XTerra Lava Shorts Review

One of the main reasons I have considered doing a triathlons is because of the use of a wetsuit.  2 years ago, it was time to work on the scariest part of the triathlon,  the swim.  And more scary was open water swimming.  However with a wetsuit, it would be very difficult to sink.  After doing hours of research, I came across XTerra, and decided to buy one of their suits, and since then I have gotten a couple for me and for my wife.

But in order for me to eventually qualify for Ironman Kona, I would need to tread water for probably 1/2 hour before swimming for the race, but without the aid of a wetsuit or floation device that would be impossible to do.  

While I have gotten better at swimming, I am no Andy Potts.  So I was surprised to get an email from Jay Weber asking me to try on the new Lava Shorts they created.  It's a variation of the Lava Pants.   Ultimately it helps with swim training by keeping the lower half more buoyant and keeping the swimmer more streamline.

So Monday, I finally had time to take the Lava Shorts for a "spin" in open water.  While I was not floating as easy as with a full wet suit, I was more buoyant.  Then as I sway, I could feel my feet flutter across the top of the water unlike before.  It was a weird feeling of having my hips higher in the water, which made it easier to swim.  

What I liked about it was that instead of a traditional swim buoy and expending energy trying to keep the buoy in between my legs, my whole hip and thighs were floating so that I can focus on my stroke.

Ultimately as the temps go down, I will be getting back into the pool.  This is were I will time myself without the Lava Shorts, with the Lava Shorts and after a couple of months see if my technique has improved after I have gotten use to the new improved position.

The funny thing is that, I sometimes want to wear my wetsuit at the pool, and I was not going to cut my wetsuit apart to wear them as shorts, so this came at the perfect time as the water will be getting cooler

I am getting excited about swimming better next year!






And as a bonus you can save up to 60% on XTerra Lava Shorts when you use code CO-RUNWITHNOAH