Probably the biggest gripe about the technical suits (Speedo Fastskin, et al) is the cost. With Speedo's introduction of the the new LZR at $550 for the high neck they've ramped the price up substantially over what lots of people already considered "too much."
On the other hand, there seems to be lots of support for swimmers being able to extend their careers by going pro. Lots of today's great swimmers would probably be out of the sport today if it weren't for lucrative contracts from the likes of Speedo. So, by an large, us paying for these expensive suits is keeping these people swimming.
Is it worth it? Should we all put our order in now for LZRs just to be sure Michael Phelps can swim beyond Beijing? :)
I definitely won't be buying the LZR anytime soon. I'm thinking about a Fastskin II, though.
Anyway, my point was there's sort of a double standard here. If we want cheap suits, we can't have pro swimmers.
I definitely won't be buying the LZR anytime soon. I'm thinking about a Fastskin II, though.
Anyway, my point was there's sort of a double standard here. If we want cheap suits, we can't have pro swimmers.
Why do we "need" pro swimmers? I've never found professional sports, except for wrestling (LOL) , to be more entertaining to spectate than high level amateur sports. I'll take college basketball and football over the pros anyday. And I do strongly believe the Olympics lost alot of their luster once they started letting the million dollar cry babies in to play.
Maybe I'm just being old fashioned, but I don't see any need for pro swimmers, especially if it requires the "amateurs" to pay north of $250 for suit.
I got a really good deal on tech suits at swimoutlet.com. I got two Nikes for the price of one! They were last year's models, but I liked last year's models!
Hmm, car payment and dinner and a movie, or new Speedo?
I'll continue with last year's model.
I never thought of it that way before, Kirk. Each person can decide whether the donation is worth it for the pros and the new suit. I got my Fastskin I jammer for $55, and I think I'll be fast enough. I don't really feel like donating anything more to Michael Phelps's SUV fund.
I bought the FS-PRO last year. I took advantage of a Speedo discount so it definitely wasn't full price but it was still expensive (I think about $200). I don't know if I bought Michael a tank of gas or not and I can't even tell you if the suit helped. It may have been my training, it may have been the suit or it just may have been the psychological aspect but I still liked the results. I swam a few lifetime bests, a few masters bests and a few best times in a long time. To me, it was worth the investment. An LZR, however, is way out of the ballpark. (Unless maybe if it came with a guarentee to reach my goal times)!
Forget the $500 price tags.
Just buy this years new model next year or the year after for half price.
It's just masters swimming.
John Smith
Exactly!!!!! :doh:
I lucked out and got an FS2 legskin in my size from swimoutlet.com on clearance for $90. If it hadn't been on sale I probably wouldn't have bought it. As for the overall-style suits, forget it, I'm not shelling out $500 for a swimsuit that will last only several meets.
