Choosing Your Swimming Equipment, Gear and Accessories

Let’s face it, the market for swimming equipment, gear and accessories is vast and as a beginner you need some help to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Choose the right swimming equipment to avoid frustration

There are the basics that everyone needs, like a swim suit, swim goggles and probably also a swim cap.

Then there is the equipment that you need as a beginner and then don’t need anymore when you are more experienced; a good example of this being swim fins.

Equally, there is the swimming equipment that an experienced swimmer may make good use of and that would be inadequate for a beginner. A tempo trainer for example will let the advanced swimmer practice his stroke regularity and speed while the beginner is most likely better off working on his swimming technique.

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Then there’s the gear which can be categorized as nice-to-have, such as for example waterproof MP3 players.

So feel free to browse the articles below that will help you decide which accessories are right for you.

Beginners

Swimming Equipment For Beginners – Which Gear Do You Really Need? Describes the swimming equipment you need when you want to learn how to swim. There are a few essentials and then some additional gear that can really help you progress faster. Find out what you need in this article!

Swim Caps

Swim Cap Buying Guide: Choosing the right swim cap can be difficult when you stand in front of them at the sport store. Swim caps seem to come in a multitude of colors, sizes, shapes and materials. This article will help you to pick the swim cap that best suits your needs.

Silicone Swim Cap Characteristics, Advantages and Disadvantages: This article discusses the characteristics of a silicone swim cap as well as its advantages and disadvantages.

Latex Swim Cap Characteristics, Advantages and Disadvantages: Explains the pros and cons of a latex swim cap. Also highlights some of the differences with other kinds of swim caps, namely silicone and lycra swim caps. Knowing this can be especially helpful if you are a beginner and wonder which kind of cap you should get.

Lycra Swim Cap Characteristics, Advantages and Disadvantages: This article discusses the characteristics of a lycra swim cap to help you decide if this is the right kind of swim cap for you.

Choosing a Long Hair Swim Cap: This article gives some advice about choosing a long hair swim cap. Discusses swim cap uses, materials and shapes that suit long hair.

Swimming Goggles

How to Choose the Best Swimming Goggles: If you are a novice, choosing the best swimming goggles for your needs can be a frustrating experience if you don’t know what to look for. This article gives you some tips so that you can make an informed decision the next time you are out to buy new swimming goggles.

Best Speedo Swim Goggles – Futura Ice Plus Review: A review of my favorite Speedo swim goggles, the Futura Ice Plus. Discusses design, lenses, nose bridge, gaskets, strap, colors and what I like and dislike about these goggles.

Speedo Vanquisher Swim Goggle: Version 2.0 Plus Review: The Speedo Vanquisher Swim Goggle is one of the most recommended pair of swimming goggles on the Internet. So I wanted to know if it lives up to its reputation and got myself a pair and tested it for a few weeks. Let’s find out how it went…

Nose Clips / Nose Plugs

Swimming Nose Clips – Advantages and Shortcomings: Nose clips are those little pieces of bent wire padded with rubber that you can stick on your nose. They squeeze the nose so that the nostrils are kept shut and water is kept out. They have their advantages and shortcomings, which are discussed in this article.

How To Wear Swimming Nose Plugs: Swimming nose plugs (nose clips) are small devices designed to be worn on the nose and that keep the water out. If you have never used them before, you might be wondering how nose clips should be worn. This depends on the type of nose clip you bought.

Miscellaneous Gear

How Music got me to Stay in the Pool (with a waterproof Audioflood iPod): Our reader Barney describes how a waterproof iPod made by Audioflood keeps him motivated during his swims.

3 Waterproof Fitness Trackers That Are Ideal for Swimming: A review of three of the best waterproof fitness trackers that allow swimmers to monitor their heart rate and workouts in the pool.

Using Water Noodles To Learn How To Swim: Water noodles or swim noodles are long supple cylinders made of foam that can be used as flotation devices. They can be great swimming aids if you want to learn how to swim, as they float extremely well. This article describes some of their uses in swimming exercises.

When and How to Use Swim Paddles: You’ve certainly seen swim paddles at the pool before, as many seasoned swimmers use them. And now that you’ve been swimming for a while you wonder if you should get them too. You’ve figured out that they should allow to strengthen your shoulders and make you swim faster. But are they really such a good idea?

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Pull Buoys: Designs, Shapes, How To Use Them: Explains under which circumstances pull buoys help you to learn how to swim and under which circumstances they can hinder your progress.

Swimming With Fins – Using Swim Fins To Learn How To Swim: Swimming with fins can help you to learn a new swim stroke or to improve your swimming technique. This article helps you choose the correct ones and describes a few uses of fins.

Best Kick Boards Uses to Learn Swimming or Improve Your Technique: Explains how to best use kick boards to learn or improve in breaststroke, front crawl, butterfly stroke and backstroke.

Finis Swimmer’s Snorkel Review: A review of the Speedo / Finis swimmer’s snorkels. Snorkel design, how to put on the snorkel, breathing, swimming with the snorkel, snorkel uses, etc.

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