When a girl spends as much time as I do in the water it's necessary to have as much kit as is humanly possible. My kit bag consists of pull buoy, kick board, finger paddles, hand paddles in three sizes, aquapacer, three caps, two pairs of goggles, watch, fins (two pairs), earplugs, nose clips. In fact it's such a good workout carrying the bag with all that stuff, that I have warmed up before I get to the pool.
As well as all of that, of course, a normal girl has to have as many swimming costumes as possible, with swimming caps to match the colours of the costumes, several pairs of goggles for different daylight conditions (for us outdoor swimmers). In the pool, new costumes are duly admired, commented on, and coveted after by lane mates...
As well as all that, swimming outdoors and swimming long distances have their own sartorial challenges for the female swimmer. Endurance costumes rub too much in the sea and over long distances, and a girl has to pay much attention to tan lines when swimming outdoors in the sun for hours. It's a challenge quite frankly.
So it was very exciting to be approached from Michael at Simply Swim, who asked me if I'd be willing to review some swimsuits from their new UK based swimming products website. Are you kidding?!
After agreeing I was duly given a budget to spend and had great fun being able to select a couple of costumes from the Simply Swim website. Like a kid in a candy shop!
I normally buy all my cozzies from Kiefer in the US and get them shipped here. US swimsuits are so much better than the UK ones - most of them come with thin straps, better colours, less nun like, most of them are double layered or lined so that they last longer. But although it's cheap to buy them from the US, the shipping is expensive and there is always the chance you will get stung with import tax as well. It's become an expensive habit for me.
So I was very excited to see that Simply Swim had a really good range of thin strap costumes. I had ranted on to Michael, my Simply Swim contact, about how I thought that the UK market was so far behind the US market in terms of knowing swimmers' tastes. Most of the women I know would much rather have a costume with thin straps than the normal 'nun like' costumes. UK costumes usually come with thick straps, are navy blue or black, and are polyester affairs that look more Victorian era than 21 Century. These are just not what most swimmers I know want! Listen up suppliers!
Anyway - eventually I plumped for the Speedo Endurance Plus Lane Jet Thin Strap Muscleback and also a two piece Speedo Logo 2 Piece which is a radical departure for me!
Both cozzies arrived promptly as expected. No fuss. The LaneJet costume is great - slightly thicker fabric than the usual lycra, so makes you feel rather less exposed. Especially good for a girl that is used to wearing double lined costumes from the US. Flattering and sturdier at the same time. I haven't worn the two piece yet because it arrived a tad too late for the 'summer'. What I did do though was go right back and buy an extra costume myself - the Speedo Endurance Plus Focuszone Allover Turn Back - another great thin strapped costume with pink bits but a lighter lycra feel and a lower back on this one. Perfect for less tan lines... I am now quite excited that I won't have to buy my costumes from the US any more. We just need a few more thin strapped costumes, and a few less fuddy duddy ones and we'll be sorted! Woo hoo.
So, with my new cozzies from Simply Swim I'm all set for some winter training. And of course I'd really recommend taking a look at the website yourself - a large range of cozzies and other swim accessories, without the US shipping costs!