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!

[Swimmboy]

Truwest suits are also US-made - they make nice nylon suits that hold their shape, but the colors fade after several months. A California co. called Monsterpolo (www.monsterpolo.com) makes suits for water polo from a thicker, heavier fabric that supposedly is long-lasting and survives the tough battles of that game, and they come in some really cool designs.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

If you swim in a chlorinated pool, you can pretty much assume any lycra material suit is going to fade and wear out. Some are a little better than others, but if you swim daily, plan on 3 months of good wearing and then you are on borrowed time. Two things can help, rinse your suit reallly well after every swim, don't just shower in it, take it off and rinse it out. Do not wring it dry, let it dry on its own. Never put a lycra suit in a clothes dryer, and avoid washing it in detergent, unless you use swim suit cleaner. Also, make sure you don't throw the wet suit in a closed up bag where it can not dry out. Last point, sun lotions are awful for lycra... avoid getting excess on the suit.

You can get poly suits, they last longer, but they fit differently. Same applies to plain old Nylon, but they are not that common anymore.

I have found most designer suits just cannot hold up like the swimmer oriented brands (Speedo, Tyr, Nike, etc). Great for teh beach and sunning, and looking hot... but not for swimming workouts.

[JamesSwim]

Thanks for the reply on suit care. I agree that lycra suits eventually wear out so getting new ones is part of the routine and costs very little per swim.

Thanks for the pointer to water polo suit maker. It makes sense that they make thicker suits. It just never occurred to me to try them out.

[Byron]

Many suit makers named but as a WP specialist Turbo is also worth an enquiry
for heavier fabric.

[dorcas3]

I have one-fits great but very very snug-almost crowds junk-I don't understand the sizing-the guys that I see on teams are bigger (waist) than me and I barely can fit into XL!

[JamesSwim]

I got an Adidas brief that’s almost half Lycra & half Nylon fabric - which is an unusually high Lycra content compared to standard suits. Since it’s very stretchy, it fits quite well even though it seems downsized. It also feels sturdy -- not thin at all, so it seems like a good product.

A mystery: I wonder what was it made for? I don’t know of other briefs with this fabric blend and the labels don’t explain. Only other clothing made with similar fabric I found via a web search is a woman’s slimming Miraclesuit swimwear, or medical pantyhose for compression therapy. Since it may be designed for compression and also has Teflon treatment, maybe it’s a racing or competition suit. But today’s regular or technical competition suits don’t seem to have this fabric blend. But perhaps it’s a competition suit made long ago?

Maybe it’s from an old inventory being cleared out at discount. The store only had a few, and it was made in the US (so much is made in places like China now) so maybe it was left over from years ago. (It’s also not made like the ‘paper’ competition suits that I remember). Anyone remember if suits were ever made like this?

Or maybe it’s made for a different market but ended up sold in US. But that’s unlikely since it’s made in US and can’t find anything like this at any other store.

Maybe today’s suits are no longer made with this much stretch since they now use some different fabrics or design. If so it's interesting to see get hold of old inventory by chance.

Note: I bet probably won’t last long in chlorinated pools, but maybe the suit care instructions written here earlier will help.

[VTspeedo]

Has anyone here placed an order with TruWest? I am looking for a rubber polo suit and don't see it on the website but they have them in their catalog....just wondering. I sent an email to customer service as well.

[Dooley67]

JamesSwim,

I recently started swimming laps and have bought several suits that might be what you're looking for. The Nike Scatter Brain is a water polo suit that is 100% polyester and a lining that is 10% spandex and 90% polyester. These suits are true to size, don't expand at all in the water, and hold you in place. If your package is big you might want to go up one size.

The Turbo water polo suits are 55% PBT and 45% polyester. They also are true to size and have the same qualities as the Nike. Both about the same price.

I also got a Sporti water polo suit - the shell is 52% polyester and 48% PBT polyester while the lining is 95% polyester and 5% spandex; and a Sporti brief which only has the lining in the front. I find that both hold shape in water, support your package, and are true to size. I take a size 30 in all of these.

All of these suits are available either from Swimoutlet.com or DicksSportingGoods.com. They both have liberal return policies.

The Turbo was recommended to me by Turbofan and SwimTeam Speedo while the Nike and Sporti were recommended by STS. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these; they are all low cut in front but not so low in the back so your crack shows, and none have a pouch if you are looking for a modest suit. Sporti are less expensive than the others. Hope all this and the other posts help you make your decision.

Dooley67

[Byron]

I don't think you need to rely on TruWest VT - Speedo still seem to be in the market for one thing (I advise an enquiry to customer services however to check what remains available and at what outlets for you).
Rather than try to make a list for you just look at suppliers who show up in a Google search (go to images as well as web and type in rubber water polo suits for men)




(LOL - as a postscript on post #9 I hope James has made a decision in two and a half years
- and by the way Turbo was long ago recommended to him in post#5)