Full sleeve or sleeveless wetsuit in NC

I've had both sleeveless and full sleeve suits, Xterra brand, too. Comfortwise, I liked the sleeveless better. Buoyancy wise, the full sleeve is better. You will be fine in North Carolina with a sleeveless, except possibly a really late season race like B2B where the temps were like 65 deg. In that case, you'd still survive, just feel really cold coming out of the water, I think. I have felt warm in some races in the full suit, but not to the point of overheating or affecting performance.

A note about the Xterra suits, and maybe all brands. Make sure your height weight are not at the upper range spec'd for the suit. If they are, the suit might not fit. The sleeveless I bought was too tight, so I ended up selling it on ebay. I was in the range, but just barely!

Good luck! Xterra is a top notch brand!

i just dropped coin on an Orca S1 full suit

I have a full suit- used it at Pinehurst last year and White Lake this year and was fine- no overheating. But then again, everyone is different. I think the water temps at Pinehurst was 72 (1500m swim) and White Lake was around 77 (1.2 mile swim). Even at White Lake I didn't have any overheating issues.

I just ordered my suit  fromt the same sale and I got a Sleeveeless V3 one. no need for a full suit in NC.