Being the type of suit that provides most of the advantages in using the principle of cold and heat absorption, wet suits seem to rank top among all choices.
But not all wet suits are alike. There are those that were specifically designed for SCUBA diving, surfing and those that are perfect for triathlon races.
From the suit's simplest form, they have undoubtedly morphed into varying classifications that optimize the use of wet and cold system.
Basic physics tell us that heat transfers from a hot object towards a colder one. This law is so simple that you can bet it and argue otherwise 'til your wit's end. No triathlon suit can prevent the exchange of cold and heat. After all, that is not the work they were intended to do. However, many are so entirely engineered to make as much delay of the heat transfer as physical science would allow.
It is critical for a triathlon swimmer to preserve as much heat as his suit will allow because delay (even by a second or two) can create a large discrepancy between you and the racer running before and after you.
The loss of heat in water are dependent on several variables including the total mass of the person's body, a person's physical exertion, the materials used in creating the triathlon suit and the temperature of the surrounding water itself.
The ideal triathlon suit, or any wet suit for that matter, is one that is made of three layers. The outer protective layer, the insulation layer and the wicking layer.
The outer protective layer is obviously the one that coats the whole of the suit. The more popular material used for this is the neoprene. This works well yet very delicate that simple scratches may actually cause the suit to get serious damages.
The insulation layer, on the other hand, appears in many varieties. The most usual choices include wooly bear, open-cell foam, type-B marine thinsulate, and radiant barriers.
The wicking material acts as the absorber of skin's moisture thus keeping the racers' skin dry. When the body is wet, it looses much heat than normal. The wicking layer of the skin prevents this from occurring.
