Video Wetsuit Guide To Beginners

Wetsuits are advancing every year but the principles of a good wetsuit have not changed in a while and I don't think they will anytime soon. If you want a good wetsuit you need:

• stretchy neoprene - the stretchier the better, more comfortable, easier to put on and take of, better fitting and less tiring to paddle.
• more air bubbles in the material - more insulation
• wetsuit that does not let water inside or as little as possible - waterproof stitches (blindstitch, taped, sealed), short zipper, and a GOOD FIT!
• internal lining - makes the wetsuit a little bit warmer, a little bit more comfortable to wear and it dries really fast.

For people that don't like to read, here is a video guide that explains what makes a good wetsuit:

If you are in the market for a new wetsuit, also check out this 2014-15 buyers guide.

Enjoy!

All the wetsuit info you will need!

I will try and put all the important wetsuit information into this one post. I think it is the best if I make this post and give info in the form of questions and answers. We will start at the beginning and work our way down :)! Lets go!

What is a wetsuit?
It is a suit made out of neoprene that is designed to keep you warm in cold water.

How does the wetsuit work?
There are two ways how wetsuit keeps us warm:
1. Neoprene is a very very good insulating material since it has a lot of air bubbles inside. These air bubbles act as insulation. More bubbles the better the neoprene (and warmer) it is. It is also important how thick the wetsuit is. Thicker neoprene means more insulation and warmer wetsuit.

2. Wetsuit is not a dry suit :). So some water will get in. And neoprene will catch this water and a thin layer o water will become trapped between your body and the wetsuit. It will be heated by your body and you will stay warm. Here is also a good time to tell that you do not actually want water in your wetsuit. Since water will come in anyway. If too much water comes in it will constantly fush out the warm water and it will be replaced with cold one. And you will be cold, not warm. So look for a wetsuit that has a snug fit.

Damn, I forgot all about this post. I allready did a full and complete wetsuits buying guide over here. I just posted this for some aditional info if anyone is interested.

When do you need a wetsuit?

When do you need to start wearing a wet suit?

This depends on the water temeprature, air temeprature, wind etc... Generally you put on a shorty when the water temperature drops between 72F–77F / 22C-25C and the weather is not that hot.

I suggest that you check out the What wetsuit do I need post. There you will find a full wetsuit temperature guide.

How thick wetsuits are there?

I always wondered this...even if I like to think I know a lot about wetsuits I know that the fattest thickest wetsuits are not found in surfing but I guess they are found in diving. Diver do not need to move so much as surfers do so if the wetsuit is extra thick that gives them no problems. And sice they do not move a lot they need thicker wetsuits. So how thick is the thickest wetsuit?

For surfing a thick wetsuit is generally called everything over 4/3 mm. 5/3 or 5/4/3 is still pretty standard. Then 6mm wetsuit is the top comfortable limit and I know there are some 7 millimiter wetsuits, at least there used to be. Bot are very rare. Are diving wetsuits thicker?

The catch here is also that when the water gets so cold that even divers need a wetsuit thicker than 7mm they usualy go for dry suits. And not wetsuits thicker than 7mm.

So there are not many of them, but we managed to found a 8 mm thick wetsuit that is mass produced. Then we managet to find someone that claimed that he had an 9mm Xcel wetsuit. And then we found someone who knew a guy who knew a guy that had a 11 mm wetsuit. That must be crazy to wear if it exists.

I'm not even sure if you can move in it :).

So anyawy - let's say that the fattest wetsuit out there is 11 millimeters. If you have any other data, let me know! :)

Wetsuits info

Hi there water sports enthusiasts. Let me introduce myself a bit - I am a surfer that is "blessed" with a coast that only has waves in the cold part of the year. So from as far back I can remember I have been wearing wetsuits in the water. I guess this kind of makes me a small expert in the field of wetsuits. Oh, and the fact that I own a small shop that sells wetsuits. So this is the wetsuit info blog where I will share some of my experiences and information on how to choose that perfect warm wetsuit that will keep you warm in the cold waters.