Women: Suits or Separates?

I just did my first triathlon and wore a one piece trisuit from JAM  http://www.jamtrisuits.com/  and loved it and right now it looks like they are on sale for $40.   The only downside is the struggle to pull it back up after going to the bathroom.  It was not too bad until I was sweaty and wet after the triathlon was over. I joked with my husband about getting back into a trisuit should be part of the triathlon itself.  But, that said, I have looked at the two pieces and have yet to find something that is as comfortable to wear and does not require a sports bra underneath the top.

Whatever you decide,  definitely train in it before wearing it for your race because you might find it is not really what you want.

REI.com has a bunch of their tri stuff on sale.  I just ordered shorts, a top and a skirt wrap from them.  Granted the shorts are men's but I liked that they were longer than the women's usually are.

They should be here next week, I will update when they arrive as to how successful I was with the order

Tri-Ro - 2008-08-09 11:36 PM Thanks everyone! Great feedback- I didn't really think about the "need to pee" option... I hear you, wurkit girl, spandex aren't the most forgiving to begin with, and I was worried about the suits being less flattering- b/c of course you want to look great, too!

Well, my particular suit makes my legs look wider because of where the light green material is (along the thigh). All black on the bottom would be more slimming. And I'm not a big girl, either! (It's the suit I have on in my avatar - that shot is good, but others from this season, my legs look horrid!)

I got mine 2 years ago but this model is similar: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51OYjp1CFAL._AA280_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.com/Sugoi-Womens-Fizz-Bra-Tank/dp/B000E6Y7KY&h=280&w=280&sz=16&hl=en&start=22&sig2=lQAh0emJsSJT1F5_Ja6scg&um=1&tbnid=rNR6_poT2DCVCM:&tbnh=114&tbnw=114&ei=q1GgSNvCIJiuiAHv8MyIBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwomen%2527s%2Bsugoi%2Btriathlon%2Btank%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN

I prefer longer cut tops vs ones that are shorter. I also am not a fan of skin tight stuff...but like that I can swing my race number around over my belly when running

I like the one piece better...b/c of tops not riding up, no muffin top from the shorts, you get it.   However, for convenience, the 2 piece is far better.  As everyone is saying, it sucks to go to the bathroom.  The sports bra part is attached, so to put it on, I step in through the very top, including stepping through the sports bra, and then pull the whole thing up.  Total pain in the a$$.  Once it's on, you're ok, you just have to pull the entire thing down to go to the bathroom (rear zipper does sound like it would make it easier).  This is my main issue...should you ever find yourself needing to pee on the side of a road in a long ride in a one piece, zipper placement is irrelevant...it's all coming down.  No way around that. 

My advice is to start ordering stuff now.  That way you've got plenty of time to return online if something doesn't fit, or if you run around your house and find it's riding up, etc.  Obviously trying stuff on somewhere is ideal, but tri stuff isn't the easiest to find.

 Okay they arrived, and I rushed upstairs to try it all on.  Now,  the shorts have a mesh section that runs along the hip - black like the shorts but definitely can see skin so I wonder what happens when it is wet.  I really don't want to find out.  They are sugoi men's 7.5" tri short.  The top is a danksin tri top that is long enough but I have to force it down around my hips. I am worried that it will roll up from my hips so even though it does offer enough support on top, I will probably be returning it.  I also ordered a danskin skirt wrap which surprisingly is way too big (XL). 

Looks like I will be taking a trip to REI to return the top, shorts and the skirt and maybe be able to find something there that I can actually try on to exchange them for.  Meanwhile I will stick with my one piece JAM trisuit.

Bummer.