I thought finally to do a quick photoset of all my swimsuits, although as I write this, I have since added another 2 swimsuits to my collection. My collection ranges from standard leaderback swimsuits and hydrasuits, to some less commonly found swimsuits such as the Speedo hooded swimsuit (pictured left) and the Speedo long-sleeved swimsuit.

Originally, my collection started out with just hydrasuits and open back swimsuits and never really thought about adding coverup swimsuits such as the Speedo Splash knee suit, Glow kneesuit and Flower legsuit. Although as a child I sometimes wore sunsuits swimming whilst living in hot climates, such suits didn’t feature again until quite recently.

The other main type of swimsuit is the professional range such as the Fastskin suits. I have one of each main type of professional swimsuit – open back legsuit, sleeveless hydrasuit style legsuit, full body suit and a sleeveless hydrasuit style kneesuit. The only one I don’t have is the open back kneesuit – hopefully one day!

A couple of other specials are a Cressi-sub neoprene zip back swimsuit and a Barracuda neoprene zip back swimsuit (I have a few normal wetsuits but don’t count them as part of the collection!).

My collection continues to expand, but generally I focus on particular styles rather than having lots and lots of similar open back swimsuits, it is just too expensive to have one of each!

The collection can be viewed here and excluding any swimsuits bought since, stands at 33 suits!

I am pleased, and relieved, to say that the OnePieceSwim forum has now been merged with the Ayus-Zentai forum. Why? because managing two forums and keeping both spam free takes time, and I would rather spend that time enjoying the forums! OnePieceSwim enjoys it’s own area in the Ayus forum and has it’s own little identity. Already we have seen new people drop in and chat so I am glad that I finally got round to doing it!

A number of people have accounts on both forums – if you do, and you want the two accounts merged together, let me know via PM (to emjx) on the forum. You can access the forum here – enjoy!!

I was lucky enough to come across a couple more Speedo sunsuits/cover-up swimsuits, including the 2008 Splash Kneesuit (the pink one in the images adjacent and below) that I have been looking for ever since missing the chance to buy it when on sale at one of the online swim stores. The Glow kneesuit (the blue suit in the pictures) was an added bonus as I already have it in pink, but never seen it available in the blue (although it was shown in some Speedo product photos).

Will add some non-stock photos as soon as the new kneesuits arrive!

After years of just black, Speedo in the UK now offer the venerable hydrasuit in a range of four colours: black (of course), sepia brown, blackcurrent brown and most recently, usa navy. The hydrasuit is one of the most popular single styles of swimsuits for sports swimming (as opposed to leisure swimming) and is also enjoyed by many men, having a fuller cut than typical strap based one piece swimsuits. The hydrasuit is an extremely flexible swimsuit that can also be comfortably worn beneath wetsuits or sailing gear.

For what it is worth, the Speedo hydrasuit gets my vote!

And sorry for the lack of updates for so long! Things have been very busy in the lead up to Christmas, a lot on at work, and a new Xbox takes up most of my time!

Fortunately I have added a few more swimsuits to my collection – will try to do a few photos in the next couple of days. One suit I did get was another Speedo kneesuit from their cover-up range. This particular one is the Speedo Girl’s Splash Kneesuit. As far as choosing a size went, after emailing Speedo to check the difference between a women’s 34 and a girl’s 34, I went for a 34 based on the fact that children’s swimsuits are slightly shorter in the body and the size 32 women’s kneesuit that I already have, is a size 32.

The other swimsuits I have bought are:

• Womens Speedo FSII legsuit
• Womens Speedo FSII breastroke suit
• Womens Speedo FSII kneeskin

After seeing the Speedo cover-up swimsuits on the Speedo website some time ago, I finally relented and bought a couple when I saw them in a shop recently. The swimsuits were much better in the flesh so to speak and after buying them, was quite looking forward to trying them on. The cover-up range runs large – the swimsuits are not supposed to be tight like a normal swimsuit, so I went for a size 32 rather than my normal 34. Very glad I did!

I bought a “Glow Kneesuit” and a “Flower Long Leg Swimsuit”. I have only worn the kneesuit swimming so far – the long leg suit I actually bought a couple of days later and ran out of time. The kneesuit was fantastic to swim in, I wore a normal Speedo powerback swimsuit underneath.

» Read more: Speedo Cover-up swimsuits

During my regular browse of eBay, I came across another swimsuit in the same range as the hooded & long-sleeve swimsuits that I have previously managed to buy. This new one is a “strap” type rather than a hydrasuit style, so is not normally that sort of swimsuit that I tend to buy. However, it being in the same range, I felt that it was a must have! Hopefully it will arrive by the end of the coming week. The back style is a little different to a normal strap style suit, and the front is v-shape. The swimsuit is front lined.

I thought that I was aware of all the Speedo swimsuit designs. Then, on my regular search of eBay, I came across a Speedo hooded swimsuit! Yes, you did read that right, a hooded swimsuit. As luck would have it, and plenty of bidding, I won the auction (for a reasonable amount as well) and a few days later, the swimsuit arrived. The material is similar to the endurance material – quite thick. The swimsuit has a zip that goes from under the right arm up to the front of the neck. Getting into the swimsuit is a little more difficult than a normal swimsuit and one does need to be quite flexible! Once zipped into the swimsuit, and with the hood up, it really does feel comfortable. The lower back of the swimsuit is open – I think a styling thing rather than any other reason! You can see the rest of the hooded swimsuit images in the OnePieceSwim gallery.

So, after getting such an amazing swimsuit, imagine my surprise when a Speedo long-sleeved swimsuit from the same range came up on eBay a few days later! Two very rare swimsuits so soon after each other and from different sellers! The long sleeve swimsuit has a rear zip like the normal Speedo hydrasuit, but the lower back is again open. The swimsuit is made from the same material as the hooded swimsuit. See the long sleeve swimsuit images here.