Karen writes: I've put the wetsuit away

I packed up my wetsuit, it was rinsed and dried after that lovely lake swim in Taupo and I have now carefully rolled it, tucked it into its mesh bag and have stuck it at the back of the wardrobe. The next time I look at it will be much later in the year when we start training for the Rotorua half Ironman which we have already signed up for.

I admit to having a love hate relationship with my wetsuit. Because I loathe swimming in a pool, I'm lucky to live by a good swimming beach, but while a quick dip on a nice day without a wetsuit is one thing, swimming km after km in any weather condition is something else and the neoprene skin makes a big difference.

Now I've learned a little about wetsuits having spent many hours encased in the things in recent years and having successfully managed to destroy a few. I usually buy relatively unused second-hand for very low cost, hoping to get a year of swimming out of each one. It is amazing how many people invest a heap then only use them a couple of times. My wetsuits have a hard life, what with my only training being in the sea which is obviously the complete opposite of what most swimmers do. Initially I didnt care about the purported quality, or if the suit is for a male or female, but now I have found the brand and size that suits me best so I target it and am more inclined to look after it a bit better. What I've learned (so far) about the mysterious world of the wetsuits...

• Just because wetsuits are traditionally known for needing you to be a contortionist to get them on doesn't mean some aren't worse than others. They are all meant to be pretty tight but if you are mucking around with plastic shopping bags, requiring quantities of expensive lube, ending up with your knee in your ear to get the thing on and then needing three people and a crowbar to close the zipper...perhaps a different sort or different size will work better.
• likewise, the shape of some wetsuit brands work better with your body than others. It takes a bit of experimentation to find out which compresses your insides in all the wrong places and then allows great sloshy water balloons to form in others.  Just because everyone seems to be wearing the brand that shows up most frequently at events doesnt mean it's the best for you. Male and female versions...I have no waist and the mens styles can suit me better.
• If your wetsuit gets so big for you that you get yourself a smaller one...think very carefully about getting rid of your larger version.  It doesnt take many kilograms to turn comfortable into impossible!
• Fingernails and wetsuits do not go together. Having said that, fingernail holes dont mean the wetsuit is in danger of imminent collapse, I'm not convinced that I swim any slower because there are a few nicks in the neoprene.  Obviously a different story for those for whom milliseconds matter.  
• The latest wetsuits are more fragile than the older ones...and the most exciting claims about super performance in the water seem to  be directly related to fragility as well.  Lots of coloured decoration may not be helpful to longevity, my latest wetsuit has silver on the arms and that bit is guaranteed to stick to itself when the wetsuit is folded up resulting in tearing.
• A bit of contact adhesive and a needle and thread can extend the life of a wetsuit with holes and splits. Not sure I would recommend this if you have invested in a really expensive, top of the range item, but it works for me...especially when the repair at the shop would cost more than I spent on the wetsuit.  
• Similarly, I have had a couple of wetsuits where the zipper bit pops off the end, I line the teeth up and put the zipper bit back on and glue and a bit of stitching helps that too. Not pretty, but does the trick.
  
• And a word of warning...superfix type glues do not work with wetsuits...unless you want sad looking melted bits and stuck-on white powdery stuff.
• I take my wetsuit in the shower with me to rinse then hang it out on a hanger on the deck.  The instructions say dry in shade, there is a reason for this...heat tends to melt the rubber together and funnily enough sun and black stuff...generates quite a bit of heat. I actually know this myself having practiced it.  I understand that Kate has done a similar experiment leaving her wetsuit in her car...all in the name of scientific exploration of course.