Fabric and brands

[JamesSwim]

I am buying Lycra/spandex swimsuits since they are more comfortable. The choice of fabric affects comfort as well as size and cut. I wear nylon suits mostly in whirlpool spas since it won’t degrade as much. Some PBT/polyester seems to be almost as comfortable as lycra/nylon.

Since lycra suits wear out, I end up trying out different ones to see what they are like and in this post I want to share what I found.

When I find something I like, I try to buy it again, but it is sometimes discontinued, so I’m trying to figure out if people know of other brands that are similar.

Brands differ in stretch and thickness, even if made with 80% Nylon/20% Lycra. Some loosen after swimming while others seem to hold their shape. So the weave & fabric and makes a difference.

I prefer heavier and thicker fabric as it gives more support. Any know of lycra suits that are thicker? I think that fabrics have gotten thinner recently. I don’t like the thin and flimsy ones, it just shows too many curves.

Most local stores carry Speedo or Tyr, so to try something different, I order on web sites.

Here were some ones I tried:

Agonswim, which outfits teams, has a good Polyridge (polyester/lycra) fabric, they allow you to buy suit by choosing fabric, lining, cut and print. They describe the fabric type and weight in detail on their catalog. They say that nylon absorbs water but polyester doesn’t. This one had narrow ridges in fabric.
There are two different Arena brands now – one from Japan and one from Europe.

Arena by Descente (Japan) made a dive style brief with a heavy matte Japanese fabric that I liked, but they don’t sell in the US anymore. (you can also buy low rise arena suits on eBay, mostly from Singapore)

Arena (European company) has a nylon/lycra fabric suit made from an Italian fabric by Carvico, which is soft and comfortable, but it fabric gets loose after swimming but snaps back after drying.

Nike had a polyester/nylon/lycra blend fabric which I liked, but I can’t find anymore.

Speedo had a polyester knit (not PBT & had no lycra) from a long time ago, but was comfortable, but not made anymore.

Worldwideaquatics (no longer in business) had a private label suit, but it was too thin. Perhaps other companies inexpensive suits are also thin.

Question:
I see other less popular brands out there such as GH Sports (run by person who founded Hind sportwear, and the suits are made in US), truWest, Head Sports, Parke and Ronen or EQ Swimwear. Anyone have experience with them?

Some brands (sold on swimoutlet) tout that they don’t use heavy metal additives in their fabric. That makes me wonder who uses it!