Recommendations for a chlorine resistance suits

[rmf]

I know there are a lot of swimmers here so maybe one of you has a good recommendation...

I am about to go through my third suit this year due to Chlorine damage. I swim about 4-5 time a week for an hour at my gym in a saline pool with obvious high amount of chlorine too. I extensively rinse (and sometimes with soap) my suit after each use. I know it is not what I am doing after the swim but the pool itself. It is what it is....

So my question is - from your own experience - is there a particular brand or suit that you would recommend, i.e. has good lycra life & will not fade? I've mostly stuck to Speedo brands for my workout suits. Just this year, my black Speedo endurance lycra broke down in a few months. I had a Diesel brief (interim while I purchased a new one) that lasted even shorter. I am now swimming in a Speedo 1" Solar xtra life. While the Solar's lycra is holding, the grey suit is now turning burnt umber.

I've done a search swimoutlet and sites like and I know there are brands which come up as stating "chlorine resistant" but before I pull the trigger, I thought to ask here. I'd also consider water polo brands thinking they probably get a lot of pool time & might last longer.

As for my style, I prefer the side cut <3" or <7cm. I normally swim in dark lined suits that don't draw extra attention or have VPL (which is why I like Speedo brand & lycra so much). While it doesn't necessarily have to be a cheap, I am looking to keep it simple.... mainly because I already have a few pairs of Parke & Ronen and Mr. Turk for the beach & recreational times but those are 'fashion' suits & my wife already pre-warned me not to wear them to the gym (probably doesn't want to hear me bitch about them getting trashed afterwards...)

Open to recommendations & thanks in advance...

[budgybloke]

Hi rmf

Ultimately, nothing made from lycra or a lycra mix will last. The fibres are hollow and let chlorine in, which breaks them down over time. In contrast, polyester and nylon have more solid fibres and won't break down. So you could maybe try Speedo Endurance suits which are made from a polyester mix instead. Polyester suits last forever but I find them a bit uncomfortable in the pool as they're not as elastic and don't form to the body (a bit like wearing a potato sack).

As an alternative, you could try a nylon suit from Caussie or Aussiebum which will also resist chlorine. While the colours will gradually fade (I actually quite like this) the suit won't break down and will stay very comfortable.

[Bullseye]

Hey RMF, I have had similar experiences with lycra. I did a post a while back about my Speedo shoreline going from a beautiful blue to a greyish purple, and the white stripes going yellow. My experience? If you want the color to last and the suit to be durable, gonna have to go with polyester. I agree with budgy that you give up some freedom and comfort. But, my favorite suit, the sporti water polo brief (not quite a potato sack), is really holding up well, and it is fairly cheap. I cut out the lining to give myself some more freedom, but since it is poly, it still keeps the vpl at a minimum. They also make a poly brief that offers more coverage, if you want a more traditional swim style. I have a bright blue one that seems just as bright as when I bought it. All sporti suits are reasonably priced and seem to be just as well made as other more expensive suits.

[budgybloke]

Well there you go - I had no idea Sporti suits were polyester. They're not really sold here.

They certainly look good (as does Bullseye when he wears them). Maybe the potato sack thing is specific to the Speedo Endurance range?

[_su_]

I would also endorse the swimoutlet Sporti suits, with the only caveat being that the regular swimsuits have shown a bit of wear faster than the polo suit, especially with the logo on the regular suit quickly dissolving while the polo suit logo is embroidered on. Actually the polo suit still looks brand new in bright blue.

I tried out a couple of Tribe swimsuits, one polyester and one lycra. Jury is still out on durability, but the polyester one is just as comfortable to me as the Lycra, although may be due to the accommodating cut / pouch of the polyester. So maybe if its constructed differently, polyester isn't a concern. The Tribe suits are admittedly expensive, but I would put the quality on par with the one Parke & Ronen suit I have.

Swimoutlet also sells this "summer solutions" which is very highly rated for rinsing your suit out to make it last.

[rmf]

Thanks Guys, all good ideas.

I will go in search of a polyester suit. Come to think of it, I probably had a Speedo poly suit back in the day that I purchased probably about 20 yrs ago. While the elastic around the legs and waist dried & eventually broke down, the fabric itself only slightly faded.

Budgybloke: I get the potato sac comment. My old poly suit didn't really stretch much and pointing down was almost painful which is pretty much why I got use to any direction but down. Caussie suits look good & my style. With the strong American dollar, the price is pretty good too.

Bullseye & _su_: Thanks for the Sporti water polo suit info. Great to know.

I will go back and look at some poly suits and also, some water polo suits. Maybe I will change it up a bit - go out of my zone and get a patterned suit like a Turbo or something. I wear patterned Square cuts suits all the time so I am not sure why I always buy solid for my workout suits.

