May 102013
Speedo Men’s Race Endurance+ Polyester Solid Square Leg Swimsuit, Black, 32
- 50% polyester, 50% PBT
- Speedo trademarked Endurance+ fabric that is 100% chlorine resistant to last 20 times longer with new four-way stretch technology
- Popular square leg silhouette for more coverage than a brief, with drawstring waist for a comfortable secure fit
- Hand wash cold water, hang or lay flat to dry
- Imported
The Speedo® Solid Endurance men’s square leg swim suit is crafted using the durable and comfortable Speedo Endurance+ fabric. This environmentally friendly construction is fade-resistant and will not stretch even after repeated exposure to chlorine-treated pools or body lotion. The UV protective UPF 50+ construction protects your skin from harmful sun damage.
List Price: $ 39.00
Price: $ 28.95
Best option,
I bought one of these suits three years ago in the UK. I swim 3x a week (on average) in chlorinated pools, so this suit has seen chlorine something like 500 times. Yet it still looks just fine. In the past my suits have lasted a year at most, before becoming unusable.
The reason for this amazing longevity is that the “Endurance+” suit material contains NO lycra. Lycra (spandex) is the stuff added to nylon suits to keep them stretchy. Unfortunately, chlorine destroys it, and this manifests itself in the form of sagging, bubbling suits with little white fibers where the lycra has perished. So what is “Endurance+”? It’s polyester. Yep, nothing big, nothing special. It’s actually a blend of two types of polyester, but other manufacturers make similar blends. The secret is that it contains no lycra but is still stretchy.
Speedo knows about the lycra problem. They offer another solution called “XtraLife” or something like that. That’s a ‘traditional’ nylon suit with a chlorine-resistant lycra. I haven’t tried that, but other swimmers that I know say those suits last about 2 years on average, compared with 6 – 12 months for regular nylon/lycra suits. Still less than the 3 years I got with this suit (and the one before it).
For more casual swimmers, the cost differential between this suit and one made with lycra may not be worth it. There are other considerations in play: the design or the pattern. If you only swim a few times a month, you’ll probably feel like buying a new one before it wears out anyway.
However, for serious amateur swimmers this is the best suit material. Note that this material is not the slippery teflon-like one that got banned for being too good. Also, the style is personal preference. Speedo uses the same polyester “Endurance+” material in suits with other designs, mostly competition briefs. I didn’t think I’d like this square-cut style as much as my more usual brief-style suit, but it actually looks and works better than I expected. There’s no degradation of material on the inside thigh or chafing. Sometimes the material on the inside thigh bunches a bit, but it’s not a big deal.
To summarize, this is a sharp-looking suit made out of the most chlorine-resistant material available for a very reasonable price. I love mine, I won’t go back to suits with lycra, and it gets 5 stars.
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|Let the swim begin!,
Bought these beacuse i have been starting to log a lot of hours in the pool at the local Y, trying to train for my first triathlon. Wearing standard board shorts I was told by a former triathlete is like carrying around a parachute in the water and to get something to last cause the chlorine will eventually eat through anything. So i picked out the Endurance+. At first when i got this out of the box, i thought that there was no way that it could fit beacuse compared to the board shorts i normally wear these are tiny and they don’t really stretch much either. Much to my surprise, after a little “repackaging” they fit very well and were actually comfortable. The square cut seems to give it a little added modesty and its black so nothing really shows although its not for the bashful. I’m normally a 36, and took the advice and got one size up, and it seems to work well. I did cut the tie down string they have and sealed the end up with a flame, out of the box the original size of the laces made a HUGE bow-knot. Although after a few weeks swimming, it seems to stretch out a little but it still fits great.
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|Great Suit,
I am very pleased and impressed with the suit. This is a great alternative to the previous designs that are frankly embarrassing for us old guys to wear in public. However, for those of us devoted to lap swimming for fitness, it is essential to have a low drag suit. I will definitely buy more as I need them!
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