I was part of the team the helped test the original Fastskin suits to help prepare them for the US national team to wear them in Sidney. I was part of both the lab test group (phase I) and the field test group (phase II).
The suits were tested in phase I, both wet and dry, measuring the push off the wall, the distance that we travelled and the times. Other elite swimmers were used to test the times in actual swim events, as well as in cases where drag forces were measured. The Fastskin suit was tested against the Aquablade fabric, as well as standard nylon/lycra suits in a variety of cuts and styles.
All of this testing was done at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. The tests were conducted by the OTC at their center for perfomance, the tests were administered by USA Swimming in partnership with Speedo. Data from the tests is at the OTC with USA swimming. I would not be surprised that the full test data would not be available for view, as it is probably considered proprietary info for the manufacturer.
The results of these tests were the reason behind why the suits were selected to be used at the Olympics. Quite simply, if they weren't the fastest suits available, they wouldn't be used.
The suits did prove to provide an edge in several areas:
1) overall drag reduction
2) muscle compression
3) buoyancy enhancement
In drag reduction, the suits allowed the swimmers to "slide" through the water more easily. This was tested in several different ways and under precise scientific conditions. One of the interesting things noted was that at higher velocities, swimmers had a higher relative drag reduction (i.e. the faster a swimmer was moving, the greater benefit the suit provided). This may not be of a great benefit to freedivers, who may not reach the speeds at which this effect takes place.
Muscle compression (as Eric noted above) allows for more effective energy use/power transfer. Also, the compression of muscles and the reduction of vibration has been shown to slightly decrease the onset of muscle fatigue. The vibration reduction also helps to provide a better (more solid ?) surface for the water to flow across and around the swimmer. The suits, with their unique cut and stitching of the patterns, provide much more muscle compression than previously available suits/styles. The suits that were worn at the Olympics in 2000 were individually custom cut and stitched for each swimmer. The "stock" suits available to the public provide much of the same effect, but those custom suits really maximized the benefits. This would definately be helpful for a freediver, allowing them to get the maximum out of every kick.
Also as noted above, the suits do trap micro bubbles between the fabric and the skin, providing a slight degree of added buoyancy. This happens only when the suit is donned dry, worn very tight and with longer immersion, the effects dissipate. This has been a sticky point with USA Swimming and FINA (the internation swimming governing body) on one side and Speedo on the other. Suits cannot, according to the rules, provide buoyancy. Since the effect dissipates, the buoyancy has been looked at as "incidental and non predictable", thus making it fall into the generalization as jumping into the water with trunks on, and having air trapped inside them as a result. It's right along the edge, the suits are not buoyant on their own (if dropped into the pool they will sink, albeit VERY slowly-as opposed to a wetsuit that will actually float on it's own), and that has been the standard used in this issue. This may change in the future and that change may make these suits "illegal". The fact that this effect is unpredictable and dissapates, makes this a bit of an odd issue in freediving.
I also was involved in "wear testing" the suits (Phase II). This was done to look at durability, wearablity and quality issues.
I personally used my suits to freedive, body surf, ocean swim, pool swim and in dynamic apnea/fin swimming (both pool and open water) during that phase of testing.
The things that I noticed during my use testing were:
The suits were FAR less durable than a dive skin or typical swimwear. After just a few uses, the fabric ridges started to degrade, the suits became stretched out and the seams started to come apart. Part of this is due to how tight the suits have to be worn in order to get the maximum performance, but part of it is an issue with the fabric itself. As a result of this, the Olympic swimmers were provided with one suit to wear during preliminary events and another new suit to wear in finals/medal round swims. And this was for every event that the swimmers were going to swim. Swimmers picked suit styles based on their personal prefrences. Distance swimmers preferred smaller, more conventional suits, sprinters opted for more coverage with stroke swimmers in the middle. But ultimately each swimmer had a variety of choices to try out to decide what would be "best" for them.
I felt like I rode waves "faster" wearing the full body and sleeveless Fastskin suits while body surfing. My swims in the ocean were marginally faster, and my pool times fairly consistent with previous swims. My dynamic apnea and fin swims were marginally faster as well. While freediving, I was cold. I prefer a wetsuit for freediving, but the Fastskin suits would give good jellyfish and sun protection when warm in nice warm waters.
One of the things that you have to remember when discussing these suits is that are primarly designed to benefit very well trained, highly conditioned, Olympic level swimmers. This is where every hundreth of a second counts (if you remember the 50m freestyle in 2000-the fastest swim race-where Gary Hall and Tony Earvin tied). And any minimal edge can be the difference between gold and silver.
On the marketing side, yes Speedo did well, by creating a "monkey see-monkey do" situation. As a result of the high cost of these suits, many teams have enacted rules that say they can only be worn by swimmers going to Sectional or Zone Championships, Junior & Senior National Championships and Olympic Trials. It is up to parents and more importantly coaches to impress on swimmers that NO suit will make up more crappy technical skills or lack of training.
Unfortunately Speedo also pumped sooo much money into the development of the suits and getting them on athletes in 2000, that it drove them in late 2000 into Chaper 11. Yes they are recouping their investment, but it wasn't the amazing windfall for the company (they had planned for it to be huge....and it simply wasn't....there are a bunch of reasons behind that....). The suits are much more costly to produce, look at a typical suit has 4-6 seams, where the Fastskin may have 2-3 times as many, and uses a much more expensive fabric, and more of it. But I will agree, those suits are very pricey.
(This info I know becuase I was working for Speedo from 1997-2001. I lost my job in early 2001 when Speedo's financial situation went into the crapper....they eliminated all but two jobs-out of 35- in the department that I was part of.)
Since I have not been with Speedo since 2001, I don't have the same level of insider info about the suits that are developed for 2004. But I do have some of the suits that were used at the Olympic Trials earlier this month. the side panels are more stretchy, and a different fabric, this may allow for more comfort that has been a complaint since the beginning-but the original suits were designed for short term wear and only a few wearings.
Thanks for letting me expectorate all this
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