Having moved to the coast (south), i fancied having a go at open water swimming, but since its still the UK, i figured a wetsuit might be useful. Don’t want to spend a fortune, as i may only swim occasionally…or, i may enjoy it and do it a lot, and so a decent (one that isn’t likely to limit my enjoyment), good value one, kinda makes sense to me. anyway, was looking at the alpkit or the planet x offerings but can’t find any reviews. anybody got either, or can offer advice/guidance?

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The cheap ones TriUK sell get good reviews and they also ex hire ones.

V difficult to fit without trying on

When you try on, your will be surprised you need something that is very tight on dry land. It’s loosens up significantly in the water.

Use a plastic bag over arms and legs when tryin on – makes a difficult squeeze much easier!

Decathlon do a swim specific wetsuit for £80, I think!

The cheap ones TriUK sell get good reviews and they also ex hire ones.

You’ll get an ex-hire one for £50 – they are more than adequate.

Don’t make the mistake I made in getting one of the Foor Classic “unisex” suits that are knocked out by some of the hirers… they don’t fit anyone – since when were men and women the same shape?!?

As above, ex-rental is the way to go to get the most bang for your buck.

I got an ex-rental 2XU – T2, everyone else doing the triathlons I have done seemed to have the same or something by ORCA.

Best deals for those will be at the end of the season so December time, but if you look around now there is sure to be something. I think i got mine from MyTriathlon online

cheers all. shall have a careful look at the ex-hire market.

*bookmarked – am in similar situation, got a feeling I’ll really miss the local heated pool, yet quite excited about new challenges, not so much the temperature…

Either ex-rental or buy one out of season. Got a good price on a brand new 2XU T2 from Start Triathlon in Newcastle. But certainly try them on, and preferably somewhere with someone knowledgeable. If I’d tried mine on with no advice, I would have written it off as too tight, but once in the water it’s great.

Malvern, you’ll like the open water, heated pools are awful places once you get used to being outside.

Avoid the speedo tri suits, they have a tri zip which can be undone quickly by pulling upwards as well as downwards…unfortunately as i found out early last april whilst swimming solo in the middle of a bay some distance from shore that zip can suddenly undo if you pull it a tad too far when putting it on. freezing water flooding your wetty and no way of doing it up until you reach dry land is a scary thing when out on your own…I was very grateful that I always swim with my chillswim towfloat and would advise anyone who swims open water to get one…
I still have the speedo suit but i have put in a tiewrap around the top of the zip so I cant pull it too far, but its an awful system.

Thanks Carl, great advice. Never thought about a towfloat and would certainly consider one.

Another issue – since reading about OWS (especially in the ocean) it seems the general consensus is never to swim alone? I’ll only have regular access to a rocky cove, no lifeguards, no fellow swimmers out of season or even most of the year. Am I being a big jessie or right to be cautious?

It’s a pain as nearest public pools are a 30 mile round trip (double that by bicycle on safer but very hilly roads) which makes a membership costly and a bicycle journey beyond my abilites/available time.

Might have to look at knocking regular swimming on the head for a good while 🙁

There is a Wiggle DHB suit too if you don’t want to spend a lot. Also have a look at Sports Pursuit – I got a 2XU suit from them in the spring for less than half price which is nice. Triuk and the shop in Chichester (forget name) have endless pools to test the suits in and obviously staff to help – newbies often don’t realise how tight it should be.

I’m a bit of a wetsuit snob but flexibility in the shoulders and arms really does make a difference. Some of the cheap ones really are bobbins in that regard.

If you have owned a surfing wetsuit in the past take extra care – they are not the same thing and are a lot more delicate – so easy to put a hole in them with a finger nail. The good news is the cheaper ones a not so soft – bad news for swimming but good news for rough handling. Also don’t forget ultraglide or vasaline for the neck – you will rub yourself more than you expect.

BUT….and it’s a big BUT! Why the suit? I haven’t worn one for months and swim 2 or 3 times a week on the south coast. It’s toasty at the moment. Sure the wading in and first few strokes are a challenge but you’ll soon warm up. The experience of swimming without a suit is so much more pleasant – more ‘at one’ with the water in the swim and a load less faffy on the land. I’ll have my suit back on for some longer swims in Loch Tay in a couple of weeks as its a good 7 degree cooler in there at the moment but south coast swimming at the moment is lovely. Some of us swim right through the winter without a suit.

If you are within driving distance of Portsmouth you’d be very welcome to take your first steps with Portsmouth Triathletes – swim from the Eastney end of the Southsea front – beach hut for tea, lots of beginners. 60 odd folk on a Saturday morning and 30 plus on a Tuesday evening.

