Jenny at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas after Wetsuit Purchase
So I’ve been going back and forth over the whole wetsuit thing for a while now. To buy one or not? Finally decided to buy one. Then which one to buy? And how to buy? Or to rent?
Basically, I plan to do enough tris that rental costs would add up quickly and be more than a purchase price. Plus I want to have the suit available to me for practice and to become comfortable in it. And even though I have a few friends who’ve done a number of tris with no suit, I have so many people encouraging me to get one not just for warmth, but for bouyancy as well, that I decided to go ahead and buy.
Early in June someone on Twitter posted a sale link to xTerraWetsuits. Half price deal on some of their popular, top-of-the-line suits (sale ends June 29, 2009 but it looks like they’ll be having additional promos in July). I was infatuated really with the Vortex 3 full suit. But afraid to order online without trying on.
Me in my New Wetsuit - not the most flattering but...
Friends on Facebook and Twitter encouraged me to go to a local shop and try wetsuits on, rather than order online. So I did go to a local bike shop on Wednesday and try on some wetsuits. Quite an adventure.
Still, enamored with the Vortex 3, I looked on their site and saw they did have walk-in hours at their San Diego location. So an expedition for Friday was planned, to drive down there, try suits on, and if I liked, buy one. There was an investment of time (about 3.5 hours in freeway traffice all told for the day), but got a suit that I like and I know it fits and a good price. I’m happy with the results.
We left the house a bit after 11 am on Friday June 26th and made it to their offices before 1 pm. They were really helpful and nice. The one thing I regret is that I made a fingernail tear in my new suit just trying it on, and I was incredulous as I was being SOOOO careful. But the employee said it is very easy to make these. I got some instructions and materials for patching it and it is already patched.
We left there at 1:30 pm with a new suit, got gas and headed back north. Jenny was with me, and we stopped at Giovanni’s on the 101 Hwy for lunch in Encinitas and then spent some time at the beach there before getting back in the car to power the rest of the way home.
Moonlight Beach in Encinitas where we stopped after lunch
Since I’ve written the above I’ve already been to the beach twice with my wetsuit and tried it out. Will have to write about that next…
