Swimskin Review
Just in time for the holiday season…
Coach Emily provides a thorough review of swimskins, giving insight into what might work best for you.
Also, tune in for more discussion: Tower 26 Podcast Episode #85: Are All Swimskins Equal?
A swim skin is a must have for any non-wetsuit swim because it:
Increases hydrodynamic efficiency
Helps streamline the body, contributing to tautness and alignment
Reduces drag, covering pockets or other elements typically found in a race kit, and is usually a less absorbent fabric
In no particular order, here are the details on the swim skins that Emily tried out, with her personal experience outlined below:
Zoot - Ultra
Roka - Viper X, sleeved
Roka - Viper X, no sleeves
Blue70 - PZ4TX
Orca - RS1
Deboer - Tsunami 1.0
Zone 3 Streamline
Zone 3 Short Sleeve SwimSkin
I used the sizing chart provided on the Zoot website, ordering a medium for my 5’8” 130 lb frame. Zoot’s suit is an Italian stretch-woven fabric where “every filament is treated with lot’o’dry patented Durable Water Repellent (DWR) to reduce water absorption.”
The Zoot Ultra is sleeveless and fits over a trisuit without a problem. It is easy to zip up with an attached string. Easy again for removal, just reach back, grab the string and pull down. The string is short enough that it does not get in the way during swimming.
The fit is normal: not too long or too short through the torso. The legs go all the way down to just above the knees which I liked. It looks good and is not too tight on the quads. All the seams are bonded and I did not encounter any chafing during a 3500 meter pool swim. I put the suit on at home and then drove to the pool. During the drive, I thought it might be too tight on the shoulders, but once I got in the water it did not bother me at all.
I was definitely curious to try the sleeved suit. Many athletes will pull their sleeved tri suit down for swimming so I was interested to see how the flexibility was in this suit.
Roka has a wide range of sizes because they incorporate “tall” versions for extra small, small, medium and large. This is a great option for those with longer torsos. I ordered a Medium Tall and it fit very well over a triathlon kit. I wore a sleeved jersey and getting the sleeves over the sleeved jersey without any bunching was surprisingly easy.
The zipper is a locking zipper. To unzip, you reach back, flip the zipper up, then pull apart at one of the shoulders and the suit unzips. This is very easy to accomplish and worked well. Without a string on the zipper, you will need someone to pull it up for you…but that’s what triathlon friends are for, right?
Swimming with sleeves—this was no problem! I expected maybe it would feel like I lost some mobility in the shoulders, but did not feel that way at all. (I also have found that sleeved trisuits do not bother me when swimming either.) So, if you are used to swimming in a wetsuit, this suit will be no problem for you. Personally, I have seen more problems with people breaking zippers or flailing around in T1 trying to pull their top up.
The Roka swim skin came all the way down to just above the knees and the leg opening was not super tight but stayed in place well. All the seams were bonded and I did not have any chafing issues. The fit was snug but not too tight and it had their signature X girdle around the middle, providing some light support.
The no sleeved version of Viper X by Roka fit the same, just without sleeves of course. I ordered another Medium Tall and it fit well.
I did not have any chafing from the arm openings and the length was fine, my shoulders and back had plenty of room to move without the suit impeding anything or feel constrictive.
Like its sleeved brethren, this suit had bonded seams and a locking zipper, making removal easy as you run through T1.
Again, with their large range of sizes (as well as sleeves and no sleeves), Roka offers a variety of suits to choose from that will most likely work with all body types—whether you are shorter, tall or of average height.
The Blue70 PZ4TX was a great suit, with a few subtle differences from the other suits I tried. For one, the back of the suit was a bit wider (more like a tank top vs a racerback) and the legs of the suit stopped a few inches above the knee.
The arm holes were a bit smaller than the racerback type swim skins and I worried this might be uncomfortable or cause some chafing. However, it did not. The seams are all bonded and the legs offer a bit of compression for your muscles.
I ordered a size unisex Medium using their size chart, which seemed to run true to size. However, I will say, for all the suits I tested I think this would be the one that would work best for those with a normal or short torso, not a long one.
Like all the other swim skins except the Zoot, the zipper on this brand is the locking zipper. Flip it up, pull apart and the suit comes off easily.
