- Morning, Trainiacs.
We got a little care package yesterday
that I'm gonna go try here today.
Until now, I have been quite the curmudgeon
about this product, actually.
So these ended up showing up and I put out on Instagram
that I was doing some research on 'em
and you all went mad.
Let's talk about it today.
(upbeat music)
Okay, so historically, I have not been
terribly interested in these swim buoys,
because I'm like, "Mm, I'm a fairly confident swimmer."
So we're gonna try the biggest one they've got
loaded up with a bunch of stuff, share my first thoughts.
(upbeat music)
♪ Wearing light shoes ♪
♪ Walking down the shore, diving head first ♪
Well Trainiacs, I am pleasantly surprised with this thing.
I thought it was kinda gimmicky this whole time,
but no, it's real, and especially considering
that when I put out on Instagram a call that when I said,
"Hey, doing some research on these swim buoys,
can you comment on your experiences?"
And I've probably got 100 messages from people saying,
"Love it, could not be happier with it,
because you can store stuff in it, you're more confident."
And for the vast majority of triathletes out there
who aren't confident in open water,
having that confidence of something that you can grab onto
when you freak out, when you get tired,
that is going to make you a better triathlete overall.
So let's dive into this just a little bit.
So these cost either 30 or 35 dollars,
and how they work is, these ones, you blow 'em up,
and then there's that little nozzle that you spin to seal
and if you've got anything that you wanna store in there,
you'd put that in beforehand
so that it gets right deep in the bottom
and that is in a little pouch like this
if you want it super duper waterproof,
but there is a 20 liter version
for people that are over 190 pounds.
And a 15 liter version for people that are under 190 pounds
and comes in orange, green, and pink
so you can customize to whatever nail polish color you like.
Apparently, this green one has been studied
and proven to be the most visible
from boaters that are coming at ya.
Beyond that, there is also a
15 liter triathlete specific version
that doesn't have this roll top,
so you can't end up storing anything in it,
but I kinda liked storing things in it.
Apparently, that one has a little bit less drag
so you don't even notice it whatsoever.
All that said, I loaded up the larger buoy,
the 20 liter buoy, with a phone and a set of keys,
and I wanted to see even with the largest buoy possible
and some stuff in it, if I noticed anything.
And what I did was, I swam into the current
and then across the current and then with the current
and then across the current again.
And no matter which way I went it really didn't matter.
Basically just, I don't know,
maybe one out of every 20 strokes,
I just felt a little tap on my bum.
It's not like it was getting in the way of me kicking,
because the strap is really only that long,
so it's basically that far away from your hip.
Beyond that, it also deflates and then stores really nicely
inside like, an open water swim gear bag like I've got.
So I took the phone thing, I took the strap,
shove that all in to the bottom, roll it all up,
give it a snap, and something this size
just fits easily in a gear bag.
Now, let's talk about some of the cool ideas and comments
that you all sent to me on Instagram, I like these a lot.
Number one, makes for a good pillow.
If you're in the habit of just lounging
and enjoying open water swimming,
which when you get comfortable with it,
you can not be closer to nature.
It's right there and it's so calming on a nice quiet day
and if you just wanna kick back and relax,
like seriously, that would be a really nice experience.
Apparently, in Belgium, you are an idiot
if you don't swim with one of these.
So forget the hang up that I had for a couple years, like,
"Oh, people are gonna think that I'm not very confident."
In Europe, I got a lot of comments from people
that do open water swimming and group swimming
that say the entire group swims with it.
And the trainer, the leader of the group
shows up with a whole bunch of these
to make sure that everyone uses them.
And then people that swim in that group say that
maybe you get tapped a little bit
when you're swimming in a group with one of these,
but it's not like it drags you down
or gets tangled up in everyone else's stuff.
The big thing is that it makes spouses feel safer.
I know MTK always worries when I go open water swimming,
that I'm gonna get hit by a boat.
Well, when I came up on the dock,
I asked somebody who was there, I said like,
"How visible was I out there?"
And they're like, "Quite."
So like, "Even when I was as far away
as that dock over there, which was a kilometer away?"
And she's like, "Yeah, I saw you the entire time."
But to crank up that safety level,
a couple of people had said that
they might even put a flashing bike light in here.
So if it's really dark or foggy early in the morning,
this thing will emit that pulse of light.
Or they would put a GPS tracker or even their phone
in find my phone mode so that their spouse
could look and see like, alright, still moving,
hopefully everything's good.
So Trainiacs, today I eat my words
and I say that swim buoys are not as nerdy as I expected.
I'm gonna use them regularly.
And thanks to New Wave Swim Buoy for sending these out.
I can't really comment on any
of the other swim buoys that are out there.
This isn't a paid video at all.
They just contacted me and they said,
"Hey, we wanna send out a whole bunch of things
and see if you like 'em."
And I do, so there you go, Trainiacs.
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