Technical Suit Suggestions?

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:08:15 GMT

On the subject of cheaper women's tech suits, for what it's worth: I started swimming again in August of this year and have done six meets in that time. In December (after I'd done three meets) I bought my first racing suit - the Tyr Fusion 2 kneeskin. I'm not sure I'd really call it a tech suit, but the price was right and I wanted to see how the kneeskin style felt. I was worried about the leg length on it since I'd heard it ran long and I am 5'5" but it's fine on me (though I am a bit short-waisted). I probably should have gone one more size down (I went down one from my practice suit size). I have swum faster in it, but I'm also in better shape and these were my first meets in better pools with automatic timing. I feel like it does pull some things in and compress a bit, but not as much as I gather a fancier tech suit would. However, I think it's definitely a faster suit than a polyester practice suit. I know one forumite whose name escapes me at this moment told me that she prefers the low-end Arena kneeskin (about $120 if I recall correctly) to the Fusion.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

swimslick — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:34:57 GMT

On the subject of cheaper women's tech suits, for what it's worth: I feel like it does pull some things in and compress a bit, but not as much as I gather a fancier tech suit would. I did the same last year, where I found an old Speedo Aquablade kneeskin on ebay for about $50. My first knee-length 'tech' suit and I thought it was fine. I gather lower-end tech suits like the Xcellerator, Fusion, and the Yingfa kneeskins are in the same realm. Later on I was able to score a Nike Hydra 1 kneeskin also on eBay for ~$80. At that point that particular model was a few years old or something, and its original retail was $275 I think. COMPLETE TOTAL difference compared to the Aquablade. It even ended up being a size or two larger that what would have been ideal, but I STILL felt that it had a far better cut and a ton more compression than the Aquablade. It felt totally awesome in the water, way less water retention....a HUGE difference in my opinion. I recall thinking to myself, "so THIS is what a REAL tech suit feels like!" after diving into the water for warm up lol. But I have to admit, while it definitely felt superior I can't say it it had a huge affect on my times ;) So if you don't want to break the bank, I would advise tracking down late-model/discontinued higher-end tech suits. While the technology isn't the current-best-on-the-market, you will still get the techy-ness but without the crazy costs. I know metroswimshop has lots of the late-model Nike Hydras and Swifts for ~$150 or so. Check eBay too, you can find great deals there as well. I am curious about the $120 Arena kneeskin......

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:36:05 GMT

I own a couple of the original Hydras. I really like them, have used them for several swims and they are still going strong. Great material and fit! How does the sizing run on the Hydra? It looks like it uses the same size numbers as their regular suits so did you just go down 1-2 for it?

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Atlantic — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:41:05 GMT

How does the sizing run on the Hydra? It looks like it uses the same size numbers as their regular suits so did you just go down 1-2 for it? I went down one size in the Hydra.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Atlantic — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 03:17:38 GMT

Anyone had any luck with the Nike Hydra suits? I own a couple of the original Hydras. I really like them, have used them for several swims and they are still going strong. Great material and fit!

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

__steve__ — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:39:24 GMT

2012 was a good year for tech suits. Saving up for another TYR AP12 for August

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

mlabresh — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:11:54 GMT

I bought my first tech suit last summer before going to Summer Nats. I got the Finals X-Cellertator. It came down to a choice between that or the TYR Fusion. I didn't want to spend a lot on it as it was my first time purchasing a tech suit and it was my first meet... EVER. The reason I went with the Finals suit over the TYR was both for the fit and the durability. I love the suit I picked! From the reviews, I determined the TYR would be a bit too long for me as I'm rather short (only 5'2") and several people complained that it went past their knees on the average height bodies. I also read that the Finals suit was more durable. I've had NO problems with my suit. No rips, no tears, no drag, no holding water.. I'm completely happy with it and would definitely buy one again (though I'd also really like to try some of the pricier ones :)).

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

habu987 — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 06:03:23 GMT

My rationale for buying tech suits these days is that I buy one for spring Nats and then wear it to all meets for the next 12 months till the next Nats, when I get a new suit, and repeat the process. That way I get a brand new suit for Nats and then get a still pretty good suit for the next 12 meets or so before I replace it. For example, I'm planning on replacing my FSII jammers from last year's spring Nats with an Arena Powerskin Carbon Pro for Nats in May. By the time I make the switch, I'll have gotten 10 meets out of the FSII. At $105 for the suit, that comes out to $10.50 per wear. I'll take that. Even at $350 or $400 for the PCP (depending on which model I get), spread out over the 12-13 meets I plan to do between this spring Nats and the next one, that comes out to ~$30 per wear. Given how much I spend on food and beverages on a given weekend (as an example to compare costs), I think that is an absolutely reasonable price per wear!

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

ALLISONWARE — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 03:55:53 GMT

The article was helpful, I enjoyed both male & female reviews. BUT - I would like to see some reviews of the mid-range and/or "entry level" tech suits as well. I can't fathom paying $250+ for a swimsuit I'm only going to wear a few times, even if it is nationals! I would like to consider the ones at/around the $200 level, but want the most bang for my buck. Sadly, I'm not able to really get much quality review on the suits at those levels outside of the obligatory - daughter wore it & got a PR, great! - that I think most of these suits would be able to provide simply due to the compression fit & tapered status of the swimmer. Thoughts?

