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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thank you for the explanation for backstroke!

A few more questions if you have the knowledge & patience to help understand all this stuff better:

Are closed back 13O tech suits considered faster for all strokes, just especially important for back? Assuming the swimmer can actually put on and wear a closed back suit, are closed back suits also better for free, fly, and breast?

Any (other?) preferred 13O tech suits or types of suits for the other strokes, or is it just for back?

For breaststroke, are kneeskins better than non-kneeskins? As a non-swimmer, seems like kneeskins would limit range of motion for the legs.

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Technically a closed back suit will be faster in all strokes because the material of the suit does a number of things for the swimmer.

1. It is extreme compression, so the muscles last longer and recover faster - especially important in long course and distance events.  For sake of discussion anything over a 200 we will call distance.  A swim of 100 and below is a sprint. A tech suit helps a swimmer use less energy.  For women it is much more helpful then men.

2. The suits are hydrophobic.  Throw water at a tech suit and the water will fly back at your face.  This property only last for a certain number of swims/events and then it loses value.  So take care of the suit.  This property helps a swimmer streamline better and cut through the water more efficiently - making them faster with less energy.

So the more the suit covers of the body, the more benefit the swimmer will get - even with breaststroke.  Because the muscles will recover, be faster, and move through the water with less energy.  Although tight, and difficult to put on, the suits sort of meld to the body once they are wet so the swimmer does not feel constricted swimmer.

That being said you are talking about time drops on average in a tech suit of 0.5 to 1.5 seconds per 100 yards of swimming.  So the longer the event, the more impact it can have on the swim.  The mental advantage for some swimmers is sometimes huge as well.  Some swimmers get very locked in when they are suited up and perform better.  For this reason, also, tech suits should be saved for big meets, champs, and if a swimmer is trying to get a cut. If you wear them all the time, you lose the mental advantage (and the suit is losing its ability to perform)

Certain brands work better for certain body types and events.  As mentioned TYR suits tend to be the suit for breaststrokers/IMers.  They have a higher neck on them than other brands.  This is especially beneficial for a breaststroker/IM swimmer to reduce drag and increase speed.

Every brand tends to have a different feel to them and a different fabric.  Every line also has a low to high tech suit line.  The more expensive being the newest and best technology and the more extreme compression.  Tech suits are generally worn one to two sizes smaller than a practice suit.  But a professional fitting is key.  I know some swimmers that only wear one size smaller then their practice suit and that is appropriate for them.  One of my swimmers wears two sizes smaller and with her curves she cannot go smaller.  Meanwhile, my other swimmer wears a tech suit that is four sizes smaller than her practice suit.  Yes, FOUR sizes.  If we did not get a professional fitting I would not have believed it. Because of the way her body is built she is very limited in the brands that she can wear because of sizing.

Teams do have agreements with certain brands and require their swimmers to wear them.  In exchange, swimmers generally get discounts of 20-25% off of the suit at whatever shop the team works with.  
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