Quite a few people have been asking me recently about swimrun wetsuits and which one would be best.

Swim running is a new sport and the kit is evolving year-by-year but there are definitely some key differences between the standard triathlon wetsuit and a swimrun wetsuit, which are important considerations.

Shorty

Most swimrun wetsuits are 'shorties'. As swim running is typically a spring summer autumn sport this is usually enough to keep you warm but if you do tend to feel the cold you may want to consider a model that has full length arms or one with detachable arms.

Zips

A swimrun wetsuit typically opens at the front. The zip should be heavy duty and have a velcro flap at the top as with the standard tri wetsuits.

The front fastening zip allows you to undo the zip during the running stage to allow yourself to cool down and helps with chest expansion during the run.

I also find the front opening useful to stuff gear down either side, for example my cap and goggles on one side and foldable water bottle on the other. This keeps all of my gear close at hand and prevents it from rattling around and falling off.

Some swimrun suits come with zips on both front and back sides, for example the Head Swimrun Shorty.

This makes it easy to get the top down for 'decabbing' if you want to do the run with the wetsuit rolled down. Personally I find 'decabbing' an inconvenience because the wetsuit tends to fall down around your ass when you do the run and you need a tight belt to keep it up! Each to their own, but a double sided zipper will allow you to decab by yourself and not waste time/having to rely on your partner to help rolling the suit down and back up at each transition.

I do like the double-sided zip idea though, purely to get the wetsuit off easily at the end!

Upper

The upper part of a swimrun wetsuit may or may not be nylon covered neoprene and should be as flexible as the triathlon suits. Typically now they are evolving to be smooth surfaced neoprene, at least on the front panels, to minimise water resistance, but are often nylon covered neoprene on the back and upper arms.

Nylon covered neoprene will allow you to sweat and is definitely tougher, which is an important consideration given swimrun routes are normally through rough terrain.

Arms

Swimrun wetsuits are normally shorty style wet suits with short arms and some models come with detachable full arm sets which you can add or remove based on the water and air temperature, Eg. Zone 3's Versa. See a review here.

I have found this to be very useful and it does allow you to do swimrun training year round.

Hips and Legs

The hips on a swimrun wetsuit are wider which allows greater mobility of the hip flexor muscles when scrambling in and out of water and running long distances.

The trend now is for the legs to be shorty style length, however some models do have slightly extended length on the legs such as the Zone 3 Versa.

One thing I would consider as essential on a swimrun wetsuit is for the legs to be nylon coated as opposed to smooth neoprene.

As you can see from the Zone 3 Versa review the smooth neoprene legs rubbed through on my inner thighs within a short time and the legs of any swimrun suit take a real bashing on rocks, thorns, brambles and so on. Smooth neoprene just get shredded whereas nylon coated neoprene is far tougher and is abrasion resistant.

Pockets

A lot of wetsuit manufacturers market inside pockets as a great feature but in my experience they are useless! When the wetsuit is on, the snug fit means it is near impossible to get anything in or out of the pockets, let alone when running.

In my opinion the best pocket design are the ones on the outside of the wetsuit. The Zone 3 Versa has a single pocket in the small of the back which can be open and closed with a tough zip, which importantly fastens shut with downwards, which means it does not open when you start swimming.

The Colting Swimrun Go wetsuit for example, also has two outside zip pockets in the kidney areas of the back of the wetsuit.

Hoops and Attachment Points

The latest swimrun wetsuits come with small nylon hoops at strategic places on the wetsuit, for those who want to use a tether line with their swimrun partner.

If like me you don't use a tether line another option could be to attach a small clip to one of the loops and use that to attach your hand paddles to whilst running.

Whistle

Many of the new swimrun wetsuits come with the mandatory whistle in the front zipper lanyard. this is a really good idea because it means there's one less piece of detachable kit to worry about, especially important because you can be disqualified for unknowingly dropping kit along the course.

Conclusion

Swimrunning is on the rise and has great appeal for both competitive swimrunners and those who just like to get outdoors and experience the elements.

The latest wave of swimrun wetsuits do have some great features, but there is no need to rush out and buy the best model - try it first with a standard shorty wetsuit, or even a cut down triathlon wetsuit, and see if you like it.

