Watermans vs Sun Bum: Best Sunscreen for Swimmers

Sun Bum sells sunscreen specifically marketed for swimmers, built to "handle splashes, swims, and sun bouncing off the water." That is a real, honest pitch. It is also capped at the same 80-minute ceiling every FDA-standard sunscreen is tested against, which matters more for swimmers than almost any other athlete, since a training block or open water event rarely wraps up in under 80 minutes.

What Sun Bum's Swim-Specific Line Actually Says

Sun Bum's own swimming sunscreen collection advises looking for "formulas that hold up for up to 80 minutes so they can keep up with laps, cannonballs, and all the back-and-forth between water and towel." That is accurate, and it is also the FDA's regulatory maximum for a standard water-resistance test, not a number Sun Bum set itself.

What Watermans Aqua-Armor Is Tested To

Mineral SPF 55 and Hydro Lite SPF 55 are independently commissioned immersion tested to remain water resistant for 8 continuous hours, six times past that 80-minute ceiling. The testing follows the same submersion principle as the FDA's own method, extended far past the standard window a training block or open water swim would otherwise outlast in the first 90 minutes.

Why Duration Matters More for Swimmers Specifically

A pool session with wall touches and turns is one kind of wear on a sunscreen formula. An open water swim, with no lane rope, no wall, and no shade break, is another. Both push past 80 minutes quickly for anyone doing real training volume rather than a casual dip, and neither format gives a swimmer a realistic chance to step out, dry off, and reapply mid-set.

Side by Side: Water Resistance Duration

Sun Bum: Water Resistant (80 Minutes), per the brand's own swimming-specific product marketing. Watermans: independently tested water resistant for 8 hours, on Mineral SPF 55 and Hydro Lite SPF 55. For a short recreational swim, either brand holds up the whole time. For an actual training block or open water event, only one of the two has been tested past the point where the other's claim runs out.

Where the Two Brands Overlap

Sun Bum's mineral line and Watermans both build around a zinc-based, oxybenzone-free formula. Both brands also lean on approachable, non-clinical branding rather than a lab-coat aesthetic, and both explicitly market toward people who spend real, repeated time in the water rather than a single beach afternoon. Sun Bum's swim-specific marketing in particular speaks directly to the same audience Watermans built the Swimmers collection around: people doing real training volume, not a casual dip.

Practical Considerations for Pool and Open Water Swimmers

Goggle migration is a common complaint regardless of brand, usually caused by product sitting too close to the strap line rather than the formula itself. Applying to the forehead and temples a few minutes before goggles go on, rather than right before, reduces that migration for either brand. Chlorine and open water both wear down sunscreen through repeated water contact, though a pool session adds more frequent wall touches that can rub product off the shoulders specifically, while an open water swim trades that for longer uninterrupted stretches in direct sun with no wall or shade break at all.