So, in the time I've been a member of this forum I have never seen a debate about this, though I feel it could have be rehashed a thousand times.
For practice and regular meets, what are your suit preferences?
For practice: I usually do a brief with a drag suit. If I'm out of shape or my quads are hurting, I'll use a jammer for the extra compression.
For regular meets: I usually do whatever the team suit is, which has varied over the years. I prefer the brief because of more flexibility.
In big competitions*:, I would use a leg skin and if I had the need to buy one today, I'd probably go with a tech jammer.
*Regionals, States, Nationals, etc
For practice I use primarily speedo endurance products. Regular meets I go for the speedo xtra-life or aqua blade.
I used to get a lot of crap for wearing a brief, but now I feel like they're making a comeback. I like to think I converted some people on my high school team. Actually, the only person who really gives me crap anymore are my friends who don't swim and my girlfriend (who does swim). She says the ugliest part of a guy is the upper outside thigh the brief doesn't cover.
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Former Member
That's funny, I view jammers as goofy and uncool. Now after reading comments in this thread about how uncomfortable they are and the way they make a pull buoy slip out, I am even less inclined to wear them.
When I first started swimming as an adult, I wore baggy shorts.. the typical "lounge" swimsuits that they sell in department stores. I remember vividly the first time I wore a speedo to the pool at the Y. The feeling of exposure, nakedness, abnormality. But then, nobody really seemed to notice or care, because of course it's a pool and speedos are the norm. Once I jumped in the water and felt the extreme difference in streamline, body position, and ease in the water, I was hooked.
Now I wear all kinds of training briefs, racing briefs, drag suits, multicolored, whatever. I'm one of those people. The guy who shows up at the pool at 5 PM in the crazy multicolored brief with patterns all over it, toting a swim bag full of paddles, fins, etc, swimming IM and fly while sharing the lane in a crowded pool. (all of that actually happened today)
One time I was in Seattle "spending some time with the family" and we stopped by a park on Lake Washington. The kids were playing in the playground, my wife was relaxing in the shade, so I took the opportunity to do a quick open-water training swim in Lake Washington. Speedo brief, swim cap, goggles. Crowded swim beach in mid-summer. My kids still give me crap for that one :D
The brief will set you free!
That's funny, I view jammers as goofy and uncool. Now after reading comments in this thread about how uncomfortable they are and the way they make a pull buoy slip out, I am even less inclined to wear them.
When I first started swimming as an adult, I wore baggy shorts.. the typical "lounge" swimsuits that they sell in department stores. I remember vividly the first time I wore a speedo to the pool at the Y. The feeling of exposure, nakedness, abnormality. But then, nobody really seemed to notice or care, because of course it's a pool and speedos are the norm. Once I jumped in the water and felt the extreme difference in streamline, body position, and ease in the water, I was hooked.
Now I wear all kinds of training briefs, racing briefs, drag suits, multicolored, whatever. I'm one of those people. The guy who shows up at the pool at 5 PM in the crazy multicolored brief with patterns all over it, toting a swim bag full of paddles, fins, etc, swimming IM and fly while sharing the lane in a crowded pool. (all of that actually happened today)
One time I was in Seattle "spending some time with the family" and we stopped by a park on Lake Washington. The kids were playing in the playground, my wife was relaxing in the shade, so I took the opportunity to do a quick open-water training swim in Lake Washington. Speedo brief, swim cap, goggles. Crowded swim beach in mid-summer. My kids still give me crap for that one :D
The brief will set you free!
