A Complete Wetsuits Guide That Will Help You Choose Your Next Wetsuit
How Wetsuits Work?
Wetsuits is a suit made out of neoprene. People use it in water sports to keep warm and also for protection. The inventor of wetsuits is Jack O'Neill although there were several people experimenting with neoprene at that time. Today wetsuits are off course much more advanced. So how to choose your next wetsuit? First let's take a look at wetsuit types:
WETSUIT MODELS
We divide wetsuits considering how much of your body do they cover and for how cold water are they made (here you can find a review of all the most popular wetsuit models).
- rashguard is the thinnest, it's like a t-shirt for protection against sun and so it's not really a wetsuit. Then you have
- wetsuit top, that is the same as rashguar, but it is already made out fo thin neoprene
- shorty wetsuit is a summer wetsuit hat has short sleves and legs
- spring wetsuit has either long sleeves or long legs
- full suit is a wetsuit that covers your whole body. Full suit can be 3/2, 4/3, 5/4/3 etc..
These numbers represent the thickness of a wetsuit in millimeters. Thicker is warmer. When the water gets really cold you also need wetsuit boots, wetsuit gloves and wetsuit hood.
HOW DOES A WETSUIT WORK?
Wetsuit keeps you warm by catching a thin layer of water between our skin and the neoprene.Body heats this water and we stay warm. This is why we need a wetsuit that fits, otherwise cold water will constantly flush warm water out and wetsuit will not help us much.
The neoprene in the wetsuit also acts as insulation against environment. So the thicker the neorpeen and wetsuit the better tihs insluation is.
Where do neoprene insulation capabilities come from? Neoprene contains lots and lots of small bubbles.
WETSUIT QUALITY
The main features that make a good wetsuit are:
- neoprene quality
- is neoprene stretchy (how much)
- waterproof seams
- additional insulation inside the neoprene
- other stuff thats not so important.
Water comes into the wetsuit through
- stitches,
- zipper.
WETSUIT SIZE
This is very important. If the wetsuit is to big then water will come in and even the best wetsuit will not keep you warm.
ZIPPER
Zippers are not watertight! To solve that winter wetsuits have shorter zippers and special size and shape of the teeth. Or they make wetsuits without a zipper. These can be tricky to get into and usually get stretched out sooner since you have to squeeze in them through a small hole. There are many different zipperless systems.
BAT WING
This is a neoprene membrane under the zipper that stops any water that comes in through the zipper.
WETSUIT STITCHES
Over lock stitch - uncomfortable and a thing of the past or chep turist wetsuits
Flat lock stitch - more comfortable and very flexible. But leaks.
Blind stitch - used in warm wetsuits. It's called blind because needle never penetrates the neoprene completely - no holes. There are many types of blind stitches. The best is double blind stitch that is glued & fully taped with neoprene tapeI. This will give you a wetsuit that is very warm, flexible, durable (very expensive).
But since the invention of liquis taping all other seams are pretty rare on top of the line wetsuits.
Liquid taping - a few names exist for this - special liquid rubber is used when sewing the neoprene to seal the inner or/and outer side of the stitches. this closes the seams and makes them 100% waterproof. You will recognize it when you see it. Most of the top models and lots of intermediate wetsuit models today have this.
Another solution to seams problem is less neoprene panels in the wetsuit. More panels means easier sewing and better adaption to the shape of the body but with some inovations you can preshape the panels so you need less of them.
OTHER WETSUIT FEATURES
- single lined and double lined neoprene - neoprene is lined with nylon, that makes it more durable and damage resistant.
- mesh skin, smooth skin etc - are all types of single lined neoprene. Single lined neoprene is smoother and it repels water and wind so it is warmer. It is used a lot in windsurfing wetsuits.
- titanium reflects your body heat back into your body
- aero core / fire skin etc - this means that your wetsuit is lined inside wiht some sort of fabric that aditionally keeps you warm. This fabric is usually made out of hollow fibers.
- stretchy neoprene - this is the best invention of the later decade since a really stretchy neoprene feels like you are not wearing one at all. More flexible, less strain on your muscles.
- reinforced knees, key pocket etc - these are not that important...
This covers most of the things that are important when you are buying a wetsuit, I have also found a very detailed wetsuit guide over here, I have referenced it a few times already throughout the text as you might have noticed. Check it out, I think it cover all the wetsuit info you need.