Yingfa Sharkskin vs. Speedo Fastskin

Hadn't even heard of them prior to this post, so with the power of google, I found they have pretty cool designs at least (www.proswimwear.co.uk/.../res1_PSW0385.jpg) :)

At one time the Chinese company that make Yangfa made Speedo products. I don't know if they still do or not. I would bet that if you have a Speedo that says it is made in Chaina it is a product of Yingfa. Yingfa, as far as I can tell, is much cheaper than is speedo.

Hmm, very interesting. I wonder if they've reverse-engineered the fastskin technology or are using a prototype or something like that. The logo is (in my opinion) pretty similar to Speedo's... Given that country's history of knockoffs, it wouldn't surprise me if emulating Speedo was part of their strategery. As for the price, while they are sponsoring China's team, Yingfa isn't shelling out multimillion dollar deals to sponsor the big names Phelps, Beard, Caughlin, Crocker, Ziegler, etc. from around the world. I would doubt that any nonChinese swimmer would take up the offer unless they had nothing else. I think that now the company is suppose to be privately owned. I also think that the importers are US citizens who might live in the Houston metropolitan area. If you are in the New World the chances, I was told of getting one of their old Speedo suits was very rare. However, if you are in Asia or somewhere in the Pacific, you probably had one up until about 5 to 3 years ago. I guess the garment market is begining to leave China because labor has increased. If anyone in Asia reads this, I'd be very interested to know where your Speedos were made. Here inthe US they are still being produced mainly in Mexico with materials made in either Peurto Rico or Honduras.

At one time the Chinese company that make Yangfa made Speedo products. I don't know if they still do or not. I would bet that if you have a Speedo that says it is made in Chaina it is a product of Yingfa. Yingfa, as far as I can tell, is much cheaper than is speedo. Hmm, very interesting. I wonder if they've reverse-engineered the fastskin technology or are using a prototype or something like that. The logo is (in my opinion) pretty similar to Speedo's... Given that country's history of knockoffs, it wouldn't surprise me if emulating Speedo was part of their strategery. As for the price, while they are sponsoring China's team, Yingfa isn't shelling out multimillion dollar deals to sponsor the big names Phelps, Beard, Caughlin, Crocker, Ziegler, etc. from around the world.

I think the chinese suits are shorter, because the chinese people are all short except that basketball guy Ming. I like the Fastskin FS-Pro suits the best, like this one: djsports.com/productDetails.aspx They remind me of the old paper suits!

You can also take a look at TYR, they are having a sale on their aquashift suit, I've never experimented with it but you may also want to take a look at that.

I think the chinese suits are shorter, because the chinese people are all short except that basketball guy Ming. I like the Fastskin FS-Pro suits the best, like this one: djsports.com/productDetails.aspx They remind me of the old paper suits! I have a leg suit. It is n't any shorter than is a Sp[eedo. I'm 6 ft 6 in. it fits me the same as Speedo.

To Craig, My name is David McCabe and I operate Yingfa in Australia.My swimming credentials are that I was a New South Wales(NSW) State Champion, Australian Age and Open Finalist in the 200m butterfly and in the Surf , I was NSW Junior Belt champion, Australian Junior Belt finalist and a member of a Surf Team which achieved a silver Australian medal.After I finished swimming I obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and then obtained a Law degree and I now coach 30 children in my backyard heated pool, run a legal practice and also now sell YingFa swimming products. Yingfa provides the latest technology in swimwear, in a range of styles and colours which combine quality with affordability. When the Full suit first came around Brian Sutton ,an Australian Swim Coach was against the idea because it created two classes of swimmers, those athletes whom received sponsored suits and those who could not afford the $600-00 price tag. Brian was of the opinion the sponsored swimmers had an unfair advantage. The Us swim director Dennis Pursley said, "I don't think the issue is when the Australians get the suits -the question in my mind is when the other athletes around the world will have access to those suits". Well that time has arrived and now YingFa can sell a swim suit, at an affordable price, sure it does not have the expensive technological innovations such as the knitted fabric with a tooth shaped surface or the dimpled finish fabric, yet the YingFa suit provides muscle compression , which reduces muscle vibration and this in turn improves performance and reduces fatigue. There are now many brands producing similiar costumes such as eyeline,Rival,sugoi,velomax race suits,nike,The finals,Aqua shift,arena,Tyr,Maru,Diana,addidas and many more. I trust that clarifies some of the misunderstandings about this issue. David McCabe

