u/Vanillafritz

I’m interested in understanding the real-world barriers to safety equipment in open-water swimming.

For those who swim outdoors regularly:

* What safety equipment do you currently use?

* Is there anything you deliberately don’t use? Why?

* Do you find existing safety equipment uncomfortable, bulky, expensive, inconvenient or unattractive?

* Do you think appearance/social perception affects whether people use it?

* Do you ever feel that safety equipment makes you look like a beginner or is “uncool”?

* Is it difficult to know what equipment is actually necessary?

* What would make you more likely to use safety equipment every time you swim?

* If you could redesign one piece of open-water safety equipment, what would you change?

I’m particularly interested in honest experiences — including reasons why people don’t use equipment, rather than just what people think they should do.

I’m researching the problem at the moment and haven’t developed a product, so I’m genuinely interested in hearing what swimmers think rather than trying to sell anything.

Thanks!

I’m researching open-water safety and particularly interested in the gap between the safety advice that exists and what people actually do in real life.

If your teenager swims in the sea, lakes, rivers or other open water:

* What is your biggest concern?

* Do you feel they understand the risks?

* Do they use safety equipment? If not, why?

* Have you ever bought safety equipment for them that they wouldn’t use?

* What makes safety equipment appealing or unappealing to teenagers?

* Is cost a factor?

* Is appearance/social perception a factor?

* What would make you feel more confident about their safety?

* What would you realistically be willing to spend on something that improved their safety?

I’m interested in your actual experiences rather than looking for a particular answer. I’m at the research stage and haven’t developed a product.

Thanks — I’d really appreciate hearing from parents who have dealt with this.