Say hello to my new best friend

My swim training is progressing, and I feel that I've passed the critical threshold where I can breath comfortably while swimming. My goal right now is to be able to swim a relaxed continuous pace while breathing comfortably. I think I have another week to go until I can do a lap or two of this. It's big progress from where I started at the beginning of my training. Of course, I'm still far away from being able to swim 350m in open water with manic strangers flapping their limbs around me. This brings me to the the topic of wetsuits.

In early January, I will have the opportunity to buy one of these wetsuits. Both are from blueseventy, which I am told is a good brand for triathlon wetsuits. I've mulled about whether to rent or buy a wetsuit, and I feel that I need to be comfortable in my wetsuit and we will need some "bonding time", so I'm opting to buy. There are 2 models I am considering. The first is an entry level wetsuit called the "sprint". This is aimed specifically at me, the new triathlon guy on a budget. It has a "get the job done" kinda look to it. For $80 more, I can go for the next model up, which is the "reaction". It looks a little nicer, and no doubt is slightly better quality. It has a feature that traps little air bubbles in the suit that help keep you floating and warm if you are in cold water.

blueseventy sprint

blueseventy reaction

I'm still undecided. I'm leaning towards the reaction wetsuit, because the sprint looks a little basic. I admit that it's overkill for someone of my swimming ability, but I'm seeing this as an investment. I'm planning to do 3 triathlons in 2009, and I really don't want to cheap out on the wetsuit. After all, this wetsuit is all that stands between me and a drowning.