Dear Shereen Sabet,

Some background on my swimming ability. I swam competitively in high school for four years and was able to go to state finals for the 400 free relay. Recently, I had the opportunity to try out two full coverage swimsuits. I tried the Splashgear suit and liked it more than the other brand. One reason is the mobility I have without feeling bogged down with the extra "suit". When I had the Splashgear shirt and pants on, I was able to do each stroke. Even fly was good to do without feeling heavy on the arms, as it feels when one wears extra material and it causes drag. This is a good thing for those who may want to wear it before they taper, as well as those who will wear it to swim competitively. On the other hand, the other brand of full coverage swimsuit had the benefit of drying faster once out of the water; however, it would bubble when I swam. This means that when I swam, the extra fabric of the other suit tended to slow me down and restricted my swimming. I felt awkward in the other suit to swim in. When I wore the Splashgear suit, it did the opposite and I would prefer it [over the other brand] to swim competitively.

For swimming on a daily basis, especially for women who have a religious reason for wearing a full-coverage suit, I prefer the Splashgear outfit. The reason would be that the other suit tended to cling to my skin once out of the water. Even though the other suit's top covered adequately, most of the arms and lower pants clung to my skin until it was dry. As I mentioned above, the other suit's material tended to dry faster. On the other hand, the Splashgear outfit was easy to take off when wet and did not take long to dry or feel bothersome. In addition, I liked the feeling that, while getting out of the water, the Splashgear suit was not heavy (the other one was not either but I disliked the fact that it stuck to my skin). The Splashgear pants tended to have water run off them, similar to a 'blade' suit (Xacto is the brand that is used competitively), and I feel that is a good thing, a positive feature.

Thank you for your time.

Anna Maria A.