I had two girls standing side by side in LZR Elites this weekend, and one had water beading on it while the other didn't. One was straight out of the box, and the other had been worn for one previous meet. They oughtta last longer than that... wouldn't you agree? They still have great compression after a few swims, but the kids know there is a difference between new and used tech, even after the days of neoprene.
Fabric has to be permeable to get the FINA tag on the butt, and once it has that tag nobody questions whether the suit is legal or not. But what if you could find a permeable fabric that could be made water repellent after purchase? Admit it. Everyone out there knows at least one person who smelled like Rain-X at the big meet. People have tried it... trust me.
Well, believe it or not, the day has not just come... Science has done better than we could have imagined. Nanotechnology has evolved to the point that now electronics and even fabrics can be made not just waterproof, but SUPERHYDROPHOBIC. There is a big difference between those two terms. I think the big meet just added a new step in preparation: taper down, shave down, suit up, spray up.
Watch these videos and then please reassure me that FINA is already developing a test for this. You will see that it does not limit itself to fabric... it works on skin as well. And it is not that you just don't get wet: Water apparently just moves out of your way. It is invisible and it will be on the market soon. I am absolutely certain that I am not the first person to have looked into this. I guarantee that as soon as Yahoo! News broke the story that there will soon be a spray that can waterproof an iphone, all those coaches out there smarter than me were on it and probably got a foot in the door to get their hands on it first for testing. Check it out.
Nice find Shawn. Reminds me of the video you (?) did a few months ago showing that the "permeable" suits aren't, in fact, permeable.
ReplyDeleteHow do you test for this stuff without ruining the "newness" of the suits before a race?
Hmm. It appears my world records for chocolate-syrup swimming are in jeopardy.
ReplyDeleteAnd that fourth video - my mind immediately went to the gutter. Rawr.
Wouldn't the test just be to pour water on each competitor before the race?
ReplyDeletei don't think the test will be that easy. how easily can you tell the difference between a new suit and a sprayed suit? or skin for that matter? or a cap? they will probably have to have some kind of a test strip... and are they going to actually check for this at every high school and USA meet out there? it ain't just the international stuff I am worried about here.
DeleteCrap...
ReplyDelete4th video down = most awkward 43 seconds of my life....
ReplyDeleteDoes it repel glitter?! that stuff is definitely the stickiest stuff in the world...
ReplyDeletewhat in the hell kind of league are you swimming in man? glitter? really?
Deletehttp://www.liquipel.com/
ReplyDeleteHere is your waterproof iPhone
not sure if that is a similar product or not. I know that there is stuff sold at shoe stores too, but I think the nano-tech might be a whole new level. I plan to look into it if I ever get a chance. Also, I found out recently that neverwet is already for sale industrially but won't be released for individual spray can purchase until summer... just in time to cause major problems by giving FINA a great excuse for not having a test ready for it. Which would be great because then they would just have to legalize it and the whole mess would be solved. and then we bloggers will have nothing to write about because FINA is always right.
DeleteIf you sprayed this all over your body, would you skim across the top with no resistance, or would you sink like a rock and be unable to get to the surface due to not being able to push against the water?
ReplyDeleteIf it will keep coffee off my white shirt i am cool with it on suits and swimmers.
Deletemy guess is that the pool would be like one big slip and slide, and the challenges of our sport would change. we will soon be like a mixture of luge and bowling, where we dive from the blocks and hold streamline for the entire 50 meters while trying to control our slide with slight movements of the torso so that we don't bump the lanelines and lost speed.
DeleteTHUS THE VIKING HAS PREDICTED THE FUTURE. BUY A SLIP AND SLIDE AND CHANGE YOUR TRAINING ROUTINE IMMEDIATELY SO YOU ARE NOT LEFT AT A DISADVANTAGE.
Obviously this company won't want to give up all of its information, but I would think that there is a list of chemicals (with or without concentrations) that FINA could have. Is it possible to figure out what wave length of light one could shine on the transparent spray to bring out a color, like black lights? That would be one way to deal with the situation. Otherwise an application of some other chemical one or several of the key hydrophobic chemicals would react to to produce a color change in water like litmus paper?
ReplyDeleteI then wonder if it would still be effective if sprayed on the inside of the suit..
it is nanotech. not sure what kind of chemical properties something like this has.
DeleteI wouldn't expect you to SV, but if this is something FINA and the IOC are going to have prepare for, they have to know what is in such a product to combat it. I would think that 6 months is enough time to figure something out. Does John Leonard have anything to say about this yet?
Deletetrue... i figure that they will pretend they never saw this clip until it was too late to develop a test so they will "allow it for just this one olympiad." and then they might apologize to the people who weren't told it was gonna be legal until after the Olympics are over. haha.
ReplyDeleteI would think the suit manufacturers would be trying to quash this since you could theoretically show up is a Dolphin ugly, spray this gunk on your body and suit, and be just as competitive as the LZR wearer...
ReplyDeleteexcept for the compression and quality fit... that counts for a lot. but yeah, they might want to squash it simply because then their suits last a lot longer. some kids are buying one or more every season.
Deleteyou're right about the compression and fit. but for the average age grouper, high school swimmer or even college kid, this could save a ton of coin, money that won't be going to the competition suit people. Drag out your old Speedo fastskin II kneesuit and go at it....
DeleteBack in the late 70s, we did a lower tech version of this by slathering on "Motion Lotion" and then spraying on a top coating of diluted Jet Dry, the liquid used in automatic dishwashers to prevent water spots. It seemed to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteYou should feel honored, the great(?) craig lord at swimnews has pretty much copied your article, including the 4 videos you used, without so much as an attribution or mention.
ReplyDeleteAren't swimsuits waterproof when purchased? Why would it be illegal for them to be re-water proofed? Is there a FINA regulation against this?
ReplyDelete