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Swimming & Water Sports · 9 products

Best Swimwear For Open Water UK

We track 9 swimwear for open water on Amazon UK, priced from £12.99 to £116.99. Half of them sit at or below £30.99. The average customer rating across this selection is 4.1 out of 5, and 2 of the 9 are rated 4.5 or higher. 9 brands are represented, 1 listing each. The cheapest is the Precision Swimwear Classic at £12.99, the dearest the Wilson Swimwear X at £116.99. That is 9 of the 16 swimwear we list in total. Ranking is by verified rating and review volume — never by commission.

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Prices and availability are accurate as of the date shown and may change. Always check the current price on Amazon UK before buying.

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Why these picks

  • Ordering is mechanical: customer rating first, then review count, then a stable tie-break. Commission is not an input, and no listing can pay for a position.
  • The selection carries 14,708 customer reviews in total, the most-reviewed being the Precision Swimwear Classic with 3,943.
  • Prices and availability were last read from Amazon UK on 2026-09-05; 9 of the 9 were in stock at that point. Always check the live page before buying.
  • The fabric composition is read rather than the marketing name: whether a suit contains elastane, polyester or PBT is what predicts how it survives a chlorinated pool.
  • The strap or leg cut is stated, because it decides whether the suit stays put in a training set or is designed to be adjusted.
  • Lining is treated as a specification for pale fabrics rather than assumed.
  • Sizing guidance is taken from the listing's own measurements, since swimwear is worn tighter than clothing and brand sizing is not interchangeable.
  • A pick for children is judged on whether it fits now, not on whether it will still fit next summer.

Buying guide

What to look for

Chlorine, not wear, is what ends most swimwear

Pool water attacks elastane, the stretch fibre in ordinary swimwear, and the suit goes baggy and thin at the seat before anything visibly wears out. Fabrics sold as chlorine-resistant replace some or all of that elastane with polyester or PBT. The trade is real in both directions: less give and a firmer feel when new, in exchange for a suit that survives regular pool sessions.

The cut decides what it can be used for

A holiday swimsuit and a training suit can look almost identical in a photo and behave differently in a lane. Racerback and crossback straps stay put through a hard set; halter necks and tie straps are designed to be adjusted, which is also how they move. For men, jammers and briefs are cut close, while board shorts hold water and drag.

Swimwear is fitted tighter than clothing

A suit that feels tight and slightly awkward while dry is normal: the fabric relaxes once wet, and a suit that is comfortable dry is usually loose in the water. Loose swimwear fills with water and drags, which is why sizing up to fix an unfamiliar tightness is the classic mistake in this category.

Lining and opacity

Pale and thin fabrics can become see-through when wet, and lining is what prevents it. Whether a suit is lined, and whether the lining is full or partial, is usually stated on the listing — and it is much easier to check there than in a changing room.

Where it will be worn

Lane swimming several times a week, a fortnight by a pool and a child's weekly lesson make three different purchases. The first is about chlorine resistance and straps that stay put, the second about comfort and looks, and the third about a fit a child can get into unaided and outgrows quickly.

Common mistakes

  • Buying a fashion swimsuit for lane training: the straps move, the coverage is not designed for it and the fabric gives up quickly in a chlorinated pool.
  • Sizing up because a suit feels tight while dry — it relaxes in the water, and a loose suit fills and drags.
  • Swimming lengths in board shorts and blaming the effort on fitness rather than on the water the shorts are carrying.
  • Wearing a standard elastane suit several times a week and treating its short life as poor quality rather than as what chlorine does to elastane.
  • Buying a child's swimsuit a size big to get two summers out of it, so it drags in the water and slips in a lesson.
  • Leaving a wet suit balled up in a bag after swimming: chlorine keeps working on the fabric until it is rinsed out.
  • Assuming a pale suit is lined and finding out otherwise in the water.

Frequently asked questions

How much do swimwear for open water cost in the UK?
The 9 swimwear for open water on this page run from £12.99 to £116.99, averaging £50.66. Half of them are listed at or below £30.99. Amazon UK prices move, so treat these as the figures at the last catalogue refresh rather than today's shelf price.
Which brands make swimwear for open water?
9 brands appear in this selection: Boardman (1), Coleman (1), Dunlop (1), Karrimor (1), Kryptonite (1) and Muc-Off (1), plus 3 more. The number in brackets is how many listings each has here, not a ranking of the brands themselves.
Which of these swimwear for open water is rated highest?
The Boardman Swimwear Plus, at 4.9 out of 5 from 1,901 reviews. It is top of this list because of that rating, not because of an editorial pick. 2 of the 9 listings are rated 4.5 or better.
How many swimwear are for open water?
9 of the 16 swimwear we list — about 56%. Everything outside that 56% is still on the main swimwear page; this page is a filtered view of it, not a separate catalogue.
Does chlorine-resistant swimwear actually last longer?
It is built to. Ordinary swimwear stretches with elastane, which chlorine degrades, whereas chlorine-resistant swimwear replaces some or all of that with polyester or PBT, which pool water treats far less harshly. The cost is a firmer, less stretchy feel, which is the same property described from the other side.
What is PBT in swimwear?
PBT is a stretchy polyester used instead of elastane. It gives a suit enough give to be worn close-fitting while holding its shape in chlorinated water, which is why it appears in swimwear sold for training rather than for sunbathing.

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