Protection from the sun/body suit

Hi there, I'm looking for a good, light, durable, body suit to wear during the summer here in New Mexico, or down in Costa Rica ( where the water is 86 degrees). I have worn some "for swimming" shirts in the past, but I never like them, they are either two heavy, or the fabric just feels plastick-y ( made of polypropylene), or they dont fit right. I guess I'm looking for both something to wear in the pool, and for open water protection. Do you think the TYR wetsuits are too heavy for in the pool use? That's two questions! Thanks, Ben

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  • That EcoStinger suit looks like a good option — fabric and not neoprene. And the price isn’t crazy. I might actually think about getting one for my swims along the beach in SE Florida where there are frequently numerous man-o-wars when the wind is out of the east. However, I question the claim that it protects against sea lice. They are one nuisance that I occassionally have to deal with where I do a lot of my OW swims here in Rhode Island. Even with a tight-fitting jammer suit they so small that they still get inside it and leave me stings on my butt, and ‘nether’ regions. Initially I thought of wearing my wetsuit, or something like this EcoStinger, when they’re present. But I read that because they’re so small, they’re more likely to get trapped inside and then inflict their sting…which, by the way, isn’t a “painful” sting. You really don’t feel it…until later…when you end up with something akin to a mosquito bite. Consequently, I use SafeSea lotion (including under my jammer) and I don’t get the stings.  — Dan

  • I'll look into teh Eco Stinger. I grew up in Miami Beach. I go back to see freinds, but that's usually Fort Lauderdale and north of there, so I'm always curious about swimming there! As for sea lice, I may have gotten that on swims in Meciso in the past, but sounds horrible. Anyway, thanks!

    Ben

  • We have a winter home in Ft. Lauderdale. I do some OW swimming along the various beaches there (December-March). I haven’t experienced sea lice there. But when the wind is from the east, it blows the man-o-wars in. I got stung by a small one (on my back) a couple years ago. Not pleasant. The sea lice “mosquito bite” sting that I get swimming in NE is a nuisance, but I think I’d take that over the m-o-w sting. When I go to the beach for a swim, before I get in the water, I generally walk a couple hundred yards in each direction just to take a look at what’s washing up onto the beach. If I find more than a couple m-o-w or jellies I skip the swim. Last winter I was getting in, about knee-depth, and a manatee swam past. It stopped and popped its head out and looked at me. I was about halfway between the Port Everglades inlet and the Hillsboro/Lighthouse Point inlet. That’s a long way for a manatee to be in the brine. But…that cancelled my swim. I know they’re docile, friendly mammals that wouldn’t hurt me. But I just thought “If I was swimming along and suddenly saw ‘a creature’ that size…it’d probably cause me to have a heart attack.”

    Dan

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  • We have a winter home in Ft. Lauderdale. I do some OW swimming along the various beaches there (December-March). I haven’t experienced sea lice there. But when the wind is from the east, it blows the man-o-wars in. I got stung by a small one (on my back) a couple years ago. Not pleasant. The sea lice “mosquito bite” sting that I get swimming in NE is a nuisance, but I think I’d take that over the m-o-w sting. When I go to the beach for a swim, before I get in the water, I generally walk a couple hundred yards in each direction just to take a look at what’s washing up onto the beach. If I find more than a couple m-o-w or jellies I skip the swim. Last winter I was getting in, about knee-depth, and a manatee swam past. It stopped and popped its head out and looked at me. I was about halfway between the Port Everglades inlet and the Hillsboro/Lighthouse Point inlet. That’s a long way for a manatee to be in the brine. But…that cancelled my swim. I know they’re docile, friendly mammals that wouldn’t hurt me. But I just thought “If I was swimming along and suddenly saw ‘a creature’ that size…it’d probably cause me to have a heart attack.”

    Dan

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