Life of a suit?

girlwithcurls2
girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,282 Member
edited November 15 in Social Groups
So how often do you replace your swimsuit? As a new swimmer, I admit, I have only had one wearable suit at a time. Also, since this is not a piece of clothing I am accustomed to owning, I had no idea that apparently both times (I'm on Suit #2), I waited too long to replace it. I got out of the pool with my daughter on a recent trip and caught myself in the mirror. Thank god and all the saints we were alone... The thing is fully lined, but the outer lining was practically disintegrating! I just ordered 3 new suits to keep in rotation. I was a fairly cheap runner. I bought the good shoes I needed, but always last year's model and on sale. When I told my husband that I need a new suit again, he said, "Well, you needed running shoes several times a year and these are half the price."

So the upside is that when I think of the use in terms of time in the water, there are LOTS of hours being put in!

~Curly

P.S. Ladies, what is UP with the sizing?? Can't they just follow normal women's sizing?

Replies

  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
    after a serious wardrobe malfunction last year,i have 3 pairs of swimshorts in my rotation.need to downsize too before tragedy strikes again!
  • Macstraw
    Macstraw Posts: 896 Member
    The life of my suits tends to vary, so I always make sure I have a few on hand. 1 thing I do that seems to help extend the life of them is to rinse them well in the shower after my swim.....
  • Kida_Adeylne
    Kida_Adeylne Posts: 201 Member
    I've had the same one for 3 years and a bit (but that that was with maybe 12 months total of consistent use)... I think I need to replace it soon. I'm noticing the fabric is showing wear and it's a bit saggy round the middle. I don't replace things as often as I should, for anything, though.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    I through 3 or 4 jammers a year. I've tried cheaper jammers but they last even less. Material thins or loses elasticity.
    Speedo Race Endurance is the best I have found so far. If only they used the same material for the stitching as they use for the body of the suit it would last longer.
  • gentlygently
    gentlygently Posts: 752 Member
    My last 'swim' I would have settled for any of my baggy old suits...

    Yep there I was starkers in the changing room, realising my suit (speedo, lasting for ages) was still at home.
  • Macstraw
    Macstraw Posts: 896 Member
    LOL, gently - best to realize it in the locker room....

    My suit is a regular set of trunks - the world is NOT ready for me in Jammers (or, God forbid, a real Speedo)....

    That said, a number of years ago when my nephew was lifeguarding for the simmer I found a pair of trunks made by Speedo with a big Speedo logo on the leg, I spent the entire winter & spring telling him I was showing up in a Speedo. He kept asking me to please not do it, the first day I showed up at the pool with a towel wrapped around me. When he saw me I yelled over to him asking if he was ready, as he watched me with a horrified look on his face I yanked the towel off. When he saw the big logo on the leg of the trunks he just started cracking up laughing......
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,282 Member
    Oh Mac, the things we do to our younger family. You're cracking me up. So no budgee smuggler for you? (holy cow, I don't even know how to spell that, and neither does my auto correct!!!!)
  • AquaticQuests
    AquaticQuests Posts: 947 Member
    Lol!
    Funny reading through these.
    I changed mine after perhaps 6 months of use, when I realised it might have become quite see through when wet!
    The day I realised that never wore it again.
    Need to come up with a regular schedule like the rest of y'all, as waiting to try and guess transparency levels just won't do :smile:
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Macstraw wrote: »
    LOL, gently - best to realize it in the locker room....

    My suit is a regular set of trunks - the world is NOT ready for me in Jammers (or, God forbid, a real Speedo)....
    A jammer will actually shave a few seconds off your lap time. I fell the difference in drag big time.

    As far as AQ's concern about transparency, Jammers are double layer in 'sensitive' areas.
  • UncreativeMe123
    UncreativeMe123 Posts: 52 Member
    Oh no! You guys are scaring me! I have a suit, and due to a surgical scar on my back I opt for a tankini style since it has the best back coverage, but that is expensive. I really hope mine holds up so I don't have to keep spending that money and so I don't have to accidentally flash the fellow swimmers :)
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    I bought a Speedo in January. It's faded like crazy, and it's getting a little baggy, but I haven't lost much weight, so I think it is due to the elastic giving out. The fabric is still quite intact, though. (I prefer suits with a bit of compression to them. God knows why it feels better, but it does)

    I bought a TYR, and that was a damn mistake. Your boobs fall out of their so-called "aquafitness" suits, and they don't make a real racerback in my size.

    I probably should suck it up, pay the outrageous (I think 80 USD for a bathing suit is outrageous, anyway) price for a couple of bathing suits and use the damn things in rotation since I swim just about every day.
  • Macstraw
    Macstraw Posts: 896 Member
    Curly - nobody wants to see me trying to smuggle any budgies :o

    Gutzy - I know the Jammer would shave some time, but my focus is n keeping strong as opposed to dropping time. Due to that, I'm actually better off in a drag suit....
  • Robertus
    Robertus Posts: 558 Member
    I wear a TYR resistance suit with a liner. I didn't even realize it was a resistance suit when I bought it and can't imagine it provides much actually resistance. Can't really say how well it holds up because I lost it after 3 months and bought another one. But I think it will hold up well because of the liner.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    I tried a TYR once. Never again. Faded badly, very quickly. Material got thin and saggy.
    Speedo is the best so far.
    I just don't like the way the traditional swim trunk feels anymore.
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
    edited April 2015
    How long your suit lasts will depend on a number of factors including the quality and materials of the suit, how frequently you use it, the specific chemistry of the pool(s), and how you care for the suit. UV from sunlight can affect your suit as well. In general, the more polyester a suit has the longer it will last. Rinsing helps, a lot. Some people swear by various rinses/cleansers, others argue that the cost and effort isn't worth it and it's better to just replace the suit more frequently.