Then match the features you think would be important to you, along with your budget, and hopefully you will end up with the best suit for your needs.

Swimrunning involves a lot of experimentation - what works for one person may not work for you - try different things and don't be afraid to do some clever hacks or even make your own kit.

Try with an entry level suit first like the ones mentioned here which are excellent value for money; then upgrade after a year or two.

A decent, well thought out wetsuit with loads of features helps of course, but is not the be all and end all and should be seen as an investment only once you're sure swimrunning is for you.

This post builds on our previous blog of how to repair small nicks and cuts in your wetsuit: how to repair major tears/rip in your beloved swim wetsuit.

There could be any number of reasons for your wetsuit ripping but it is normally because the wetsuit has been put under abnormal stress or is nearing it's end of life and the neoprone, stitching or nylon backing is degrading and this plus abnormal stress causes the suit to rip.

A rip or tear will either occur either along the seam or on a random part of the neoprene (more difficult to fix).

The best way to fix such damage is to first  patch the rear of the rip with a strong piece of neoprene.

TIP:

Never throw away old cuts of wetsuit! They come in really handy for this purpose.

In this example we used cut offs from old suits and cut strips to match the length of the rip. If  the rip is long, fix it in 2 or 3 sections.

Put a film of Black Witch onto both the patch and the wetsuit. Wait for each surface to dry to the touch, normally 2-3 minutes.

TIP:

Put some paper under the outer side of the wetsuit to stop the Black Witch from sticking through the rip.

When you have patched one section, move onto the next.

When you have done the sections, add a small nylon patch at the join, for extra strength.

When that's done and dried, turn the suit the right way and attend to the rip seam. Gently place a film of Black Witch along the rip edges. Use your finger or an applicator to reach right in and make sure all the surface is covered.

Gently press the rip together, making sure not to stick your fingers to the rip seam.

Allow a minute to stick and dry, and your rip is no more!

Gently touch off any excess Black Witch from around the rip seam and the rip becomes hardly noticeable.

Black Witch is very good and provides a strong bond on any neoprene and nylon surface.

Good luck and get fixing!

OK, so it sounds a bit daft to write a blog on how to put on a wetsuit, but as a swim club we meet a lot of people who have actually never worn one before and proper swimming wetsuits are very fragile and as a result of an end up damaged very quickly if they're not put on in the correct way.

So after lot's of putting on and taking off wetsuits in all manner of weather and environments, here's how we suggest you do it!

Step 1
Roll the body downwards exposing the openings of the two legs and put your first leg in all the way to the bottom of the leg. Slowly move the foot into the leg and gently ease the neoprene over the ankle. Gently move the neoprene up from the ankle over the calves and up to the knees.

Step 2
Gently ease the wetsuit up the legs all the way to the crotch making sure it's nice and fitting around the top of the thighs and bottom.

Step 3
Once you're happy with how the wetsuit fits in the crotch and around your bottom, gently ease into the top half by moving the suit up over your hips. move the suit carefully up over your ribs and chest and insert one of your arms into the armhole. work the hands through the sleeves by gently pulling them up from the wrist over the elbow up to the shoulder.

Step 4
Slowly move the neoprene up the arm to the shoulders making sure it fits well under the arms and is comfortable on the shoulders with the arms over the head.

Step 5
get a friend to do the zip up for you because they can help by pulling the back panels together and then pulling the zipper up. It is possible to do this by yourself but it does cause added stress on the wet suit, especially if you are not prticularly flexible at the shoulder blades.

Walk around move your arms practice dry land swimming motions just to get a feel for the wetsuit and find out if there are any tight spots.

Make sure the velcro fastener at the top of the zipper is closed and you're ready to go!

Oh, and if you have long fingernails we strongly recommend you use a pair of cotton gloves whilst doing all of this as it will prevent your nails digging in and ripping the neoprene. For this reason we also recommend removing all jewellery such as rings, bracelets and necklaces.

That's it, good luck!

Kit Review of Zone 3 Versa Swimrun Wetsuit

The Zone 3 Versa swimrun wetsuit is an entry-level swimrun wetsuit at a very affordable price of £169.

