I've done a bit of research on the new wave of "skinsuits" swimmers are sporting, and now have come to a crossroads as to what I should do for myself...I want to cover my bases in deciding, so please bear with me...
1. A lot of manufacturers seem to say order your normal clothing waist size, when we traditionally have gone down in size in competition suits to avoid bagging and drag. So if I'm a 34, should i really order a 34, or still go 32. I'm kind of a big guy, so I don't know if I lost weight or gained muscle, whether this would stress the fabric too much, or cause looseness. Or are they made to handle this? Does anyone have circulation problems? Men specifically.
2. I've read that breastrokers tend to stay closer to the traditional brief or the kneelength jams. Does it really matter in terms of freedom of movement? Does the compression of the quad/hamstring area help a lot? If so, if we're a bit flabby up top, should we consider the sleeveless neck to knee? does it just hold things in place better? how do people find the leg tights?
3. Does anyone have any knowledge of nike, versus tyr, versus speedo, versus adidas, or arena opinions in performance? How do you feel in general about all this?
I hope someone can help settle these concerns. Most of the information seems to be for skinny young elite swimmers out there. some of us masters could use a little edge as well, i know a lot of it is psychological, but it's not cheap.
thanks, mister
I've had experience with two suits: a "kneeskin" Speedo aquablade body suit (currently available as a woman's suit, which has worked fine for me even though I am a nontransvestite male!) and a full body suit lent to me by a teammate (not a Speedo--I'm not sure of the manufacturer.)
I love the Aquablade and have done my best adult times while swimming in it. The full body suit didn't work nearly as well for me, but I only used it to swim an IM, and I found the covered legs didn't "grab" the water right during breaststroke.
I recently purchased a Fastskin Speedo, again in the "kneeskin" format--i.e., a body suit that leaves your arms and legs (from the knees down) uncovered, but I haven't had a chance to try this in a race yet.
The Aquablades are considerably cheaper than the Fastskins, and if you've never worn a racing suit before, I recommend you give one of these a try. They are made from Lycra partly, so there's a good deal of expansion room. I wear a 34 regular brief, but my aquablade is 28L in women's sizing. Trying to translate this to a men's aquablade is extremely confusing and I haven't exactly figured out how to do it yet. Best bet: if you have a teammate with a body suit, see if you can try it on and then adjust up or down in size accordingly. Or call the vendor directly. They are pretty good at advising. Good luck.
One final note: Personally, I'd like to see all my competitors NOT wear these suits. Give some consideration to wearing a wool, three piece business suit. This would help preserve my advantage....
I've had experience with two suits: a "kneeskin" Speedo aquablade body suit (currently available as a woman's suit, which has worked fine for me even though I am a nontransvestite male!) and a full body suit lent to me by a teammate (not a Speedo--I'm not sure of the manufacturer.)
I love the Aquablade and have done my best adult times while swimming in it. The full body suit didn't work nearly as well for me, but I only used it to swim an IM, and I found the covered legs didn't "grab" the water right during breaststroke.
I recently purchased a Fastskin Speedo, again in the "kneeskin" format--i.e., a body suit that leaves your arms and legs (from the knees down) uncovered, but I haven't had a chance to try this in a race yet.
The Aquablades are considerably cheaper than the Fastskins, and if you've never worn a racing suit before, I recommend you give one of these a try. They are made from Lycra partly, so there's a good deal of expansion room. I wear a 34 regular brief, but my aquablade is 28L in women's sizing. Trying to translate this to a men's aquablade is extremely confusing and I haven't exactly figured out how to do it yet. Best bet: if you have a teammate with a body suit, see if you can try it on and then adjust up or down in size accordingly. Or call the vendor directly. They are pretty good at advising. Good luck.
One final note: Personally, I'd like to see all my competitors NOT wear these suits. Give some consideration to wearing a wool, three piece business suit. This would help preserve my advantage....
