Don't worry, you need not copy Borat's swimsuit fashion for your next triathlon. But make sure you're prepared to make a splash with these swim gear tips.

Suit
Speedo? No. Go with swim jammers. They're essentially bike shorts for swimming, letting you cut through water with a fraction of the resistance from baggy trunks. Polyester jammers outlast Lycra and stay protected from sunlight and chlorine exposure. Try Speedo's AquaBlade Jammer ($70) orTYR's Freeze Frame Jammer ($45). Each are made primarily of polyester, but with Lyrca added in to help keep costs down.

Wetsuit
Make sure to check the race rules to make sure wetsuits are allowed. In cold water, you'll want a full wetsuit to improve buoyancy and balance, like the R:2 from 2XU ($400), which comes with a 2-year warrantee.

Watch
The trick here is to find a watch that utilizes the midswim method to track your swimming pace and rest intervals. Strap on a waterproof watch like the Timex Ironman Traditional 50-Lap ($65) or the Speedo Men's Active SwimWatch ($40). Each is lightweight with large, easy-to-read numerals, a built-in stopwatch function and a countdown timer feature you can set to beep at regular intervals-such as every 60 seconds-to help you keep your pace.

Goggles
Look for leak-proof, anti-fog lenses and UV protection for when you're swimming in the sun. Even goggles with anti-fog lenses can become foggy during long swims, though, says Tim DeBoom, two-time Ironman World Champion. To keep your goggles clear, try a defogger like Foggle wipes. Wear glasses? Look for prescription glasses from both Speedo and TYR.

How do you make sure a pair fits? Swim shield goggles-likeNike's Swim Resolute Mask ($29)-give you more vision and are designed especially for triathlons. But regular goggles work fine, DeBoom says. "Go to a swimming or triathlon store and see if they have demo pairs. You can take them out on a swim to see which ones will fit your face in the water," DeBoom says. Speedo's Sengar ($10) and TYR's Technoflex Vision ($15) are good bargains for what you get.