Should wearing a FastSkin suit give the same performance benefits of shaving whatever area the FastSkin covers?
Also, do people generally only wear them for "big meets" - like how swimmers would typically only shave for big meets? i.e. do college kids today wear them for all dual meets, or only for championships? Would you lose some of the benefit if you wore them too much?
Thanks for any info!
Former Member
I've had two of the original FS since 2004 and wear them 3-4 times a year. I have found that they may not do much for drag, but they do get any extra fat out of the way. I have set a number of personal bests in these suits, and a couple while not wearing them. I really only wear them so that the extra skin is out of the way. I have yet to find any problems with the suits even after this long and have no idea why people think they will not work after a couple of uses. I did only spend a bit over $100 for the both of them because I got them on sale.
Every once in a while I put on a 6 year old fastskin Jammer and do some timed 50's/100's and 200's in practice. I have been using the same jammers for 2+ years. I take care to wash with water after each use. The suit has been used 15-20 times and I have even loaned it to a few people. Flat out the suit works, I have recorded more than 100 practice swims the past 10 years and all of the best ones are with that suit. I now categorize non-fast skin and fast-skin swims.
Do these suits wear-out? Yes probably so. But not as quickly as manufacturers will have you believe.
Stacy- The FS Pro is out for the girls too. It's very pricey though. I made friends with the local swim shop owner and they let me play with one of the Pros in the shop. We dumped a bottle of water on the suit and it just sat there. I shopped, we chatted, and 45 minutes later is was still just sitting there. Really cool, but still not enough to get me to part with the cash to own one.
As to other comments on the thread, I wore my old, worn out FSII at a meet this weekend (needed to make some NQTs) and swam all PBs. To the degree that it was suit vs. swimmer, the suit make me FEEL faster. The way I swim, anything that helps the mental game helps the actual performance. When I feel fast, I swim fast. When I feel achy and tired, I swim achy and tired. Does the design of the suit help? Probably, but the effect it has on my mental state does a whole lot more.
Dana
I have not purchased a technical suit, and its interesting hearing the gamut of emotions they evoke.
I can't believe that there isn't a way to somehow treat them so that the water-repellent properties are restored. Like treating a Gortex shell with whatever it is I dump into the washing machine. Anyone heard anything like this? Sounds like a problem waiting for an entrepreneur.
