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I've noticed that the Speedo solar brief is frequently identified as 1 inch, or abbreviated 1". (example)
What exactly is this measurement referring to? I always figured it was the part at the side, kind of like where the red and white lines are in this picture. Yet I've received numerous of these supposedly "1 inch" ones where the sides measure 2 inches or so.

I always consider the side seam as the point for measuring. My Solars are approximately 2” from top of waistband to bottom of side.. I’ve thought that maybe Speedo takes its measurement below the covered waistband to the bottom of side to yield 1”… maybe? I don’t swim laps in my Speedo Solars…but like them for leisure. I love the comfort they provide, stretchy fabric, front seam and overall minimalist full rear coverage.

It's the side seam. But that's always a tricky measurement to interpret because 1) we don't know if the measurement includes the top and/or bottom elastic parts and 2) sometimes the side seam isn't necessarily the narrowest point of the brief, especially if the front is cut high on the leg.

I have a few pairs of Speedo Solar 1s, and you're right - the side seam is more like 1.5" on my size 30s. Perhaps their marketing team thought naming it "Solar 1" worked better than naming it "Solar 1.5s"

Yeah, it's just a great marketing tradition to advertise as something "special", like a 1" sideseam, but deliver something "less than special".

I still like my Solars regardless. Great all round suit for laps, beach, boat, backyard and conservative enough for my wife’s okay. Similar to retro Speedo Endurance Lite and 10 plus year old Nike briefs with center butt seam, I just purchased my first Arena brief (new model - Belize) and it is similar it to Solar. I prefer my suits skimpy but still athletic looking. I don’t like too bikini looking’

Speedoguy1971 wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 22, 2025 11:12 am

I still like my Solars regardless. Great all round suit for laps, beach, boat, backyard and conservative enough for my wife’s okay. Similar to retro Speedo Endurance Lite and 10 plus year old Nike briefs with center butt seam, I just purchased my first Arena brief (new model - Belize) and it is similar it to Solar. I prefer my suits skimpy but still athletic looking. I don’t like too bikini looking’

Likewise, I used to always wear Tyr racers, but now Aussiebum 1.5's Classics or WonderJocks almost all the time

I’ve always wanted to try an AB