First of all the Orca is a beautiful red color. I got a few compliments on it at the pool! So, if you want to have an awesome red swim skin that will get noticed … this is the one. It’s not fire engine red, but a deep beautiful maroon red color.
That said, back to the suit itself! I was right on the line between a small and medium. While the small fit and went over a trisuit with relative ease, I did feel it was a bit constrictive across the front of the chest. Orca designed their suit to have two layers of the hydrodynamic material across the front and just one layer (2 ply and 1 ply if you will) across the back panel. This made the front of the suit just slightly less flexible than the other models tested. Their product design team told me the following:
The double layer is for better buoyancy, similar to a neoprene short, making it faster. On the back could create too much movement of water and be uncomfortable while swimming.
Because the double layer is a bit more sensitive to fitting, so maybe could change the size depending on the user's shape.
So, my advice would be to size up, especially if you are on the upper end of the size guide given you chest, waist and hip measurements. I also think this would be a good suit for those who are normal to short in the torso.
Additionally, it has kinesiology tape built into the sides, which is supposed to help you stay stable for longer and hold a good body position.
All that said, I had a great swim in the suit and like all of the rest tested, once you get in the water, they tend to loosen up a bit.
The Deboer Tsunami suit has a full range of sizes including tall versions, which is what I got since I am 5’8”. The suit has a locking zipper, similar to the vast majority of suits tested. Easy on, easy off, and fits well over a trisuit. The material seems slightly thicker than the Roka or Zoot, though not quite as thick as the front panel of the Orca.
The leg openings end just above the knee, which is what I like best personally, and it isn’t too tight around the thigh. The back of the suit cuts in a bit, similar to the Roka and Zoot, and is comfortable underneath the armpits and across the top of the shoulders.
Deboer writes they placed the seams (not bonded) in the direction of travel to reduce drag and the suit has a water repellent coating. The suit is also designed to offer a bit of compression which is good for holding that body position in the water, increasing hydrodynamics.
With the range of sizes I think this suit is also a good one for tall athletes and those with longer torsos.
The Zone 3 Streamline is a great suit, especially for the price point. It is cut very much like the Roka, Zoot and Deboer with a narrower back and legs that go down to just above the knees. The arm holes are wide and the leg opening are comfortable. It is tight enough around the thighs but not so tight that it cuts off circulation.
Instead of a breakaway zipper the swimskin has a small string to allow you to remove it quickly. Bonus for being able to zip it up yourself because it does have the string attached to the zipper.
The sizing range does not have tall options, but I did find the swimskin to be fairly long through the torso and no tension or shoulder restriction.
Again, for the price point, I think this is great buy especially if you are someone where the chances of a non wetsuit swim is unlikely. It’s a solid suit to have in the arsenal but it won’t break the bank.
The Zone 3 Short Sleeve swim skin was another sleeved version that I thought was very comfortable and I did not notice any shoulder restriction with the sleeves. The sleeves came down to just above the elbow which was very comfortable and hydrodynamic. I mean, if you are going to have short sleeves you might as well have as much of the fast material covering your body as you can! Likewise, the legs went down to just above the knees like it’s sleeveless brethren.
Speaking of fast material, the Zone 3 had a panel across the chest of a special Yamamoto SCS (Super Composite Swim) swim fabric. It meets FINA standards and is non-textile. Zone 3 claims it has the lowest surface frictional resistance of any swimskin in the world.
Appropriately, I did find this suit to be fast. And, let it be known, I asked about the panel on the chest and learned of the surface drag coefficient AFTER I wore it and thought it felt speedy. It was compressive but not too tight and the water really beaded up on the swimskin when I was in the water and when I got out and was rinsing it off.
Like the their sleeveless version there are no tall sizes, but I did find it to be fairly roomy through the torso. Therefore, this suit seems it could work for many body shapes.
Also, like the sleeveless version, the zipper just has a string attached to it for zipping and unzipping. This is easy and quick, and I did not have any troubles with it. I did find that the sleeves required a bit of a good yank to get them off, but not any more so than your normal sleeved wetsuit so I did not find it to be an impediment.
By Emily Cocks
