Diving with a Speedo "Fast skin"suit

Noa

I have used and still have several of the Gen 1 production suits, and had very similar experiences in regards to durability that I had with the prototypes.

I do not think this issue has been seriously addressed with the 2nd generation suits that are the new standard.

I have just this week handled and checked out the suits that came back from the Olympic Team Trials (they were women's suits so I declined to try them on... ). The new suits are stiched a little differently and the panels are oriented differently, but the fabric is still very thin and I think much of the durability issues still remain.

The suits that came back from Trials already showed some "fabric stress" evidence (they had been worn half a dozen times or so). Minor stress, but the wear was similar to what I had seen on suits back in 2000. The side stretch panels may help a little.....but I think since the suit is designed to be worn so tight (for maximum performance), and the fabric so thin, durability will still be an issue.

If you are going to spend the $$$ my personal opinion would be to go with the Gen 2 suits. Yes the price will be higher, but you are getting the best you can get.

The other option might be to wait a little while and see if Speedo ends up shutting down production and sales of the Gen 1 suits.....if this happens (due to the overwhelming demand for Gen 2 suits instead), there may be some retailers that will sell off their remaining stock of the "old" suits at reduced prices...so you might be able to get a good deal. (I am following this situation since I have to buy suits for my high school swimmers towards the end of the year, and if I can pick up something like that at a reduced price, I'll jump on it.)

That's my opinion, that's all....

Drop me a line before you come out. If I'm not available (due to work), I can hook you up with some other freedivers/spearfishermen here.....

If anyone wants a little peek into some of the stuff that is/was being done to evaluate swimmers at the US OTC, check out the current issue of Sports Illustrated (7/26/04 issue with Shaq and Kobe on the cover).

In the back they have a special advertising section on "Olympic Technology" that features some of the ways they help tweak swimmers and swimwear to get the most out of them.

Some of this is stuff that was done during the phase 1 testing of the suits that I talked about earlier in this thread.