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I was looking for a wetsuit and found a guy selling a triathlon wetsuit

is this type of wetsuit ok for kiting? http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com/men-s-p143679

I wasn't sure how durable they are around the waist area where there's a lot of friction from the harness. Should I just look for a suit specifically made for kiting?

any wetsuit is fine, but rash guard is what you want to prevent wear or just a tshirt if u go tshirt make sure you use boardies for the full on kiter look

trianthlon suits are often slick on the outside ( meaning, slick neoprene ) NOT resistant at all !

i would say, if you are in the right thikness for your water temp of course, the right suit is the one that suits you !

i mean, if you feel opressed in it, if you cant breathe right in it, or if the fisrt thing you want to do if get out of it once done kiting, then, it's not the right one !

i could spend the day in mine, it's comfy, follows my mooves, and does not restraing my bloodflow on hands or feets ( it might not be as tight as the sales man wanted me to get it, but i feel good in it, that's the main point )

i woudl say, dont use ols suits and specially not old diving suit ( as they dont stretch good and sometimes dont stretch in all directions ). new ones are WAY more elastic.

as for durability, well, mine has knee pads made out of thick cloth, nice when you knee on the beach to prepare your gear. and a front zip entry cross chest that is 100 percent water tight , PITA to getin and out but, comfy and no zip on the back to make pressure points with the harness ( like some surf suits will do )

last thing, board shorts : yes, they are for the look, but ( i ride in a seat so, look, outch ) they are to protect your suit, better tear a 40 dollas short then a 300 dollars suit. and, they have pockets !!

chears

Can you use a wakeboard to kiteboard? sure but it sucks unless its really windy.

Firstly, a good surf/kite wetsuit can almost always be found for pretty reasonable prices year round with very little leg work. They are probably the best bang for your buck gear we use! I bet you can find a suitable suit for 100 bones if you try hard enough and definitely a great one for 200 within 10 min of starting your search.

Don't bother with a triathlon suit. Have owned a few and would never used one for kiting or any other water sport than pure swimming for speed. They are fragile first and foremost, but they are built to make you swim fast not necessarily stay real warm. Those guys don't race in real cold water and are doing an aerobic activity that generates a lot of heat so warmth and durability are bottom of their spec sheet. Swim speed, and easy exit are what they are built for so they tend to be mid calf, thick through the core and legs for buoyancy and slick skin throughout and meant for delicate use. Many are sleeveless, many have no real stitching or taping in the seams and are not designed for the hip and leg range of motion that you will do routinely while kiting.

I would imagine that any of my triathlon suits would have blown out in the ass and crotch pretty quick while not providing anywhere near the warmth that my simple surf suit does. To put it in perspective, I would never sit down in my triathlon suit because the neoprene was so easy to damage. Even putting it on takes a certain degree of caution that I just don't even come close to when gearing up to kite.

Even if it were free, it would be a shame to waste a good suit.

Just my opinion.

thanks starsky, you bring up some points.

I kinda thought they might be too fragile for kiting.