REVIEW: TYR Hurricane Cat 5 Sleeveless

Last year I had the pleasure of discovering the Tyr Hurricane Cat 5 wetsuit.

Sort of hard to say "Discover," since the Hurricane was the hottest selling suit over the winter of 2010. Tyr's entry into the market took athletes by storm, and right off the bat, about 40 pros signed up. That is something when the suit had not even been released yet, but a lot of it had to do with understanding how hard Andy Potts had been working on helping design the suit from the ground up, as well as Tyr's stellar reputation as a company committed to excellence.

It had been a long process for me. I had been coming from a Quintana Roo Superfull which I loved but was now too big, and other suits I had tried, from the Orca 3.8 and Alpha to the Blue Seventy Helix, just did not fit right. Especially in my shoulders.

Now for the record, I am built more like a football or hockey player than the typical triathlete, and with 18" calves, 28" thighs and 48" chest, I tend to be in the upper end of suit sizing. I am still carrying about 25 extra pounds and working on that, but even as the waist goes down, it will take years and years, if at all, before a lot of my muscle mass changes.

So the first time I tried on the Tyr Hurricane (the Cat 3 for starters) the first thing I could notice was the freedom in the shoulders. Long story short... The suit was comfortable, my swimming seemed effortless, and I LOVED doing open water swims... In fact, the hardest part for me was come the middle of summer, when the New England air and water temps just got too hot to where a full wetsuit. I had gotten to know a couple of the Tyr reps, from races at Quassy to other chance encounters, and I frequently would needle them, "Hey, when are you going to release a sleeveless version?" I had even contemplated picking up a used or damages suit and cutting off the sleeves. Just wait. Tyr will be releasing one at Interbike I was told.

Prayers answers.

This spring, my sleeveless version arrived.

First impression. The suit looks good. As great as the full sleeve version is style wise, the sleeveless suit is equally attractive. I also noticed that Tyr had included a carrying/drying case as well as had made some subtle improvements in the Core Stabilization Panels. The real test would come in the water.

To be honest... I started second-guessing my desire for a sleeveless suit. I really loved swimming in my full sleeve suit, and started to wonder how much "flushing" the sleeveless suit would have with water coming through the shoulders, etc, as well as just the "balance" of the suit.

The temperatures in New England come end of June really started to spike. Days were now high 80s and low 90s as well as high humidity. Quassy had been a full suit race for me with the chilly air temps and 69 degree water, but with my small sprint race coming up, The Dam Triathlon, it was finally time to break out the sleeveless Cat 5 in Lake Gardner.

So what did I think?

Well lets just say that the suits have different "feels" to them, but that is not a bad thing. It would be like comparing a Ducati to a Ferrari. They are both fast, both agile, and each has a perfect fit. Regardless. It often comes down to a matter of "preference" between two such agile competitors.

The first thing I noticed with the sleeveless version was just how great the balance was. I am still learning to be a competitive swimmer. While my body position is improving, with the sleeveless what I really noticed was the buoyancy in the legs. I really felt a horizontal position in the water and less drag from the legs. As great as the full sleeve version is in this area, the sleeveless version excels here.

The second thing I noticed was even more improved fit around the neck. With the full sleeve version, I get some occasional light rubbing around my neck, but with the sleeveless version, this was perfect. The suit had no rubbing, chaffing or any discomfort.

The other part that I really loved which was one of my initial fears was no flushing of water. Maybe it is more from my scuba diving and windsurfing background, but I thought I would feel slight movement of water throughout the suit because of the extra opening areas. To the contrary, I felt nothing of the sort.

In summary, just love the suit. If I had to choose between the two versions, I don't know if I could, and thankfully I don't have to. For colder water and temps I have the full sleeve Cat 5, and as the water and air get warmer and overheating becomes more of a concern, I have the sleeveless version to allow for more skin surface to be cooled by the water.

Is their anything Tyr could have done better? Only thing I can think of off the top of my head is offering a package deal on both suits; Both suits excel in performance and compliment a range of water/air conditions.

My Heroes Are Different

In many ways, I have always looked at life a little differently than most. Somewhere along the way, probably from finally absorbing the diligent teaching and love of my parents, I came to a place where there was balance and peace in my life. For the most part.

My life is far from perfect, but I generally start every morning being grateful. I still may be trying to shed some pounds to get in to solid racing shape for triathlons, and am fighting metabolism issues, but over all I have my health, my mind, a capacity to think and reason, the ability to express myself, and so many great friends and acquaintances. In short, I found that maintaining perspective and understanding the abundance of what we possess is often over looked. My car may not be overly fancy, but then again, it also does not double as my home, though the clothes, towels, and empty Vita-Coco bottles may tell a different story, and that blanket in the back seat is for wrapping and protecting my tri-bike. But I digress.

One of the greatest gifts I received when I started doing triathlons is discovering the whole world of people who over come such daunting odds. Probably the first I came across was Rudy Garcia-Tolson, who was the first double-above the knee amputee to finish a full Ironman. Even more remarkable, when Rudy was a child, because of the degenerative disease in his legs, he faced the decision of life in a wheel chair or lose most of his legs. I am not even sure if today as an adult 7 times older than Rudy was then I would be capable of not feeling sorry for myself.

The list becomes to long to count in fact. It can be humbling a bit to realize you got beat by a blind man, but it also inspires you to just what we are capable of.

Truly our only limits are the ones we accept for ourselves.

Life tends to get in the way at times... And with so many of these incredible athlete, sometimes you can lose track. There always seems to be someone at a race you never heard of who has an inspiring story. These stories and lives are my fuel. When I have doubts, my damaged knees are not doing to well, I have a mountain of reasons, stories and examples to push along and persevere.

A recent blog by a pro triathlete coming back from an injury got me thinking of about one of my heroes I have not thought of in a while... His name is Byron Breeze Jr. I found him when I first started doing my journey into triathlons and was struggling with a battery of knee issues. Needless to say, he changed my perspective, but in knowing his story, his courage, and his amazing perspective of life, I had forgotten one piece; A documentary was being made about him.

Now it went into Post Production last year, and I am sure with the economy, the gears are running just a little more slowly... but this is a film I have been waiting for over three years now. Not Harry Potter. Not Transformers. The film I am really really dying to come out is about a man's life... Some many would look at with pity, some many would just try to ignore rather than deal or interact, but to me, he has been a hero, not just for his courage to do triathlons with out hands and legs... Yes. He is a quadrapalegic, but because of his perspective of life and how he rises above so much, when others with far more physically capabilities get mired in the minutia of things that just don't really matter.

The trailer of the film can be found here: http://halfasoulja.com/soulja_trailer

And how I first came across Byron was the New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/nyregion/22training.html

Just be warned. He will change your life. You can not come to know him without changing your view of the world, and your problems may not go away, but in most cases they should become just a little bit lighter