Learning to swim gear list

I just started swimming a month or two ago and I'm really enjoying it. I thought it might be interesting to list the equipment I am using.

(It looks like swimoutlet.com is having some server problems, so the links may or may not work. It's hard for me to believe they are still using plain old ASP to write their site.)

The essentials:

Swim suit: TYR Square Leg
This swimsuit has been fine. It is a little more modest than brief-type swimsuits, which is good. Every time I see my swim suit I think of the jingle: "who likes short shorts? we like short shorts" (Okay, to be honest, I only know that jingle from the Simpsons, but I'm guessing it was a commercial back in the day.) Long story short: I would get this swimsuit again.

Goggles: Speedo Vanquisher
I haven't had a great experience with these goggles, but it hasn't been all bad. Sometimes I have trouble with leaks. I think I would try a different pair next time.

Swim Cap: Speedo Silicone Swimcap
This swim cap has been fine. Originally, I thought I would be going through swim caps pretty frequently. I'm not sure why I thought that. This one has been fine and it's all I've needed. I have a latex cap as well, but I haven't used it.

Sandals: Nike Swim Men's First String Slide
I am very surprised by these sandals. I bought the cheapest ones that looked decent. I've never had sandals like these before and I was expecting them to be very cheap feeling and uncomfortable. These sandals are actually very comfortable. I highly recommend them. I also count these as essential equipment due to the various forms of foot fungi that are likely covering the locker room and shower floors.

Lock: Pad lock for your locker
A combination lock might be nice, so you don't have to worry about a key. I only had a key type lock, so I've been using that.

Towel
I would guess that fancy pools will provide you with a towel. I'm using a towel I got for free.

The non-essentials:

Bag: Speedo Mesh Equipment Bag
This bag is decent, but the strap is too long. If you put the strap over your shoulder, the bag is down at your shins. It's fairly annoying. Maybe you're not supposed to put the bag over your shoulder.

Pull Buoy: Speedo Pull Buoy
I just got this as a gift and have only used it twice. It seems pretty decent so far.

Shampoo: Ultraswim Shampoo
Evidently chlorine can do strange stuff to your hair, so I bought this on advice from my brother. It seems to be doing its job. I haven't noticed any chlorine related strangeness in my hair.

Anti-fog stuff: TYR Anti-Fog Spray
Umm, I'm not really sure if this stuff does anything. My goggles fog up regardless. Maybe if I applied this each time I went swimming it would work. Foggy goggles don't bother me too much when I'm swimming. The only time the fogged up goggles come in to play is when I try to read the clock, which isn't too often.

Soap: Some manly shower gel
Bringing bar soap into the shower is a bit annoying, so I went and bought some random brand of shower gel.

Stuff I don't have yet:

Travel bottles:
Carrying the full sized bottles of shampoo and shower gel is a little annoying. It would be nice to have a couple nice flip-top travel bottles.