Skin for Dynamics

[DivingDane]

B-J that suit along with the 2mm version look VERY interesting and very similar to the Orca RS1 i'll be giving one a try when my RS1 dies which shouldnt be too far away. b ut glad to see we still have some options.

DD

 

[Steinar]

As the first person to ever set a world record with a triathlon suit (2001 Orca Predator), I have watched progression of triathlon suits in the last 8 years. However, what I want still does not exist. My comments:

1. For freediving, no wetsuit that has sleeves can ever be ideal. The energy needed to extend the arms is too great, no matter how flexible the material. If the water is cold enough to warrant sleeves, then the *only* practical solution would be to use a sleeveless suit, with Quintana Roo separate sleeves, which thus leave the shoulder uncovered.

2. Heat loss through the head is very large, especially in colder waters or in cold thermoclines. In those situations an integrated hood is ideal.

If I were creating a 'freediving' line of triathlon style suits, I would offer four versions:
1. Sleeveless, hoodless, 1mm
2. Sleeveless, hoodless, 3mm
3. Sleeveless, with hood, 1mm
4. Sleeveless, with hood, 3mm
+ separate sleeves like the Quintana Roo sleeves, as an extra option
+ extra vest option

"2. Heat loss through the head is very large, especially in colder waters or in cold thermoclines."

This is a bit of topic
I always thought the same until I read this article:
Heat Loss Through the Head and Hypothermia Wilderness Medicine Newsletter

Maybe vasoconstriction makes the difference?

 

[trux]

I apologize in advance if someone gets offended by the pictures, but I can assure you that I mean my question seriously. Well, it is no secret that there are also other similar types of suits than just neoprene diving, or triathlon wetsuits. There are also manufacturers who produce latex fetish suits. Having seen the attached photos, I wonder whether they are finally not better suited for dynamic competitions than classical neoprene wetsuits we are used to.

And since in the past, I saw that some DB members apparently belong to the fetish community, I wonder if anyone already tried such suits for freediving. They look perfectly streamlined, seamless, extremely slick, well fitting, and quite thin and stretchy. From my uneducated view, they look pretty good for our purpose (and no, I do not mean just because of the models, though I admit they are pretty too). The question is how they behave in chlorine or salty water, what their life span is, and how stretchy they really are.

As for their price - I just tried looking some of such wetsuits in Google Products, and were surprised they do not even seem to be expensive. Actually the prices are rather quite a bit below those of triathlon or freediving wetsuits - I see them often around $120, though of course I have no idea what quality they come in. On the other hand, there seem to be a big variety of custom models. Many of them come with an integrated hood (also looks perfectly streamlined), and there are even models with removable sleeves, like Eric desired. Additionally, they also often have a zipper in the crotch, which although it may look rather vulgar, it may be pretty practical when you sometimes need to wait longer time in the suit before your top time, allowing you to go to the toilets without the tiring putting it off and on again.

Although it would be funny to see the next competition transformed into an SM party, I would be really interested in knowing whether the suits fit our needs technically. If any expert here on the forum could peek in and tell us what he thinks, it would be appreciated.

 

[vali]

...and how much thermal insulation can provide...[in the first picture, the zipper goes all the way down ]

 

[trux]

Just that's what I do not find important at all for the dynamic apnea. Personally, I use the wetsuit only for improving the glide. I tried 3mm wetsuit and could not stand it - was too warm with it. The 1mm Orca is fine - not too warm. I suppose the latex suit is less insulating, but from my perspective it is rather an advantage, especially if it is more stretchy, and better gliding.

 

[Fondueset]

Has anyone (besides the dude with the gas mask on youtube) used a Cressi Glaros for freediving?

 

[chrismar]

Trux, that's the funniest post I've seen in a long time. I know you're serious, but that just adds to the humour

They'd probably work too, though I'm not going to give it a nudge just yet...

 

[TimoP]

I try to be serious...
I wonder if those are strechy enough in critical places -armpit and shoulder - for streamlining in DYN and DNF?

I don't know the material but looks hot in trux pics ...I mean cool... or it depends. Maybe trux you can get there an latex suit exhibition in Denmark WC, just say them there is a huge market potential among freedivers for these kind of suits. Don't forget to mention that gliding and streching features are valuated very high among this special customer group.

 

[trux]

I develop ecommerce software that is used by thousands of vendors, and one of my regular customers happens to build websites for this type of industries. I just contacted him with some questions, so indeed I do not exclude you will see me in Denmark in a funny costume I am not sure yet, whether the gas mask that usually comes with the costumes will be permitted under AIDA rules. But knowing Linda is one of the judges, I am pretty inclined to believe she will permit it.

 

[azapa]

to be honest trux, and you are a great guy and all, i can think of some other (female) competitor I would rather see in the test suit... I will start asking around, I think I know of a couple I can convince..

 

[TimoP]

.... I do not exclude you will see me in Denmark in a funny costume I am not sure yet, whether the gas mask that usually comes with the costumes will be permitted under AIDA rules. But knowing Linda is one of the judges, I am pretty inclined to believe she will permit it.

It's rather so now, that Linda may require you trux to use this kind of latex suit with a gas mask and the Kiwi cap ... so she can get those funny humiliating pics to her web site. Trux, better take that gear with you if you don't want to take a risk to be disqualified!

