Planning to roll out some up-to-date reviews, I recently dived back into the world of tech suits. Upon entry, I felt an intense stinging sensation in my eyes, not leaky goggles, but tears at the alarming prices some models are selling at. Such price tags warrant questions; how much should we be spending on our new race suits? Does more money get you a better suit? Are there more affordable options? Here’s my take.
The Problem
The inspiration behind this article and the model that really made me wince is the new Finis HydroX. On their US website, the women’s Kneeskin will run you a whopping $600 and the men’s Jammer $400. It gets even more worrying when you cross the pond to Europe, with the price being €719 for a Kneeskin and €479 for a Jammer. Yes, a women’s racing suit is starting to pull close to a THOUSAND EUROS! HydroX is not the only culprit, a lot of the Western models have really started to push up in price recently.
What are we paying for? Tech suits have two main tasks: reducing muscle fatigue and increasing your hydrodynamics. Every tech suit on the market consists of the same limited selection of fabrics (nylon, elastane, polyester, and maybe a tiny percentage of carbon fibre), woven into a trademarked ‘technology’. Since the percentages of fibres are extremely similar across all price ranges, we know it’s not the materials but the ‘technology’ that we are being charged a premium for. Any decent brand will be doing some sort of testing or research into a suit’s ability to perform its compression and hydrophobic functions. But no matter how profound the research, it all falls apart when cheaper tech suits outperform the ‘technology’.
The Japanese Tech Suit Loop Hole
I recently acquired arena Japan’s Aquaforce X models, the Motion Free (MF) and Control Position (CP). Both retail for 28,600 Japanese Yen, or approximately €191. I’ve done the math for you and that means instead of a HydroX you could get a CP and MF and have €100 to cover the import duty (sometimes you get lucky and don't have to pay). The nail in the coffin is that these arena Japan suits are some of the best suits I have ever tried. There is a very similar story when it comes to Mizuno, who as you know, makes my favourite tech suits in the world. They come in at a slightly higher price than arena Japan's models at 30,800 JPY (€206) for men’s models and 43,780 JPY (€292) for women’s. They also have a very impressive budget model called the MX Sonic that is just £90/€100/$110!
I am someone who can see a purpose, a niche, a justification, for literally any suit out there. Some people would prefer the fairly generic TYR Avictor over my go-to suit; the Mizuno GX Sonic V ST, regardless of the asking price. Even with that in mind, I honestly believe that between the four different Mizuno flagships and two arena Japan styles they cover EVERY. SINGLE. NEED. Japanese suits are just better, but most importantly, they are also hugely more affordable. The suits all come in somewhere between €190 and €210 (which for me in the UK is just £165 and £180 and for US folk $210 to $230).
Recently I have teamed up with Buyee, a Japanese drop shipper who will order you any Japanese suit (or product from Japan), get it sent to their warehouse, check the item and then ship it a fast courier to wherever you are in the world. There fee is extremely low and right now with the following link you can save 10% off your first purchase meaning you get these awesome Japanese suits for an even more outrageous price!
The Unpopular Suit Loophole
There are still plenty of great closer-to-home options without having to worry about imports across borders. Brands like Mad Wave and Akron can still offer awesome performance at massively reduced list prices (due to lack of popularity). You probably haven't considered them because they are so much cheaper than Speedo, TYR, arena, and Finis models and therefore can't have been as good... have I got news for you!
Take the Mad Wave Forceshell for example. It retails for £175 but can be picked up these days easily for £125 (in the US it's $95 on eBay). On the weekend, Fritz (18yrs) swam massive personal best times of 25.8, 56.4 and 2:05.3 in the 50, 100, and 200 backstroke events at the regional championships (2 golds and 1 silver) in that suit. He loved it and said he won't be going back to his his previous model that cost £277.
Here’s a secret. All your favourite swimmers who are wearing the biggest swim brands are getting those suits for free. Remember that when you open your wallet for tech suit. Also, consider whether you’d rather be the guy with the flashy suit who is treading water or the guy with a lesser-known suit who is smashing PBs.
Dear Swim Mums and Swim Dads
This bit is for you. Parents regularly ask me which tech suit is suitable for their age group swimmers. I’ll break it down for you. First, consider the longevity of the suit, thicker suits will last for more meets than thinner suits. Some of the thinnest suits are only good for 5 races. You’ll get the best value for money out of a longer-lasting suit. It’s difficult to tell a suit’s thickness from a website so I suggest asking around or watching review videos like my own. You will also get so much more mileage from buying multiple mid-range/affordable suits than one top-of-the-range. Your swimmer is the next factor. Tech suits will perform differently if a swimmer doesn’t have fully developed muscles. This is because suits aid swimming in two ways; compression on the muscles helps to stop them from fatiguing, while the hydrophobic properties of the fabric increase hydrodynamics in the water. If your swimmer does not have fully developed muscles, then they probably don’t need the best compression. Finally, consider their ability. Better swimmers will benefit more from better suits. Your yet to be teenage kid will be still swim PBs (if they are working hard) regardless of whether or not they are wearing a budget suit, a discounted discontinued model or the same Speedo Pure Intent suit as Caeleb Dressel and Adam Peaty!
Answers.
So going back to the original question that I posed to you, "How Much Should Tech Suits Cost?". I think the answer lies within the Japanese market. A flagship suit, at retail price, with all the bells and whistles should not be more than $230/£180/€210 (men’s) or $310/£27/€290 (women's)! While I have mentioned the Finis HydroX as a bit of a scapegoat, I have found both TYR and Speedo options over £300. To me, it is clear that Finis have been forced to price their suits to show that they are on the same level as the flagships from other brands. The reality is that pricing a suit high is the BEST marketing strategy.
While I don't doubt that prices reflect research, resources, manufacturing, materials, and the time that goes into making a tech suit. It is simply not ok that we have Jammers and Kneeskins costing more than the Speedo LZR Racer bodysuit that was designed in part by NASA! There is just no way research and development are more expensive these days than the groundbreaking full-body suit that featured bonded seams (for the first time ever), polyurethane panels, and so much more!
So, while the latest and "greatest" suits may be released in 2023 at ever more inflated prices, there is no reason to worry about the prices of suits. With just a little research you can buy good or better suits for much less cash. At the end of the day, swimmers will be judged by how fast they swim, not whether they have the newest colourway of the most expensive suit!
If you want a full range of tech suit rviews, guides and tier lists, I do reccomend checking out my YouTube Channel.
If based on this article you save some money on suits and feel like supporting me, then feel free to grab some of my merchandise which I have also priced very fairly!
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