Wetsuit recommendation

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that the O'neill Reactor is not a triathlon wetsuit. You really do not want a wetsuit that is not designed specifically for racing. You will end up using far more energy due to the suit. The wetsuit should keep you warm and naturally will provide some boyancy. A non-swimming/non-tri wetsuit is more restrictive in the arms and shoulders.

Personally, I would not rent a wetsuit, simply because I've found that I can purchase one new or used for about 1.5Xs the rental cost. I just purchased a brand new, high end wetsuit for my wife for $112 shipped. This is for her first (and possibly only) triathlon but I figure I can re-sell it if I need to.

I would look for used triathlon wetsuits here, Slowtwitch and also craigslist. Another option is a vendor like Xterra Wetsuits (http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/). You can use the coupon code "BT" for 60% off. I own one of these suits.

Honestly, for about $100, you should be able to find a decent suit designed for triathlon if you look around a bit.

I looked at the xterra website but all their suit in my size are on back order until june 5th ( right before the race).
do you guys have any recommendation for places to look other than here or craigslist?
also if you have any coupon codes, it will be great

Don't buy the ONeill. It's not made for endurance/triathlon swimming... I've swam in other types of wetsuits and they hold way too much water, slowing you down.

I first rented a triathlon-specific wetsuit from wetsuitrental.com for my first race. I think I only paid $45 (although it may be more now), but what I like about their service is they put the rental fee towards the purchase of a used wetsuit. I liked the wetsuit I rented, so I ended up purchasing it, and the original rental fee was subtracted from the cost of the suit. I'd suggest at least renting one first. You may like full sleeves or prefer short sleeves. It gives you time to actually decide what you want.

Locally, I BELIEVE Elite cycling has some for sale/rent, but not 100% sure on that.

For what its worth, the water temp at Clinton Lake for this race has hovered around the cutoff for wetsuits (78 degrees) for at least the past 4/5 years and has never been cold in my experience.