Review of Euro Style Club Swim brief from Swimoutlet.com

This is a review of the Club Swim Euro style brief purchased from Swimoutlet.com. This brief features a “euro” cut which means that it fits lower at the waist and has a narrower side, about 1 ½ inches rather than the standard cut with about a 3 inch side. There has been considerable discussion on the reviews of this brief as to whether the sizing is undersized by 2-4 inches. That is, a 34 inch brief is closer to a standard 30 inch brief, a 32 is closer to a 28 and so on.

I normally wear swim briefs with a 30-32 inch waist. I already owned 3 pair of the Club Swim Euro briefs, one pair in size 32 and two pair in size 30. Euro style briefs are designed to ride an inch or so lower at the waist than a standard brief, as well as fit snugger. They fit closer to what is sometime called an Asian-style swim brief (aka Japanese “Speedo”) than a full-sized brief. Asian-style briefs are difficult to find in the US without ordering from Asian vendors, and generally end up costing over $40 a pair. So if the club Swim Euro brief gives similar fit, cut and coverage as the Asian vendors offer for $9.95 (sale price) this represents an incredible bargain.

Despite the reviews claiming that the sizing of this brief runs small, I had no problems getting into the 32 or the 30 inch brief. The cut does ride low, but no lower than some other swim briefs I own. Having experimented with “correct” sizing and finding the fit ok, I decided that it might be interesting to actually try undersizing these a bit, going down to a waist size 28, and I ordered two pair in that size.

I assure you that even though my waist normally is 30-32, there was no problem getting myself into the size 28 brief. Of course they fit still snugger that the 30 or 32 inch briefs, and ride still lower. But a low ride, particularly in the rear coverage, is part of the whole “look” of an Asian-style swim brief. On me, this shows just a little in the rear much like a real Asian-style brief. Whether you are ok with this or not is up to you. If you are apprehensive about this look, you may not want to undersize like I did and instead order your regular waist size, but personally I think the very low cut both in the front in the rear looks very good (still without being too revealing), so if you want this look and fit, go for it.

I have a pair of Tyr briefs that I got in a Swimoutlet Grab bag purchase (also US waist size 28”) that were originally designed to be sold exclusively in Europe. The sizing and fit of the Club Swim brief are very similar. So if you are looking for an Asian-Euro cut, fit and feel, these briefs might be for you.

Are these briefs mainly for swimming or for other kinds of “recreational” wear? That is a good question. I always have fun when I set up an opportunity to run an experiment like this. After trying on a few of these briefs in various sizes (largest first, 32, 30, and then 28 inch waist) I was not only up but off with enthusiasm in a hurry. In short, I enjoyed myself immensely wearing these. I think you will likely find the cut, fit and feel to your liking as well.

http://www.swimoutlet.com Euro style brief

http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/4890.htm

David Sebringsil sebringsil@aol.com http://www.sebringsil.com