just a warning to avoid a men's swimsuit, made by a very well-known swimming gear manufacturer, with the model name of "endurance+ jammers". It has a stitched seam that goes up the back of the suit. This seam may fail. It happened to me today, was plenty embarrassing.
I've heard of suit failures but I didn't expect it to happen from this manufacturer, from a suit designed for endurance. If you compete at all or train a lot I'd be sure to replace it with a suit that doesn't have a seam in that particular location.
Kirk's right... the seams are serged... so, working from the outside of the suit inward, what you have on a seam is a place where the material is first held together by the thread, then a section where the material doubles up, then a final section where the serger 'seals' the doubled up area. my suit failure was a near-catastrophic failure on a meet suit... right on the seam that goes up the middle of your butt. the suit didn't split completely apart (you couldn't see skin) but it split to the point that the doubled up material came apart and there was just the very ends of the thread holding the left and right side together...
I think meet suits are more prone to this kind of failure because you often buy them smaller than a normal practice suit (at least I do). so there is a lot of stress at those seams. I think my suit was an Arena... this was 1987 or 88...
The key take-home lesson is always have an extra suit at a meet! :)
I've seen the seam gradually begin to fail only after the inner lining has disintegrated, which takes several months of wear, at least in my experience.
The fabric wasn't damaged, the stitching just came out. The gap in the seam developed quickly, over the course of a lap or two at most. I was doing breaststroke at the time, at which point I was informed about the problem by one of the staff.
I'm gonna stick with the tried and true side-stitched nylon practice suit, also by the same manufacturer, it's lasted forever. If you continue to use the suit just pay close attention to the stitching, don't let it get damaged.
had to chuckle when I saw this (though not chuckling at you, marksman!)
same thing happened to me when I was 13 at a meet. you say you were embarrassed... imagine the horror a 13-year old girl felt!!!
ever since, I have always brought a backup suit to meets! :) don't bring a backup to practice, though... if a seam rips at practice, I'll consider it a sign that it's time to go home!! :D
I've been wearing mine for about a year and a half. When the liner disintegrated I started wearing a brief under it. I'm wondering how long it will last.
I can't really say I've ever seen a "catastrophic failure" of the seam in a swimsuit. It seems like they usually start to unravel gradually.
Did the seam really give out or did the suit tear at the seam? Those seams are all serged and pretty strong.
Has anyone else ever seen anything like this?
I have the Endurance Square leg same seam design. I better check it just in case since I race in it. I'd hate to have it come apart half way through the bike or run.:blush:
I've always wondered why the suit label says, "drawstring guaranteed for the life of the suit." What does the drawstring cover?:rofl:
