A good swimsuit is vital for beach trips, swimming laps in the hotel pool, or taking a dip in a snowy mountain hot tub, so I never travel without one. Throw in my Texas location, where summer is an endurance sport, and my habit of escaping to Mexico every other month, and I’ve accumulated quite the collection.

I tend to favor swim trunks with soft, built-in liners, but the Travel + Leisure team and I cast a wide net, testing 71 pairs across various styles, sizes, and budgets. We wore each pair around sun, sand, and water, evaluating and comparing the swimsuits for fit, comfort, coverage, performance, quality, and value, with tests ongoing for six months.…