BlueSeventy has created a swim suit made out of chloroprene and FINA has approved it. Obviously it does not assist in flotation or it would be deemed illegal. It is called the pointzero3. The approval letter can be read here: [Link].Here is a summation of what chloroprene is and used for:
Polychloroprene is the generic name for "neoprene, which a trademark of the Dupont company. chloroprene is used as a puncture resistant material for rubber gloves, condoms, boots, waders, surf and dive suits.
According to this press release snippet FINA has agreed to partner with BlueSeventy for their Open Water Swimming Grand Prix later this month. Here is a snippet from the press release:
"... FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup 2008 New partnership FINA-blueseventy Lausanne (SUI), January 7, 2008 - Blueseventy™, the world's leading open water swim-skin and wetsuit company, will become the official partner of the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup Series 2008. FINA President Mustapha Larfaoui says the partnership with BlueSeventy is an exciting development for marathon swimming ..."
Here is a link to the actual FINA approval letter: [Link]
Here is a gallery of what the suit looks like: [Link]
I got an email from a person at BlueSeventy who gave me the following information about the swimsuit:
"... What makes out product so different is essentially the fabric the garment is constructed of. We use a three layer construction, the base layer is known as jersey and is basically a nylon/lycra fabric, the middle layer is chloroprene rubber and the top layer is nano scs; (a layer not a coating). The properties ensure the suit is very slippery in the water (the coefficient of friction of the garment is lower than any traditional swim skins currently on the market). ..."
I love to hear what Merritr has to say; she knows the dark arts of Wave drag, pressure drag and friction drag.
I was offered to try one of these suits and give BlueSeventy feedback but I replied that I would have to pay for it first so I could maintain credibility; (I run no advertising and I have no profit interest in this blog), Consequently I didn't hear back.
About.com did all the heavy lifting on this post. Original article can be seen here: [Link]
4 comments:
I do find the suit interesting. Maybe at some point I will give one a try. While I do believe in the science behind the development of more advanced swim suits. I do still think the technological benefits must be weight against swimmer comfort. Thus is the reason why I don't particularly like full leg suits like the Speedo Fastskin (when/if I wear one I go for the racer back, no zipper, no legs or sometimes knee length). However, off the bat it seems that the pointzero3 material might have more give than other suits, thus allowing for better range of motion and better feel.
I wore a Fastskin leggings during an 800 SCM and let me tell you, they are only good for 200 yards. After that it's like a drag suit.
I would like to try one of these too, the crux will be flexibility and water resistance. If it saturates it will be really heavy. I know the chloroprene want saturate but the lycra layer may.
I will miss the Aquashift suit.
Two things. Tony, this weekend i wore the Speedo Fastskin leggings in my 1500, 800 and 400 and boy they made a difference. I was never big into these tech suits but now i'm a believer.
As for the Blue70. Glen Mills wore one this weekend and he broke one record after another. i think the blue70 may steal speedo lzr's thunder
You could put a sumo mawashi on Glenn Mills; (but please don't), and he would set a breaststroke record.
I surprised you had a good experience with the Fastskin at those distances. Was it the Fastskin II Pro?
The blueseventy is promising but I heard mixed reviews for pool swims.
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