For those of us who enjoy swimming as part of our exercise regimens, we know that there’s a myriad choices out there for what to attire oneself in, both in terms of brands and cuts of the swimwear.
There are jammers (longer length trunks that go between mid-thigh and the knee), trunks (coverage down to the upper thigh, also called a square cut suit), briefs (shows the upper thigh), and briefer cut items (swim thongs). I’m wouldn’t even consider wearing board shorts or other loose items, because they’re pretty useless for lap swimming (and for that matter, getting a decent tan) and I’m not a frat boy in college. And unless you’re a competitive swimmer or swimming in icy cold water, there really isn’t a need for a full body suit. So the choices essentially boil down to how much coverage you’re comfortable with in terms of selecting a jammer, trunk, or swim brief.
For me, I’ve always worn a swim brief. When I was in high school, they were mandatory and ever since, I’ve never been able to reconcile the freedom of a briefer cut against any perceived need to be more modest. After all, if world champion swimmers can wear swim briefs, those of us who aspire to that level of aquatic proficiency should be able to as well.
But, If you’re looking for a swim brief and have never bought one before, you might want to take a few things into consideration before you whip out your credit card to make that initial purchase. First, try it on. You’ll want to get one that fits like a second skin (maybe consider going down a size than you typically wear) so that it doesn’t cause drag while you’re swimming. Another helpful tip is to find something that is chlorine resistant. Constant uses of your suit in a chemical environment (i.e., a pool full of chlorinated water) will eventual degrade the fabric of the suit (in the same vein, if you can, buy more than one suit and rotate them—they’ll last longer that way). Third, since you’re probably not going to be swimming in the Olympics and need your suit to be hydrodynamic, try to find a suit that has a little bit more room up front. Some of the suits that I’ve tried in my four years of avid swimming were really lacking in the pouch area, and were decidedly unfriendly to my boy zone.
I bet you’re asking what I would suggest. Well, I like Andrew Christian Team Bikini. It is on the brief side, but there’s full coverage in the rear. There’s also a little room up built up front so that I’m not mashing my own potatoes. I also
really like the design of the garment: contrast stitching and stripes on the side suggest athletics without committing you to turn in world record times in the pool. In fact, I enjoy them so much that I own multiple pairs in black, blue, and red.
So, if you’re looking to get into swimming for exercise and you’re looking for a brief to wear in the pool, I would highly recommend you try this brief.
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