My other half has said he used to get chafing behind his knees in his surfing wetsuit so I feel a bit better now that I'm not a freak who can't kick properly.
+1 for a zone3 - i've had mine 3 years, and never had a problem
I've heard that vaseline will rot the neoprene as it's a petroleum based product. Body glide works for many. I've also got some silicon spray that is genius as there is absolutely no rubbing.... I got it in the states but a quick google check seems to show that it's available in UK.
http://www.proswimwear.co.uk/tri-slide.html
Blue seventy Reaction plus bodyglide, no problem.
I was sea swimming at Dover on Saturday. I noticed someone with their knees heavily lubed in Vaseline. The thing is, no one was swimming in a wetsuit as training for channel swim.
just a thought that it might not be the wetsuit.
I think Erik must be selling these things as he is on every other thread in the top 20 at the moment!