72 Swimming for Fitness
Open Water Gear
In the pure sense the only gear required is a set of trunks. Look at the gear list for
the UDT swimmers at Omaha Beach in 1944. It did not even include fins and masks.
However, today there are some significant gear issues. Goggles are necessary for any real
swim training. Operational and open water swimming requires more gear. There are
specific training aids that help develop strength and technique in pool training. Swimming
is still an inexpensive sport with respect to gear; a complete set of the most expensive
training gear for pool training will not cost over $100.Wet Suits
Open water swimming may require thermal protection for safety. Males in
particular may be susceptible to hypothermia and the first symptom in an open water
swimmer may be unconsciousness from cardiac arrhythmia. Thermal protection in
swimmers means a wet suit worn over an anti-chafing shirt.Wet suits designed for open water swimming are generally of a Farmer John design
with the arms free for stroking. In all but the coldest water, a 1/8” wet suit is best for surface
swimming. Unlike diving, there is no need to factor in the loss of insulation due to
compression of the neoprene with depth. However, this is not true for the combat swimmer
operations that may entail prolonged periods in the water.Anti-chafing shirts are generally made of nylon without elastic properties. Worn
under the wet suit, the nylon shirt allows arm strokes and head rotation without getting
chafing from the wet suit. If you don’t use anti-chafe shirts, then this would not matter.Hood, Gloves and Booties
" Good open water swimming hoods allow the head to be turned with minimal
chafing. Thermal protection is not as good with the neck exposed. A good
hood preserves a great deal of the swimmer's heat." Gloves may have webbed fingers to allow sidestroke pulling to be more effi-
cient. They work great for freestyle, too. Neoprene web gloves are popular
and work like paddles." Thin 1/8” booties without soles maximize the power delivered by the swim-
mer's legs to the fins.