    My suits usually last 3-4 months of swimming 3-4 days/week. I spend more on running shoes.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,282 Member
    I bought a Speedo in January. It's faded like crazy, and it's getting a little baggy, but I haven't lost much weight, so I think it is due to the elastic giving out. The fabric is still quite intact, though. (I prefer suits with a bit of compression to them. God knows why it feels better, but it does)

    I bought a TYR, and that was a damn mistake. Your boobs fall out of their so-called "aquafitness" suits, and they don't make a real racerback in my size.

    I probably should suck it up, pay the outrageous (I think 80 USD for a bathing suit is outrageous, anyway) price for a couple of bathing suits and use the damn things in rotation since I swim just about every day.

    Noel, try sierratradingpost.com. You can get discounted suits (you can search for a specific one). I just ordered 3 suits and because of an online coupon, I paid between US15-20 for each. Before that, I had paid 3x that. Crazy habit, this swimming is becoming! My problem with many suits is that there is nothing to fall out on top, so instead, the suit falls in, resulting in a wrinkly, padded mess.
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member

    Noel, try sierratradingpost.com.

    I did take a look. What color is the sky on their planet where a 2X is a 38 inch bust?

    They don't carry my size, but finding my size is pretty hard, anyway.

  • Kida_Adeylne
    Kida_Adeylne Posts: 201 Member
    swimoutlet.com has reasonably priced swimsuits up to a 48" bust (sadly not much selection in the larger sizes).
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member

    My suits usually last 3-4 months of swimming 3-4 days/week. I spend more on running shoes.
    I swim 5 to 7 days a week, 6000 yard minimum (just under 2 hours).
    3 to 4 months is my typical. The thread on the seams go. Not the material.
  • AquaticQuests
    AquaticQuests Posts: 947 Member
    fishgutzy wrote: »

    My suits usually last 3-4 months of swimming 3-4 days/week. I spend more on running shoes.
    I swim 5 to 7 days a week, 6000 yard minimum (just under 2 hours).
    3 to 4 months is my typical. The thread on the seams go. Not the material.

    Once the thread on the seams goes, the suit has got to go! LOL!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited April 2015

    Noel, try sierratradingpost.com.

    I did take a look. What color is the sky on their planet where a 2X is a 38 inch bust?

    They don't carry my size, but finding my size is pretty hard, anyway.

    I have had good luck getting larger sizes from "Swimsuits for all" and "swim and sweat". I am very busty and the best fitting suits that don't pull down in front are the high neck suits. Racer and cross back tend to be just too tight in the bust, or they are loose and baggy in the rest of the body.

    ETA: I have been replacing my suit about every 4-5 months, but that is more because I am still losing weight and I shrink out of the suit before it wears out. I do always buy chlorine-resistant suits.

  • Bruceapple
    Bruceapple Posts: 2,027 Member
    I have good luck with H2O Jammer swim suite, I get about 1 year out of them. I generally swim 5 days week. and have two suites that I alternate with,
  • Misiaxcore
    Misiaxcore Posts: 659 Member
    I swim about 5 times a week for an hour and half... my TYRs always last about 1.5 to 2 years.
  • Robertus
    Robertus Posts: 558 Member
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    I tried a TYR once. Never again. Faded badly, very quickly. Material got thin and saggy.
    Speedo is the best so far.
    I just don't like the way the traditional swim trunk feels anymore.
    My black TYR resistance suit faded to light gray very quickly. I will get a Speedo next.
  • mpeters1965
    mpeters1965 Posts: 370 Member
    I wear TYR because I like the fit and can buy them online and know that they will fit when I take them out of the package. I have had some that last 3 months and some that last 8-9 months. The Durafast suits seem to hold up a bit better but I swear it's a crap shoot every time I buy one. I figure it's an expense of swimming and I try to keep one in reserve at all times. Not only can they go from great to embarrassing in a short time but I have been known to leave them in the locker room at the Y on occasion.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Robertus wrote: »
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    I tried a TYR once. Never again. Faded badly, very quickly. Material got thin and saggy.
    Speedo is the best so far.
    I just don't like the way the traditional swim trunk feels anymore.
    My black TYR resistance suit faded to light gray very quickly. I will get a Speedo next.

    Speedo Race Endurance has lasted the longest for me. And y'all know how much I swim.
    Rule if thumb, when the seem threads are white, (they start black) they are approaching end of life. And they go when stressed while wet, so like when you ave finished your swim, get out of the pool and bend the wrong way to pick up your swim bag :)
    I always bring a new one with me to China in the off chance I get to swim and don't want to have an equipment malfunction.
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    don't want to have an equipment malfunction.

    Mental Picture of you scrambling to get the gear bag in a covering position.
    Howling with laughter

  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    juliet3455 wrote: »
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    don't want to have an equipment malfunction.

    Mental Picture of you scrambling to get the gear bag in a covering position.
    Howling with laughter
    Carrying my swim bag behind me as I go to the locker room :)
  • AquaticQuests
    AquaticQuests Posts: 947 Member
    Lolest!
This discussion has been closed.