This Is My Go-To Bathing Suit for Swimming, Paddling, and Chilling, Too

Photo Illustration: Scouted/The Daily Beast/SAXX
Photo Illustration: Scouted/The Daily Beast/SAXX

Scouting Report: SAXX swim suits have the brand's iconic pouch for extra security, and they come in multiple colors and lengths.

When I was a bit of a younger man, many a weekend day involved beach volleyball with friends, swimming and boogie boarding in the chilly Pacific waters off the LA coast, and plenty of time spent lounging on the sand in between such activities. Back then, I had no kids and lots of free time. I also had these absolutely terrible board shorts that were stiff, had no liner, took forever to dry, and didn’t give me the full range of motion I needed for those badass spikes and dives. Sigh.

Today, I have much less time for such littoral excitement, what with family and other such responsibilities, but as a family, we still make sure to get to the beach at least weekly during the summer, be it for swimming, paddling, or just general splashing about. (Lounging on the beach? Yeah right – maybe in a decade.) And these days when I hop into a kayak or canoe with my son, wade into the bay with my daughter or go for a beach stroll with my wife (like for a hundred feet or so until we’re called for), I’m wearing the swimsuit my diving, spiking, boarding younger self wishes he had.

SAXX bathing suits are, to put it simply, well made. Both their shells and liners are made from blends of elastane and polyester, yielding fabrics that are soft and stretchy and that dry quickly yet don’t have that odd “plasticky” feel of so many quick-dry materials. The trunks flex so well that even a gymnast would not feel restricted or encumbered – as a relatively active dad type person, I feel complete range of motion when wearing them.

Buy on SAXX, $null

Inside a SAXX swimsuit a gentleman finds the crassly but cleverly named Ballpark Pouch, a proprietary design element that is essentially just two strips of fabric that keep the thighs separated from the man parts. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is, and elegantly so. Without going into detail, suffice it to say that once you have worn a suit that keeps everything supported and contained and stops chafing, you won’t want to switch back. OK, that was basically all of the detail.

When it comes to a bathing suit, I rank function over form, but it’s more than worth mentioning that SAXX swimsuits come in multiple prints, from the demure stripes or solids to bright and wacky patterns, seascapes, camo, and so on. And they come in lengths ranging from 19” board shorts to 5” super short trunks that will look as awesome today as they would have in 1968.

Scouted selects products independently and prices reflect what was available at the time of publish. Don’t forget to check out our coupon site to find activewear deals from Nike, adidas, and more. If you buy something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.

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