Swimming laps? Swimming competitively? Doing Aquatic Zuumba or fitness classes? Water skiing or wakeboarding? Open water swimming or simply sunbathing? No matter what activity gets you into the water, its an easy bet that the bathing suit you wear is most likely made from combinations of spandex, polyester, lycra and nylon. Manufacturers “name” their specific versions of the fabric blends. For example, polyester fabrics used in the best selling training suits are called Endurance+ (Speedo), Durafast (TYR) and EVR-X (Nike Swim). The fabric that is best for your swimwear is truly dependent on what type of water sport and activity you will be doing. We understand it can get confusing, so give us a call at JAWS Swim Shop 1-800-345-2977. We’re all swimmers and/or swim parents so we’ve got some experience with swimsuits and can help!
POLYESTER VS. LYCRA SWIMWEAR
Chlorine pools and even salt water pools are hard on fabrics. Add sunshine to those pool chemicals and you can understand how hard the life of a swim suit really can be.
Polyester is the “workhorse” fabric of swimwear. As a rule of thumb, the more polyester used in the fabrication of the suit the better its durability and fit retention. In the past 10 years, more and more manufacturers have taken the benefits of polyester and combined it with other fabrics to produce suits that are very durable, retain color, resist bagging, and are soft and comfortable to wear.
Nylon, combined with Xtra Life Lycra® fabric provides a superior, flattering fit that is more durable than nylon combined with spandex alone. The comfort, fit and feel of Nylon/XtraLife Lycra ®suits has made them a popular choice for consumers and swim teams alike. Used for fashion suits as well as performance suits, XtraLife Lycra ® fiber offers freedom of movement and moderate resistance to chlorine: 5X to 10X longer than ordinary spandex. Lycra suits do breakdown in chlorine pools and fabrics do fade more quickly than a polyester suit.