Bayside Tri swim from Stokes bay and Lee on the Solent through the week and weekends.

Another issue – since reading about OWS (especially in the ocean) it seems the general consensus is never to swim alone? I’ll only have regular access to a rocky cove, no lifeguards, no fellow swimmers out of season or even most of the year. Am I being a big jessie or right to be cautious?

Your call on that one. The official advice is no but have to say I have done it in the past and will do so again in the future. Like sea kayaking alone, mountain walk alone and to some extent mtbing alone it’s about risk management. Knowing about the currents, what’s under the water and choosing what is reasonable to you. I’ve had some of my most ‘alive’ moments solo swimming (you should try night swimming!) but you need to know your solo limits and have the strength of character to stay within them.

I swim solo all the time it’s nice. Tow float always with me and always in sight of shore..
Good advice above on wetsuits.. Got mine from sport pursuit. Buy as decent as you can as quality differs massively.

OP how big are you? I have a 3/5/7 mm semi-dry suit XXL if that’s of any interest.

We’ve Orca wetsuits – bought a few years ago on Wiggle. Good price and good suit.

OP how big are you? I have a 3/5/7 mm semi-dry suit XXL if that’s of any interest.

Doesn’t sound that “front crawl” friendly

I might look at a float. My holiday was alot of swimming across bays on my own

Currently swimming in a medium price surf suite with really flexy shoulder panels. I’m sure it lags the real thing but its been fine for me dipping my toe in the water this summer

Currently swimming in a medium price surf suite with really flexy shoulder panels. I’m sure it lags the real thing but its been fine for me dipping my toe in the water this summer

It’s better than nothing (only imo nothing would be better 😉 ). Real swim wetsuits are a step up again though – about 1mm supper stretchy on the shoulders. Cheaper ones aren’t a lot better though. It’s also the distribution along the body.

Tow floats are a great new thing from the last few years. I use a chillswim one big enough to carry a pair of crocs, a tshirt, emergency blanket some energy food,a drink and mobile for long (5-10 mile) destination swims where I might be waiting to be picked up at the other end or have to get out of the water unplanned.

Chubs…sounds like it would be a bit big for me tbh. A bit late anyway, as I’ve already bought a dhb jobbie as convert describes above – crazy-fast delivery from wiggle means I may have my first venture out this evening. Quite excited. Will be solo, but won’t be too adventurous, being as like I’m an open water virgin and all that.

I have a zipless winter surf wetsuit, plenty of freedom of movement for swimming but a lot less fragile and cheaper than swim-specific suits. If you are not trying to minimise triathlon transition time I’d go for a surf suit instead. Also much more usable for other water activities. Use it year round, lakes and sea.

It’s better than nothing (only imo nothing would be better )

My core is so weak and my body position so crap that I’m faster in that wesuite

Nearly everybody is faster in a wetsuit – normally to he tune of about 20-25% faster for an average (non elite) swimmer. It dosn’t mean swimming without a suit isn’t better though 😉

definitely get a swim specific suit – a swim suit is a totally different beast

definitely try before you buy – fit is really important in a swim suit – you do not want any flappy bits.

check out the local open water swim clubs – most of them will be selling off hire stuff soon. A few nicks means cheap & they are easy to repair.

I use an XTERRA wetsuit. Only just started selling in the UK. Currently got 50% off on their website.

Wetsuits really are easy to repair. Had a fairly terminal looking rip occur just below the bottom of the zip on mine a few weeks before Outlaw, but a bit of hand sewing and then patching over with wetsuit repair glue and although it doesn’t look anywhere near as smart, it holds perfectly. Also used the glue to patch up a few nicks

I use an XTERRA wetsuit. Only just started selling in the UK. Currently got 50% off on their website.

Glad to see them back in the UK. I had a vector pro in 2006 and it was a good suit, well made. Can’t see why the latest versions shouldn’t be too and a very good price.

I’ve always used Aquaman so can’t comment on others. Best 3.8 training swin in a 50m pool 1:12. Best swim in an Ironman in a suit 1:02. I no doubt benefited a little from drafting in the race but most of the difference was down to the suit.

I reckon open water swimming in a suit on my own is safer than mountain biking or ski-mountaineering alone. Do a bit of research about currents before you head out and there’s not much that can go wrong apart from being run over by a jet ski.

Perhaps I should add waves to currents. A guy was killed by a wave today at Labenne. Whiplash according to the Gendarmes. Not much swell and he was in the safe area, very unfortunate.

Viewsurf

Getting out is easy enough as you just duck-dive under the waves but getting back in it’s easy to get tumbled. Getting back onto the beach can also be a headache when waves are dumping against steep sand. People put their feet down too early and get dragged out again by the water rushing out after each wave.