Tech Suits - What To Look For

Swim outlet has a very good series of reviews on many suits and may help you. www.swimoutlet.com/.../

One tip I've got for you is to read all the customer reviews on swimoutlet, especially regarding sizing. The sizing of suits is far from consistent. And if you do buy a tech suit it should take a while to get it on. If it's not a bit of struggle to get the suit on, it's probably too big.

I often wonder if the suit I've purchased had been tried on before.

If you can find a large meet, some vendors will let you try on suits to see fitment. It will feel WAY TOO TIGHT when you finally get it on. DO NOT POKE YOUR THUMBS THRU THE MATERIAL as at that point you just bought it.

I noticed in underwater footage that Ledecky's suit the first 200 meters or so repelled water. At about 600+ meters, the suit had already degraded and was not repelling as much water! On the same swim! I would posit this is just from immersion in the water for a few minutes and doesn't indicate the suit has "degraded."

Even more important than which brand you end up buying is caring for the suit. Ppl use their racing suits way too much. In general, each suit has about 10 swims in it *if it's cared for properly* before degrading to the point where any advantage is minimal. I noticed in underwater footage that Ledecky's suit the first 200 meters or so repelled water. At about 600+ meters, the suit had already degraded and was not repelling as much water! On the same swim! Don't warm-up in them. You should go up to the racing block dry. As soon as you are done warming down, take the suit off, rinse with cold water and allow it to dry before using again. I see ppl put those things on at 7am and don't take it off until 4pm, and do the same thing the next day. And the next meet, and the following meet. Basically, I recommend buying 2 tech suits to alternate swims, and one tech-lite racing suit for relays or off events that frankly you don't really care about. Once you've gone through a 2nd cycle, then the previous batch can be used for the off events or slow meets, maybe a time trial at workout. I love that option b/c it simulates race day as much as possible.

im laughing so hard right now. morning of sunday may 1 in the lockerrooom at usms nats. a few of us were putting on their suits and commenting on how tough it its, but way easier than the full body suits. my tyr ap12 went on in about 3mins. which seemed kinda fast but hey this isnt its 1st meet. when i took it off at the end of the day...washed it, spun it and as i was putting it in my bag noticed..................... this was my backup suit that is 4years old...not my "race" suit that is only 2 years old. carlos you can go look at my results from sunday may 1. ;) p.s. with my usms registration renewal 30% off coupon from tyr i got a new suit for summer nats...omaha nights!!!

I would like to have a few tech suits in my bag that were new - ish. They cost more than I am willing to pay for a "mental gain" of a few 1/100 in my races.

Hi AquaJake, I've written about Tech Suits in Swim Faster Faster There's many Tech suits on the market. Several Generations are FINA APPROVED. Which one should you get? Consider balancing performance, fit, and cost, so it just depends on your goals and budget. The more recent suits / newest generations have features that make them superior to older approved suits. Good luck & Swim Faster Faster, Ande

washed it, spun it and as i was putting it in my bag noticed..................... this was my backup suit that is 4years old...not my "race" suit that is only 2 years old. carlos you can go look at my results from sunday may 1. You swim fast in any suit p.s. with my usms registration renewal 30% off coupon from tyr i got a new suit for summer nats...omaha nights!!! That was a good deal i believe I got my AP12 last winter at 40% off! Even if this suit is one or two versions outdated, still performs well.