wetsuits
Profile Design Marlin $400 The Marlin will perform whether you’re an average triathlete or an elite. The neoprene is very stretchy and reinforces a high elbow recovery, and thicker neoprene in the lower body keeps the legs high in the water. Natural swimmers might feel like they're kicking air while athletes with powerhouse legs will feel a neutrally buoyant position. Regardless of your body type, the Marlin helps swimmers maintain speed when pulling their head out of the water to sight by keeping the hips high in the water. Ideal for the average triathlete who swims in the middle of the pack. Profile-design.com Quintana Roo Hydrofull $400 The most noticeable feature of the Hydrofull is the thick neoprene around the hips and thighs. It increases buoyancy in the lower half of the body and puts the body into a “downhill” position. It’s not representative of swimming with a real pull buoy, but anyone who relies on the upper body to save their legs for the bike and run will appreciate this wetsuit. Its increased buoyancy helps beginning open-water swimmers sight efficiently because the suit helps keep the swimmer’s hips and legs high in the water. Quintanarootri.com Rocket Science Elite $449.99 The Rocket Science Elite is a highperformance wetsuit with several useful innovations and a few unnecessary ones. The "drive panels" that line the arm on both sides are designed to increase surface area and maintain front-end buoyancy, but muscular arms will find that the elbow rubs over the single-piece panel that tracks all the way up the arm during the recovery portion of the stroke. Despite this issue, the inner-arm panel allows the arm to form a relaxed high elbow recovery. The wetsuit neoprene is extremely light and flexible, even in the thicker regions from the chest panel down to the frontal areas of the thighs and legs, and the thinner neoprene in the arms allows for a natural freestyle stroke with full range of motion. With precise stitching throughout the wetsuit, this item will withstand the test of time. Rocketsciencesports.com
34 T r i aT h l e T e b u y e r ' s g u i d e | 2011