At first glance you would assume Nayad Aqua Sportswear is for aquatic activities only, but it is for far more than that. Nayad provides a line of multipurpose apparel that is ideal for any activity, in or out of the water.
A great feature of Nayad suits is that they are handmade in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each Nayad suit is special. It is special not just because it is handmade, but because you as the person who will wear it have full power in determining style, measurements, and the aesthetics of the suit.
The suit is fully customizable, and it is up to you, the creator, to decide what tickles your fancy. Let me tell you, the combinations are endless!
Each piece is manufactured to order from high-quality, four-way stretch blends of nylon spandex.
The general pieces available are the Aqua Sports Bra, Aqua Fitness Tops, Aqua Bottoms, Aqua Shorts, and Aqua Skirts.
Then within each of types, there are still further style choices. For example in the Aqua Sports Bra there are four different front and four different back options. Then choose your favorite color or print and mix and match to make your personal suit.
Different options are available in most major styles, in addition to fabric color and print. I remember when I was creating my suit it felt like I was a kid in a candy store. There were so many great choices, and I wanted them all. And they were all my special creation, which made me want it even more.
The wait to receive the suit is likely longer than you are accustomed to from buying cookie cutter, ready-made garments. Remember this one will be carefully handmade and checked especially for you, so a little longer delay is to be expected and perfectly acceptable.
My suit arrived very professionally packaged, and I remember my excitement in getting it out to check how much I loved the combinations I chose. I definitely loved how it came out. That day I decided to wear it at the gym where I coach, Crossfit SP, and apparently I was not the only one that loved it. The suit was a hit! At least visually.
But how would it handle a workout? And the answer is, amazingly well. I had a fairly intense workout, with lots of movement, and everything stayed in place. I never had to be worried about fixing the suit, or anything unexpected that might happen (I have had some disaster bras in the past).
But I wanted to go beyond the traditional CrossFit workout. After all this was multipurpose apparel.
I asked my friend Rogério Rodrigues, of Rocinha Crossfit in Rio de Janeiro, to help me put this garment through a pretty rigorous test.
We started out with a yoga session at the bottom of Gávea, followed by a beach CrossFit workout that included sand-filled potato bag heavy swings, burpees, and freestyle handstand pushups.
After being all sandy from that workout a dip in the ocean was in order, and it provided the opportunity to test the garment in an aqua environment. We ended the day with some unconventional lifting with stone barbells at Arpoador beach and some gymnastics work on the rings beachside.
The conclusion: this suit is a true trooper! It endured everything demanded of it, almost with flying colors. In my opinion it only fell short in the ocean. Perhaps because the ocean was rough and the waves crashing pretty strongly, but it was the only time I had to re-adjust both top and bottom.
The suit however was amazing, so if you plan to wear it to perform aquatic activities in potentially rougher water my advice is to size down on your garment and have it fit a little tighter (I tested this with a second suit with much success).
For an extended life of your garment, it is also rather important to follow the washing instructions provided with your package. You will be glad you did.
Overall I give this suit five stars, and I can’t wait to start planning my next few. Yes, because only one more just won’t be enough!