First impressions and indeed our opinion after much use is that it is a well-made wetsuit for this price range and it has a couple of nice features that can be found in suits of a more expensive price range.

The outside of the wetsuit is a combination of smooth neoprene, or nylon coated neoprene, which gives an extra toughness and will not rip if snagged on rocks or thorns.

The shoulders, back and rib sections are nylon coasted and will allow you to sweat and your skin breathe when you're running, which is very important.

This wet suit comes with detachable arms which is a great feature for this price range.

The chest and stomach panels are smooth neoprene, which we assume is for speed through the water.

The key difference between a swimrun wetsuit and a triathlon suit is that the rule differ in that swimrun suits are not designed to enhance performance, and thus they are a lot thinner of more flexible, plus the zip can be found on the front in a swim run suit.

This allows you to open the front panel as soon as you start the run sections, exposing the chest in order to take in cooler air and cool off during the runs, which can often be 8km+.

In swimrun, you swim and run in the same gear and there are no transition stops/gear drops or anything like in triathlons.

The zip is very well built and sturdy, however it would have been nice if Zone 3 could have included a whistle on the zip pull like many other brands do so that you do not have to carry this as a piece of extra kit.  (A whistle is mandatory kit).

Inside the wetsuit around about the rib area are two open topped pockets which can be used for gels/kit. However the positioning of these pockets (on this and other models/brands) is dubious because they are just under the ribs and thus cannot be packed too full else it restricts your breathing.

In fact, items in the pocket are often difficult to get out forcing you to stop.  We find it is just as easy and just as secure to stuff things inside the wetsuit around the same area without the need for the pockets. 

This wetsuit does have an exterior pocket, which is a very nice feature for this price range. It is found on the rear in the small of the back and the zipper fastens in a downwards direction. it's a great feature but we wish the zip was a little heavier as we have experienced situations where the zipper has been jolted upwards during running and the contents have dropped out of the pocket. Not often but it has happened.

The leg sections are a kind of rougher neoprene which has been cut specifically to allow extra leg movement for running, which we found to be very very comfortable for running long distances.

The only flaw with the wetsuit design in our opinion is the area between the thighs and crotch which zone 3 decided not to coat with a nylon surface. This means that smooth neoprene is rubbing against smooth neoprene at the top of the inner thighs and within three runs we had worn our suit through completely. 

This is a major design flaw in our opinion and many other brands even ones at the same price have nylon coating between the legs.

Our solution was to just wear a pair of tight running shorts during training over the wet suit, but of course this adds to resistance when swimming, so it is not suitable for competitions.

Apart from that, the bottom half of the suit is very sturdy and we have not experienced any other problems.

The Versa is a shorty wetsuit but does have slightly extended legs that cover the knees. We have mixed feelings about this, sometimes it's nice to cover the knees when you have to go under something and need to go on your hands and knees, but other times we like the flexibility of having exposed knees.

All in all though we feel this wetsuit is a really good starter wetsuit and apart from the inner thigh/crotch area it has performed extremely well during some long, tough training and competitions in our first year of swimrun.

You can watch the full video review below....

Watch It

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Swimming style or triathlon wetsuits are designed as they are to be more flexible to allow maximum movement during the swimming motion.

The downside of this is that they are often not much more than 3mm thick and in some cases such as the high end wetsuits, 1.5mm, which means they are especially prone to damage.

Over time and the more you use the suit, coupled with those instances where perhaps you forget or are too tired to maintain the suit after an event, the suit invariably takes a beating and starts to show signs of wear and tear.

Instead of going out to buy a new wetsuit though, it is possible to repair them and do so yourself, without spending lots of money.

And a few minutes later...!

In our experience the winter months see quite a bit of wear and tear for a few reasons: you're often in a hurry to get the suit off to warm up, more rocks around on the beach due to storms, more surf, more chance of falling over or scuffing on entrance/exit... and so on.

So our advice is this: look after your wetsuit, but when it does start to show signs of age, get on the case as soon as possible, fix it before the wear becomes a major problem, and the wetsuit should continue to last you for a few more seasons.