Best tampon to use?

Any, but non-applicator tampons are far easier.

Leave it in longer. When it's ready, it'll slide out more easily.

1. Cotton brands: Cottons, Natracare, Moxie, Maxim, etc. Avoid rayon brands like Tampax, Kotex, Playtex, etc. as these are rougher, drier, and contain ingredients that can cause irritation - as well as more irritating these also pose far greater health risks like cumulative exposure to harmful toxins like dioxin, allergic reactions, and TSS.

2. Lowest absorbency: always use lowest absorbency, if it leaks within 1-2 hours it's safe to use the next absorbency up but if it's not saturated after 4-6 hours or when you remove then you need lower absorbency or if already using the lowest absorbency you need to switch back to pads. This is important to lower risk of TSS.

3. Non-applicator: applicators are just about limiting genital contact but there's nothing wrong with touching your own body! Non-applicator are simpler, being more hands-on you're in more control and can guide into place easier.

For the record you don't need to use tampons, you can use menstrual cups or softcups to swim too.

It sounds like you need a tampon for light days. It probably resisted because it wasn't moist enough to just slide out. Get a "light days" tampon. Good luck.

A lighter absorbency will be easier to take out, but the tradeoff is then that you *have* to take it out more often if you don't want it to leak. A more fully saturated tampon is easier to remove.

Brandswise they're all really pretty equivalent.

It resisted coming out because it was not wet enough. You can actually do damage by removing it too early, or using one when your flow is too light.

The Playtex Sport is great for your swimming, although I am not a huge tampon fan.