I will circle back when I buy the new... but in the mean time, I will be the guy swimming in the burnt umber Solar at the gym...

[Bullseye]

Well there you go - I had no idea Sporti suits were polyester. They're not really sold here.

They certainly look good (as does Bullseye when he wears them). Maybe the potato sack thing is specific to the Speedo Endurance range?

Thanks, budgy for the compliment. Too bad you can't order from swim outlet down under. I think you would look great in a sporti polo suit. They just came out with a new one I am interested in, since they are clearing out the ones I have. No pics on a model yet, so it is hard to judge the cut. I don't know why they don't just make the old one in more colors and restock. Maybe it wasn't selling well. BTW, Sporti makes lycra suits too. I have a few of those as well. And _su_, you are right, the logo on my green euros is practically gone also.

RMF, hope you find a good suit.

[...:::sam:::...]

As an alternative, you could try a nylon suit from Caussie or Aussiebum which will also resist chlorine. While the colours will gradually fade (I actually quite like this) the suit won't break down and will stay very comfortable.

I find the chlorine destroys the nylon aussiebums also. I go through a heap of them. The material is fine but the colour fades out of them pretty quickly and they go transparent.

[swimmy]

My Dolphin Ceres Chloroban has now stood up to a whole year of nearly every day lap swimming. I am really surprised. Beat that!

[rmf]

I plowed through a few suits and ended up going with Turbo. Took me a few tries to get the right size but I now have the right size and the suit has lasted for almost a year and it looks brand new. I swim on average several times a week and there is no sign of it breaking down. The cut fits me right and the sides are perfect. It's definitely a work horse of a suit and it lets me keep my other suits for when I go to the beach or on vacation.

[Scottiebum]

Is this what it looks like when the suit gets thin?

[Thom]

Is this what it looks like when the suit gets thin?

Things that make you say, "Hmmmm......"

[Thom]

I plowed through a few suits and ended up going with Turbo. Took me a few tries to get the right size but I now have the right size and the suit has lasted for almost a year and it looks brand new. I swim on average several times a week and there is no sign of it breaking down. The cut fits me right and the sides are perfect. It's definitely a work horse of a suit and it lets me keep my other suits for when I go to the beach or on vacation.

How do the Turbo sizes run compared to Speedo brand?

[rmf]

I am a 29 waist & I normally buy 30 suits. I went with a Medium in Turbo. I originally had a Turbo Small suit but it's was pretty tight in the package area and sat low in the front. I ended up selling it and bought a Medium which fits a lot better. The water polo suits have absolutely no stretch to them so you have to size up at least one size. Some people size up two if you boarder the next size up normally. Since I am a 29 waist, I only went up one size. If I was a 30/31 waist, I probably would have gone up 2 sizes. Note, Turbo makes swim suits that are not fully double lined and I think those have a little more stretch and are cheaper. I am only speaking about the water polo suits which are double lined both front and back. Also, Swimminn.com and Proswimwear.com.uk have sell them cheaper than Swimoutlet.com if they have your size. If you have a big order, Turbo.es also has decent sales but you have to have a big order to get free shipping.

[Norfcountryboy]

I know that lycra and nylon aren't robust but I'd no idea that lycra had hollow fibres. It certainly explains why lycra suits are vulnerable to chlorine, if one thread gets a tiny hole it it then the whole thread could take in water by capillary action [I presume??] and hold it in there. It would feel dry but the chlorinated water would be sat there with all the time in the world to bleach the colour out and destroy the fabric from the inside.
I'd reccomend Speedo Endurance suits with Polyester. In my experience they last for ever. It is true that they fit tighter and give you less room but I find they polyester ones I have tend to have diagonal creases when I wear them that draws attention to my assets and I've noticed I get checked out more if I'm wearing one rather than a nylon and lycra suit .
There a couple of pools I swim at regularly, one is chlorinated like it's going out of fashion and the other uses a UV filter. I tend to wear the less robust gear either on the beach/ lake or at the UV pool and keep the polyester suits for the chlorine pool.
I'd give a warning about fabric labels as I think they are often misleading. I've got a few suits that feel like nylon lycra combination but they say Polyamide. Don't confuse this with polyester, a polyamide describes a structure and is pretty much any kind of manmade [And a few natural] fibre. So Polyester, Nylon and Lycra are all polyamides. I go by feel, something that is polyester tends to feel more "Knitted" than lycra does and the edges of any printing are less distinct.
Intrestingly Adidas Infinitex suits are a Nylon/ Elastane [Lycra] mix but are claimed to be chlorine resistant. I haven't used my infinitex jammers long enough to know if this holds up.
Also anything I suspect is a nylon lycra mix gets handwashed with soapflakes and I don't dry any of my suits outside incase the sunlight fades 'em.