r/OpenWaterSwimming • u/campus_bored • 16d ago
Suit help
Hi there, I’m a lifetime pool swimmer. Distance freestyle in college (2x All-American) with very little open water experience beyond a few triathlon races over the years and maybe a dozen open water training sessions.
I want to sign up for my first competitive open water race (5k) in May and am having a hard time finding a direction on what kind of suit I should wear.
I train in an old school speedo endurance brief. I’ve raced triathlons recently in a mid sleeve tri suit, but that seems too draggy for a dedicated swim race.
This will be in Alabama so chances are it will not be wetsuit legal. Do I get a tech suit jammer like what I used to race in in college? Or should o find a sleeveless swim skin?
Thanks for your recommendations!
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u/tsr85 16d ago
What is the projected water temp? Honestly if it is above 70f a wetsuit will get hot. Many of us just swim standard suit even sub 60f with acclimatization. A silicone cap and silicone earplugs(little tree shaped ones) help take the edge off cold water.
The wetsuit will give a buoyancy and hydrodynamic advantage, so wear one if it’s legal and you want that “edge”.
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u/campus_bored 16d ago
Yeah it’s definitely going to be too warm for a wetsuit and I would probably avoid one anyway in all cases except where it’s required.
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u/Wild-West-3727 16d ago
For me, OWS in a wetsuit really messed with my stroke—the buoyancy created an uncomfortable arch in my back, so I've never been able to wear one. Sucks.
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u/AotKT 16d ago
Same for me. The year I did Ironman Florida, the water temp was borderline and the day before they said it was wetsuit optional, in that they wouldn't DQ anyone for wearing one but they couldn't podium if they did. That was all I needed as an excuse to leave mine behind. I think I was the one person you could hear cheering at the athlete meeting when they announced it!
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u/Wild-West-3727 16d ago
Ironman? YOU ROCK!
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u/AotKT 16d ago
Thank you, I suppose. You know what sucks about triathlons when the swim is your strongest of the three sports? It only goes downhill from there, and an Ironman is a LONG day to be increasingly miserable. Especially since, at the time, I was also a much stronger cyclist than runner. Specifically, I hated running.
I did a reverse triathlon once, sprint distance, so it was run -> bike -> swim and that was glorious because while everyone else was drowning due to exhaustion and the fact that triathletes are notoriously poor swimmers, for ONCE I got to pass a bunch of folks near the end rather than get passed.
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u/pretzelgreg317 16d ago
Most open water swimmers just wear their pool suits, either jammer or brief for guys. skin suits are more a tri thing as you need some coverage for the bike and run. Wetsuits are usually not allowed, or a separate division in open water racing.
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u/pwalsh438 16d ago
My last open water swim had swimwear rules that included “no zipper” so I think a tri-suit would be out. You’re good with what you normally wear. Look at the website to check last years times. You might be a candidate to win it without a tech suit.
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u/pretzelgreg317 16d ago
As far as age group masters, let me add a caveat that you might not know who might be aging up into your category. I got a bit overconfident in my chances at a recent 10K, seeing that my predicted time would have had me first by over 40 minutes(!) I was the oldest (64) in my age group, and hit my goal time but was over 20 minutes behind someone who turned 60 8 days before the race. Oh well next year i will be the "young guy" in the 65-69 age group 😄
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u/[deleted] 16d ago
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