Subject: RE: Pull boy - wetsuit comparison Originally posted by Experior
It depends. ... But many strong swimmers do not see big gains from using a pull buoy because it is 'correcting' a problem that they do not have. On the other hand, I've never heard of a swimmer who does not swim faster in a (quality, properly fitted) wetsuit.
It depends on the wetsuit construction, some are very buoyant, very few are neutral. Even if the companies say they are "balanced" this should read as corrective, and corrective is a problem when the wetsuit overcorrect.
I've only tried one wetsuit and I swam slower than usual, in fact it was a horrible experience because of the corrective buoyancy. In similar conditions, no current, no waves and one month apart, I swam 1:16/100m without wetsuit and 1:22/100m with. But, then, without was for a sprint distance and with was for HIM distance so obviously pacing means the two are not directly comparable.
However, the wetsuit was way more buoyant than a pull buoy and I could hardly tread water, my butt would instantly pop up. This impaired my sighting, I had a hard time getting my head out of the water and ended up swimming almost 300m more than I should on the HIM distance swim, so the wetsuit caused an estimated 3-4min penalty.
The suit has been returned and I won't buy from that company again.
BR |