Hello, I haven’t been around these parts in a while, it’s changed a bit… Any hoo, I’ve been swimming a couple of times at Jesus Green Lido this year, however 15℃ and no wetsuit makes for a short and thus rather expensive swim. Given the river Cam is but a stones throw from my office, I figured I can get some open water swimming in for free, but would rather a wetsuit so I can stay in for longer.
I’m looking for something cheap and cheerful to get me in the water. As much as I’d love to drop £500 on a fancy pants one, I can justify that kind of outlay. So I was wondering if anyone had any experience with, or thoughts on either the Alpkit Terrapin, Lomo Challenger or one of the Decathlon ones?
I’m open to other suggestions…
Cheers,
Bob.
I cannot comment on any of them.
However, I had a Foor basic one when I first started out.
Ex-demo one, that must never have been worn in anger, as it was pristine.
At the time, I thought it was fine…however…when I tried a more expensive suit on (Zone3 Aspire), the difference was plain to see.
I then migrated to the B70 Helix, which was/is incredible.
Now, I own a second hand Huub Archimedes III (£80 from eBay, plus some Black Witch and neoprene to repair the nicks - which were included in the listing)
If you can live with it, then trawl eBay, as there are some absolute stunning suits on there from the one-and-dones.
Failing that, try the Huub Outlet (it’s online) as they do some suits dirt cheap (odd sizing, sleeveless, etc)
GOOD LUCK!
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No personal experience but I see a lot of DHB & Orca TRN from Wiggle at the lake I help at. They both get good reviews and the people with them seem happy to recommend them to others.
I’ve got a 2XU that I got in the sales in Oct/Nov for less than half price but if you want one for this season that’s probably no good to you, but it’s generally the best time to buy.
Speedo mid range suits are pretty good, but Id recommend testing some. Most local OW venues enable this. I also have a B70 Helix though and it really was worth the outlay.
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Huub have ex.demo suits on their site at pretty good prices
@Poet Hadn’t thought about eBay, looks like there’s some deals to be had on there…
@Matthew_Spooner I think our ideas of what constitutes a good price differ some what… 
Although they do an open water swimming suit for £100, so I’ll add that to the list of possibles.
Cheers,
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I paid 129 for a grade D Huub Archimedes in Feb 2016. I replaced it for this season because I am now too small for it, however, it was still in great condition
There are some really cheap suits on the site, you just need to get lucky with the size (50 for a XXS Huub aperitif seems quite cheap)
Shame there appears to be nothing under their ex-demo page, which I suppose is understandable as it’s the start of the season. I’m pretty sure I’m not XXS or XXL, so most of these good deals are only available for the outliers…
I get the feeling that I need to buy a whole bunch of them, try them out, then send all but one back… 
I may recommend that but I’ve never done it. My first was a cheap ex rental foor from TriUK. Cost £50. then i went out and bought the Helix after looking at their size chart.
Well, you snooze you loose. Payday comes and AlpKit are out of the Terrapin until mid July. On the plus side, I did stumble across the Orca Openwater Core. So today’s task is to find one in the correct size that’s actually in stock somewhere…
I use orca trn in the Lake District and cant fault it for £120 off of wiggle
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-trn-thermo-wetsuit-wiggle-exclusive/
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Foor basic one when I first started out.
I still have the foor quantum, I have sinky legs and always thought this was the best suit for me, the buoyancy is quite dramatic as you know.
With swim times improving very slightly and core strength much much improved it might be time for a “ better” suit.
Ideally great leg lift but more suppleness in the shoulders and chest
Recommendations?
I was looking at the Orca Openwater Core, which is roughly the same price. There was a chap wearing one at Milton Country Park on Friday, but he disappeared before I could get over and have a word. Not sure about the thermo bit…
I was at Milton Country Park testing an Alpkit Terrapin, as they suddenly got them back in stock. I’m roughly 172cm tall, 102cm round the chest and ~73KG in weight. The short & strong size fitted nicely up to the waist, was a little tight round the chest, but way, way, too short in the arms. Not sure how it would fit someone who’s 180cm tall. Sending it back today, hoping to exchange it for a try before you buy medium, hopefully that’ll not be too baggy.
I’d forgotten just how much buoyancy wetsuits give your legs…
I got size 9 my exact but I am about 192 cm (6ft 3 ) and 16stone with a 44” chest. This fits nicely but I’m currently dropping a lot of weight so might have to buy another in time 
As for length mine fits perfect again, just above the knuckle on the wrist and about 2” above the ankle.
Yeah buoyancy is awesome in them, feel like I’m gonna sink back in the pool
I hate the extra buoyancy, feels like I’m trying to dive to the bottom of the lake/river/sea. I fear that I’m going to end up spending gajillions on one of them fancy pants HUUB 4:4 suits… 
All wetsuits give extra buoyancy though
So after 1600 M yesterday my wetsuit started to take on water around the shoulder area.
Loosing weight and muscle mass is great for running but not for my wetsuit fit!
New suit needs buoyant legs, foor Quantum, is perfect but too big now
Could size down or go for something with more flexy shoulders and leg float?
Recommendations ?