Aquapel is a technical racing swimsuit

Swimsuit

A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...

 designed by Tyr

Tyr Sports, Inc.

TYR Sport, Inc. is an American manufacturer of recreational and competitive swimwear, swim caps and goggles. It was co-founded in 1985 by Olympic medalist and former USA Swimming Co-Captain Steve Furniss. TYR is based in Huntington Beach, California. Contrary to popular belief, its name is not an...

. It has a unique creation process which gives it a high-speed design, turbulence reduction and advanced compression biochemics. The suit fits snuggly and uniformly across all parts of the body. The suit also sports strangely placed seams, that together make-up what TYR calls hydro-dynamic flow panels. These flow panels have been specially designed to reduce turbulence, and aid in the smooth control of water flow. The price range for this type of suits is roughly $55 for a racer to $220 for a bodyskin

Bodyskin

A bodyskin is a style of competitive swimwear worn by both female and male athletes. Bodyskins are normally made of technologically advanced lycra-based fabrics designed to hug the body tightly and provide increased speed and decreased drag resistance in the water.The bodyskin resembles the design...

.

Construction

Aquapel is constructed of a unique Lycra blend. Then it is passed through a series of rollers which flattening the material, while still maintaining the materials original strength and recovery ability. Then it is heated, which sears the material giving it its unique shiny finish. A hydrophobic solution is the applied to the finished material to reduce the chlorine and water absorption of the fabric. Combined all of these applications help the suit reduce drag and micro-turbulence, while advancing the hydrodynamic principles of the suit.

Performance

The suits have been seen at the 2000 Olympics, but their popularity was far lower than that of their competitions, the Speedo

Speedo

Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...

 Fastskin.