Bob | The Ruby Fresh Buoyancy Short

Most obviously:
The Ruby Fresh Bob buoyancy shorts bring your thighs and hips higher in the water to create a better swim posture.

Maintaining the correct posture while swimming is crucial for efficiency, speed, and reducing extra strain on your body.

For novice or intermediate level swimmers a major factor which prevents them from swimming faster is the lack of core stability (sinking legs) coupled with correct leg kick (if you like to kick that is…). Wearing these will reduce your need for excessive kicking, allowing you to focus on upper-body technique, rotation, and breathing. Arm strength and technique may be good, but because they are not horizontal on the top of the water, the lowered hips and thighs create drag, making it harder to swim efficiently.

With the extra buoyancy support (to overcome the lack of core strength/stability), the swimmer can focus on the technique of their arm stroke, without the constant struggle to keep the hips and thighs/legs in a high position.

Not so obviously:
When using the Ruby Fresh Bob buoyancy shorts in the pool, the swimmer can easily get more used to swimming in the correct horizontal and streamlined position. They will get to ‘feel’ how they should be, so they can start to build a neural/muscle memory of how their body position should feel in the water. This also allows the swimmer to concentrate on creating a more effective leg kick and improving forward glide with each stroke, without that sinking leg syndrome.

** When used as a training aid it’s advisable to use the Bob buoyancy shorts only during certain swim sets rather than the full session. This is to allow you to experience the feeling the shorts provide, then translating that with the buoyancy shorts removed whilst still fresh in your mind and as stated above.


Over time a swimmer’s body position, and thus speed, can be significantly increased by training with buoyancy shorts.



Open Water Technique:
The Bob Buoyancy short is also suitable for any level of triathlete who wants to refine their open water swimming technique, whilst in a pool, and who is contemplating racing a triathlon, or open water swim, in a part of the world  or season where water temps are warm, such that a wetsuit would not be allowed.

Swimming in a wetsuit during a race is very different to swimming without a wetsuit during a swimming race. The Bob buoyancy shorts will help develop your open water swimming technique whilst in the pool, where wearing a full wetsuit would simply be too hot or possibly not allowed by the pool staff.

Front, sides and part of the bottom - 5mm Japanese Yamamoto #39 limestone aerodome SCS neoprene. The inner thigh and small of back panels use 3.5mm. The 5mm aerodrome sides promote hip rotation (via extra buoyancy) during each arm stroke providing significant improvements in body position, speed and distance per stroke.

The leg length is designed to sit at the very top of the knee at the Patella at the front, combined with a slight angle towards the rear to the centre of the knee at the rear. The whole thigh is designed to be supported.

Blind stitched and bonded seams the same as our open water swim and triathlon wetsuits.

The design provides full wetsuit-level buoyancy characteristics.

Noting our smallest size equates on paper to a female Size 10, we also feel a Female normally wearing size 8 would also find the fit acceptable. Females should to size down from 'normal' on 'dress size' sizing column. i.e. if you are a 16, order a 14. Males need to purchase as per your 'normal size'.

The models in the images wear - 

Male model: Wearing a  Medium / 12 (nominal 32”). Model normally wears standard Medium / 32" clothing. Medium Bob Short fit perfectly. Large was too big. He normally wears a size Medium Tall wetsuit.

Female model. Normally a 14 to 16 depending on the brand. As shown in images, she has a 90cm 35.5" waist. Shown here in a Large / 14. Excellent fit. Remember: Neoprene stretches. And holds you. She would be a 16 in jeans, but the 14 Bob Short was the perfect fit. She normally wears a Womens Medium Goddess wetsuit.'

Size Chart

Unisex Fit

The only real fitting point to make is to ensure the crotch is firmly established as high up in that crucial area as possible to allow the butt to fully take its position and the panel over the base of the spine to be as high on the small of the back as possible. 

Do up the drawstring to suit once that's all in place.

The lower edge of the buoyancy short leg at the front should fit just at the top of the knee/patella; and just higher than the crease of the knee at the rear.

• Japanese Yamamoto #39 Limestone neoprene buoyancy short.

• Super Composite Skin (SCS) hydrodynamic coating reduces surface drag for more speed in the water.

• Premium Japanese Yamamoto #39 buoyant and flexible neoprene. The best there is.

• Drawstring waist for a good secure fit.

• Neoprene thickness:
Front, sides and partial rear panels - 5mm
Base Back panel and inner thigh - 3.5mm

'Bob'. Why Bob for the name of this product? Apart from being short for Robert, it also means 'to bob' as in, bobbing about like a cork. So it means 'to be buoyant'. And what better name for a Buoyancy Short than 'Bob'?

But also. Who can say that word - 'Bob' - and not think of Black Adder? And the particular way it is said? You perhaps? You have no idea what we are talking about? OK... go here !