You can hope that just a private show for Linda is enough, it's aka "Linda's personal judge briefing for selected hot guys".
Edit: Altough it's a pool competition, you should't be surprised, if Linda will have there a rope and 2-4 lanyards just for testing things with you in private :blackeye rofl
And the whole world can see from Linda's web site what happened there...

Your first AIDA WC surely will be a very special and unforgettable experience for you !

Maybe we unconsciously knew that you trux will not come out to the WC just like an average traditional comp freediver. You really have the latest knowledge of the right way to freedive, and you will not be ashamed to show it again!

 

[TimoP]

Maybe some other freediver has been in this kind of embarassed true situation, too:

I was looking parts for new lanyards. I went to a pet shop to look if they had waterproof collars for dogs' neck.
(They had, worth of trying for lanyards!)

A shop assistant asked me:
- For what kind of dog do you need it?
- Not for a dog, I need it for a human...I'll use it myself!
She looked me very slow and said nothing....
I blushed because I realized just then what she was thinking.

I tried to explain:
- I mean, I need just a little one so I can put it around my wrist. I put there an steel wire, which I attach to a strong long rope, so ...
She looked me even slower with that special look on her face...

- I mean, I do it in water, and I try to be there under water as long as I can, even minutes. It's hard and I can get a black out, and then my buddy can use that rope and steel wire...
(Oops, I though, maybe freediving is not so familiar to an average people than we use to think...)
- This hobby is called freediving.
Then she said slowly with still that look on her face:
-I see.
Then she continued:
-Maybe we have something suitable for THAT purpose, too.

Damn, why we have so extremly strange sport as our hobby!
I'm not interested in that kind of SM things, I'm interested in freediving and safety.
I still hope it is not some weird SM-thing as I sounds to be with black rubber suits, masks, lanyards in wrists, steel wires, strong ropes, heavy metal collars around neck (of course covered with black rubber!), black rubber belts with metal weights, discomfort, contractions, blue lips, "sambas" (just tell them what it means in our hobby...), black outs, etc.
rofl

BTW seriously:
In theory there can be little (just marginal) benefit of using latex gloves in DYN and CWT. But not in DNF, CNF or FIM.
Probably gloves should be put over sleeves when using them in dynamic (streamlined). Using just latex gloves isn't so hard image thing to an average comp freediver. So trux, try to get some to Denmark WC for testing. Maybe they give some pairs to you for free for marketing purposes! Of course there are shops were you can test them dry, but for me that pet shop experience was shameful enough!

I had some ideas of using a gas mask in static, but let it be
Static is weird enough for other people already.
It would be better in AIDA rules to be anyway: Using a mask in static is not allowed.

After trux's ideas we should have now two different categoris for so called unashamed freediving...maybe style points included.

 

[Mullins]

I had a similar reception when I went to a sports store and said I was looking "for a weight, for my neck. So that I don't keep floating back to the surface".

 

[apneaboy]

I had a similar reception when I went to a sports store and said I was looking "for a weight, for my neck. So that I don't keep floating back to the surface".

And leaving a store with various lubricants, including hair conditioner, even though i barely have a tuft of hair on my head after my no-guard hair cut

 

[TimoP]

I had a similar reception when I went to a sports store and said I was looking "for a weight, for my neck. So that I don't keep floating back to the surface".

Fortunally we don't have a discipline called Deep Static (DST), with a rule that you must be attached by a lanyard (e.g using a dog's collar) to a heavy bottom weight, made of concrete or metal, to make sure that you stay in place on the bottom of a lake or a sea...until you release yourself.
Just imagine people watching an under water pic of that "performance" in a newspaper: "Oh God, this poor one is sleeping with the fishes!". After reading the article, it will become obvious to the reader that he/she in the pic is not dead yet, altough training it hard.

Once I read a comment of an average person, who had first time read about static:
It's about the same kind of "sport" if there would be a competition where you first should drink 2 L beer, and then they take time how long you can hold your urine!"
No wonder, if there has been that kind of competition, the World is full of strange people doing weird things! :martial :blackeye

 

[trux]

I asked Orca about the wetsuits Russians had at the WC, so am passing the reply to others too:

The garments the Russians were wearing is constructed from a polyurethane. They were actually first worn by some of the NZ guys in Egypt and are based on a garment we made for non wetsuit Ironman triathlon races. The Russian women saw them in Egypt and asked if we could supply them. We don't make them in production at the moment, so they aren't available to purchase. But again, it's a prototype development we are working on. The main benefit of the polyurethane is that is has an incredibly low drag coefficient, so has excellent hydrodynamics.

 

[Hanada]

Did someone tryd a Arena Powerskin?

 

[Fondueset]

Trux - I think I used one of those down at Dean's Blue Hole. It enabled me to not boil to death in the hot water down there and was amazing to swim in- and I dare say I'm one of handful of people in the world who can get into one unassisted! (only if nobody is looking) Orca does have some specialized freediving suits in the pipeline.

 

[titan]

I'm envy rrrrrr
I will buy a yingfa sleveless skin cheap and great and cold the cost is 100 E

 

[titan]

by the way the new suit is incredible thin we can even see your nipples foundueset but what about that glide?

Foundueset I officially promote you to DB equipment consultor