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:01:26 GMT

My new jammers just came in for my race this weekend. I got a pair of speedo endurance. Nothing special but they are tighter than the isports I wear for practice. Feel like the compress much better than others did originally. If I meet my goals this weekend ill move up to a basic technical for state in April.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:14:07 GMT

Hey Kgernert - If you haven't already, check out "Top Tech Suits Compared - the Gangloff Review", this should help you choose the best technical suit for you! You can find it on our SwimOutlet.com Blog here. Hope this helps! - SwimOutlet.com

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:02:06 GMT

I'll just say that I really wish the situation was the same as in 2004. You could get a full-body suit but it barely mattered. Gary Hall won the gold medal in a jammer. And you only had to shave arms and ankles omg that would be so great.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

orca1946 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:59:14 GMT

Dress like women :cheerleader:- talk like women:blah: -make sense like women :worms: ----------:bolt:

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

The Fortress — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:10:32 GMT

1. Very good Jimby. 2. Probably true, but you know that so you can factor that in in analyzing the difference in your pre and post tech suit times. 3. I can see why that would be a complete drag for men. 4. I am likewise less effected by the loss of tech suits than some of my competitors. And I have my theories about that, which I know I've posted elsewhere. 5. That $404 Arena suit is for OW only and can't be used in the pool. So you can't use that for cost comparisons. You should be very happy you can get a good suit for much less than women. I'm not sure anyone thinks you can buy more time with X brand of kneeskin. But I know that I want to get the fastest suit for me, and fastest may be dictated by fit since they are all very similar suits. I don't know any masters women that have sprung for the $595 FS3. I'm not; and the reviews are not good to date. For the suit I recently ordered, which I desperately needed, I was between sizes, so ordered up to avoid undue tightness/possible busting. I just swam well in a very stretched out LZR with small holes, so I'm not sure I need to shove my body into the smallest imaginable size and risk a tear. I've recently found that Glide helps get into tech suits very quickly.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

jim thornton — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:20:02 GMT

Think of it this way. Typically, in practice, women wear tanks and men wear briefs. The leg coverage of the tech suits (jammers men, kneeskin women) give both genders the same extra coverage for meets. Giving men double extra coverage would therefore be unfair. You and Jimby will just have to suppress your desire to dress like women. Several points: I am making progress on eliminating my cross dressing inclinations My main point was that the change in suits affects men much more significantly than women, and I still maintain this is the case. The thing I miss most about the fuller coverage for men was that it eliminates the need to shave your torso, which is a major pain. When the hair grows back, the itching involved summons to mind an attack by fire ants. One of the factors that has helped me adjust to the lack of body suits is that it doesn't seem to hurt me MORE than most of my competitors in the age group. The effects are either neutral or slightly positive. This may have to do with my generally weak physique, where no bulging muscles require compressing; or it may be due to my hirsutism, which means that shaving might confer more benefit to me than to more naturally hairless type guys. But the biggest factor is that I am absolutely certain the difference between the world's most expensive technical jammer, and the world's most affordable technical jammer, is not terribly significant, which is in keeping with the spirit of the FINA ruling. The thought of paying $404.95 Arena Powerskin R-EVO + Men's Open Water Suit, for example, is absurd to me when I could spend $97.95 for a TYR Tracer Light Jammer or $49.95 Speedo Aquablade Male Jammer. I would be shocked if any of these suits made more than a tenth of a second or so difference per 50. You women, on the other hand, are still every bit as caught up in the marketing hype of the Speedo's and Arena's as you were at the height of the floatie suit era. The reason: contrary to the spirit of the FINA ruling, you honestly believe (and probably with good reason) that it's still possible to buy speed--not just a few hundredths of a second of speed, but significant time drops, all thanks to body coverage and torso compression. You also have to worry about spending a lot of time at each meet suiting up without busting your $600 investment! How I pity you!

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

ande — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 03:40:33 GMT

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

The Fortress — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 03:26:23 GMT

Off topic, but why can't guys wear the same yardage suits as women now rather than go back to jammers ?? Think of it this way. Typically, in practice, women wear tanks and men wear briefs. The leg coverage of the tech suits (jammers men, kneeskin women) give both genders the same extra coverage for meets. Giving men double extra coverage would therefore be unfair. You and Jimby will just have to suppress your desire to dress like women. On another note, a friend forwarded me this link re: womens FS3: forum.collegeswimming.com/viewtopic.php And I found this one: Big10s Swimming Championshiops 2012 - FS3 Controversy - YouTube This says supposedly you're supposed to wear the FS3 6-8 x before the target race.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

ande — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:55:20 GMT

I've written a lot about Tech Suits in Swim Faster Faster

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:43:50 GMT

I'm swimming through rotator cuff tears and looking for a full length (with arms) compression suit for training purposes. Does anyone know who may be clearing out the banned tech suits and/or have any recommendations. I've searched without luck through Google. How about this yingfa full body suit? www.yingfa.us/.../Yingfa-978-Lightning-Sharkskin-Full-Body-Suit.html It's rather cheap for a full body suit, and I heard some good things about yingfa.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 17:27:43 GMT

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 17:22:49 GMT

Ebay? I've not looked but there might be a few suppliers trying to shift end of lines, or swimmers that have once or twice-worn suits that they're trying to get a few $$ back?

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:57:04 GMT

Thanks....I saw that one. My thinking was that the sleeves would help stabilize the shoulder during practice. I'm still striking out...it looks like they simply pulled the banned suits from the market.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

swimfree — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 12:42:52 GMT

How about just getting a rash-guard shirt? If you get it small enough it can be restrictive in the arms.

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

orca1946 — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 07:24:45 GMT

Off topic, but why can't guys wear the same yardage suits as women now rather than go back to jammers ??

RE: Technical Suit Suggestions?

kgernert — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 06:16:23 GMT

I'm swimming through rotator cuff tears and looking for a full length (with arms) compression suit for training purposes. Does anyone know who may be clearing out the banned tech suits and/or have any recommendations. I've searched without luck through Google. Swim Outlet has this one available, but only in a small. www.swimoutlet.com/.../14441.htm While they may not have your size, they perhaps could tell you where to try? Good luck in your search and sorry about your injury.