Speedo Solar
 

I heard that the Speedo Solar was made so competitive swimmers and divers could tan in something smaller than they would wear in competition but still covered enough to be legal anywhere. Has anyone else heard this?

I wear 1.5 to 2" while on holiday in the Caribbean with pride:D

That is really a wild story. First, while divers often wear a regular speedo for practice and then a diving suit during competition, there was no suit created for just such a purpose. It was probably a matter of economics since the regular speedos were considerably less money than the competition suits.(Diving suits used to be much larger than swimming suits and a very thick spandex type material. They were designed to remain in place when the diver entered the water) Legal?? According to all the conversations on this board through the years there is no place that a speedo is illegal -- no matter what the side measures -- and to my knowledge, no diver has worn a thong when diving - practice or competitive.
The Solar was a natural progression in size when the suits went from 5" to 3" etc. as the briefer suits gained popularity. Actually, the US franchise of Speedo made a 1.5 inch all nylon suit long before the current lycra suits gained popularity.

My AB classic 1.5 arrived yesterday and when I put it on I was glad that I had ordered size Small rather than my usual Medium. Even the small is not as tight as the Sporti, Turbo or Nike sits that I have. Although not as low cut as I expected, the fit is good.

Trying it on dry there has a VPL which made me a bit uneasy so I wore it in the shower and surprisingly there was no VPL. So, tomorrow I'll wear it to swim my laps at the Y - I'm looking forward to seeing how swimming in a nylon suit feels after so many years. And I don't expect any negative reactions.

Will post my reaction.

D67

the nylon suits fit a lot different than the lycra blends. Just looking at the pictures of the models on the AB site you can see that. Generally they are a little looser than the lycra and lets your package move a bit more. If you get a chance try one in your usual medium and feel the difference.

Caussie
 

For 100% Nylon try Caussie!

I wore the AB today for laps and even found the size Small to be too baggy and I didn't like that my package moved around. The drawstrings also needed to be retied several times until I did a double knot which worked but was bulky and uncomfortable - I'm very tactiley sensitive to how any article of clothing feels on my body, so it has to be just right for me to be comfortable. It's pretty clear now that I prefer Lycra and elasticine suits. The nylon did feel good in its being so light in the water. Probably won't wear it again for laps but it would be great for the beach or for tanning.

And as I expected, I had absolutely no problem at my Y with the 1.5 so I might be motivated to buy some other 1.5 suits in the fabrics I prefer.

D67

Hey Dooley,
I've found that the newer string on Aussiebums is lose as well, but I've found that by holding the 2 loops and the strings that go around your waist at the same time that you can tighten the not enough for a regular bow tie to work. ;)

I had the same problems with the AB suit, Dooley. Then one day I put in on and noticed there was a hole in the side - probably because the material's too thin. Didn't wear that again. Anyway, the Hom suits are superior in every way, so I will stick with them.

Hey area51tazz,

I tried the AB suit again last week, tied a really tight double knot and it was fine. So today, I decided to try a single knot the way you suggested. It worked for the first 23 laps. Then in my last 2 laps the suit felt loose especially when I turned and pushed off the wall and it seemed lower in front than when I started my swim - didn't think much of it. When I got out of the pool, I discovered that the knot had become untied and it probably would have just been a matter of time before it worked its way down. Only double knots from now on...lol

D67