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.
Maybe this is because my association with briefs was not all Mark Spitz and Rowdy Gaines but also all the big-bellied middle-aged men I grew up seeing in them too. Just looked SO wrong. And now there are also images of Borat that have gotten mixed in there too.:afraid: Yikes!
Totally my issue. More specifically, middle-aged, big-bellied "Eurpeans" were the speedo stereotype for me growing up. I generally feel very comfortable in the jammers, though I don't love racing breaststroke in them. (The problem with racing in briefs is that my upper leg hair probably slows me down more than the jammers and I'm not shaving for every race.) Briefs make me feel very "naked" but that's probably because I'm just used to the jammers. I have no more issues with pull buoys whether I'm wearing the jammers or not (in fact, my skin is probably slightly slicker than the suit).
It's fascinating to see everyone's different perspectives on this! While most guys on my masters team wear jammers these days, we have a few who still kick it old school.
Maybe this is because my association with briefs was not all Mark Spitz and Rowdy Gaines but also all the big-bellied middle-aged men I grew up seeing in them too. Just looked SO wrong. And now there are also images of Borat that have gotten mixed in there too.:afraid: Yikes!
Totally my issue. More specifically, middle-aged, big-bellied "Eurpeans" were the speedo stereotype for me growing up. I generally feel very comfortable in the jammers, though I don't love racing breaststroke in them. (The problem with racing in briefs is that my upper leg hair probably slows me down more than the jammers and I'm not shaving for every race.) Briefs make me feel very "naked" but that's probably because I'm just used to the jammers. I have no more issues with pull buoys whether I'm wearing the jammers or not (in fact, my skin is probably slightly slicker than the suit).
It's fascinating to see everyone's different perspectives on this! While most guys on my masters team wear jammers these days, we have a few who still kick it old school.