To Craig, My name is David McCabe and I operate Yingfa in Australia.My swimming credentials are that I was a New South Wales(NSW) State Champion, Australian Age and Open Finalist in the 200m butterfly and in the Surf , I was NSW Junior Belt champion, Australian Junior Belt finalist and a member of a Surf Team which achieved a silver Australian medal.After I finished swimming I obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and then obtained a Law degree and I now coach 30 children in my backyard heated pool, run a legal practice and also now sell YingFa swimming products. Yingfa provides the latest technology in swimwear, in a range of styles and colours which combine quality with affordability. When the Full suit first came around Brian Sutton ,an Australian Swim Coach was against the idea because it created two classes of swimmers, those athletes whom received sponsored suits and those who could not afford the $600-00 price tag. Brian was of the opinion the sponsored swimmers had an unfair advantage. The Us swim director Dennis Pursley said, "I don't think the issue is when the Australians get the suits -the question in my mind is when the other athletes around the world will have access to those suits". Well that time has arrived and now YingFa can sell a swim suit, at an affordable price, sure it does not have the expensive technological innovations such as the knitted fabric with a tooth shaped surface or the dimpled finish fabric, yet the YingFa suit provides muscle compression , which reduces muscle vibration and this in turn improves performance and reduces fatigue. There are now many brands producing similiar costumes such as eyeline,Rival,sugoi,velomax race suits,nike,The finals,Aqua shift,arena,Tyr,Maru,Diana,addidas and many more. I trust that clarifies some of the misunderstandings about this issue. David McCabe This is from the US Craig. Your story is very different than the one I heard about your company. I'm glad you enterred this post. As I wrote above, I have a pair and they seem to fit exactly like speedos. I think they are very equivalent. Where are your suits made? Also, while we are on the subject of Australia. there are several great postals throughout our summer time that are a lot of funj. I've done (forgive if this is mispelt) The Baddagginnie Animal. It has great t-shirts. How many people here inthe states have an Australian swim event t-shirt? Craig J.

Since there were many views of my original question, but only one person that actually owns a Yingfa technical suit, I thought I would circle back with my 'take' on the Yingfa leggings I ordered a few weeks ago. These leggings cost me just $30 a pair, so I feared they might be a complete rip-off, actually slowing me down like those running tights we used to wear in workouts between back-to-back shave and taper meets. But I was pleased. For all you seasoned veterans of both competition and technical suits, I have these caveats (so you may want to disregard my opinion entirely!). I have never swum in a technical suit before, so I can't compare to Fastskin - only my own shaved skin. 'retired' from college swimming 18 years ago and only competed a handful of times betweeen 1998 and 2002 since then. In fact, prior to last August I had not swum more than about 30 workouts in the past six years. So I really don't have any way to compare times with and without the Yingfa leggings........After warming up at practice two weeks ago I put them on. I was actually quite surprised at how buoyant and 'friction-less' my legs felt. Still wary that they wouldn't 'work,' I shaved for the meet last weekend and compared them (at least in feel) to my shaved legs for a couple of warm-up sprints. I think they may have felt just a little bit better than the shaved legs, and they certainly did not feel worse. And I matched the times I did ten years ago. I don't know if I can attribute that to my weight workouts, my attempts at EVF and swimming 'downhill', or my new $30 leggings, but I can't imagine they slowed me down. Are these as fast as Fastskins? 0.02 per 50 slower? 0.2 seconds slower? I have no idea, but I like them. SO, if you've avoided the technical suits because of the price tag, or would like a back-up suit for Nationals in case your Fastskin rips, I would recommend Yingfa shark skins. Just type in 'Yingfa' on ebay and there are hundreds of them.