The last time I shopped for swimwear was in 2014, when I was building into my first ironman and started swimming a lot more. While my suits have served me well, every good thing comes to an end and I found myself in need of new suits. I turned to Amanzi Swimwear, an Australian swimwear brand that has made a bigger push into the Philippine market the past two years.
The chlorine-resistant SPF50 Amanzi Armor fabric is a big draw for me. I do almost all of my swimming in chlorinated pools, and I’ve had poor experience with high-profile swimwear brands whose suits either turn into sticky rubbery messes within a year, or shred when the fabric turns crispy. One of my Endure teammates Hanna Sanchez teaches swimming and is also a marathon swimmer; she swears by her Amanzi swimsuits. My friend Brooke Langereis-Hammond is an “Amanzi girl”, a pro triathlete featured on all their PR materials. She practically lives in Amanzi swimwear — and races all her triathlons in them!
I inquired on the Amanzi PH Facebook page about their latest High Summer collection catalogue, and the brand manager Pinky Lim was kind enough to send me one of their one-piece suits to try out! Cue the excitement…
This is their commemorative Rio Olympics design featuring wild and splashy graphics depicting the fun things you can find in Brazil. Right out of the bag I loved how bright and colorful the suit was — but would it fit?
I picked a Women’s size 10 according to their size guide (34″ bust, 26″ waist, 36″ hips). The material is slightly less stretchy than my previous suits, but for me it serves to compress my jiggly bits and make me more streamlined in the water. The medium-cut leg gives excellent coverage in front, but for women with callipygian figures you may want to size up.
The thin straps are designed to fit comfortably around the shoulders and shoulder blades for optimal mobility, and the open back follows the curve of the body ensuring you don’t get that annoying drag from water entering the suit bottom when you push off.
My testing session may not have been entirely scientific because I didn’t swim in my old suit and then compare it to swimming in Amanzi, but I was approximately 3-5 seconds faster per 100 meters than usual! It’s probably a combination of lower drag (suit fabric clung tight to my body) and better body posture (the suit makes you “swim tall”).
While Amanzi Swimwear is available at AQATIX multi-brand store in Glorietta 2 (beside Havaianas), they don’t have the full range on hand — the High Summer collection is not yet in stores. You can order by messaging their Facebook page, depositing payment into their BPI account and sending them proof of deposit. Then you get the goods delivered direct to your doorstep!
I’m super happy with Amanzi Swimwear and have already put in an order for my second suit plus one of their cute silicone swim caps. I expect to look good and swim fast whenever I’m at the pool. 🙂
