Wetsuits

A Wetsuit is a must if you are the average surfer and want to surf all year round. You are one lucky surfer if you are fortunate to be able to wear your boardshorts all the time, or rich enough to follow the summer all year round. Wetsuit technology has come on an awful long way since the first restricting rubber fetish outfits. Now they are super light, super stretch and some don't even have zips!

The Modern Wetsuit

Wetsuit Material And Construction

Wetsuits are made from neoprene, a stretchy synthetic rubber material. The Wettie (like that - cool surfer speak!) is made out of several of these pieces of neoprene stitched together to cover the desired body parts. Wetsuits come as shorties (the Wetsuit has short legs and arms), full suits and some even have detachable arms and legs. The neoprene comes in different thickness', from 2 to 6 mm. The thicker the neoprene the warmer the suit. Surfers who brave extreme cold conditions usually wear a semi-dry suit which is not made out of neoprene at all but we will not be going there OK!

Your average Wetsuit will have a zip to make it possible to get in and out of the Wetsuit. With a particularly tight suit this can be the most exhausting part of your day! The zips are situated in different places on the suit, traditionally down the back of the Wetsuit, but can be found across the shoulders or high up on the chest. The latest Wetsuits are made out of neoprene so stretchy that you can get in through the neck. Pretty cool stuff.

Wetsuit Stitching And Sealing

There are various ways a Wetsuit can be sealed together and the way depends on the designed use of the Wettie. We will not go into details but some of the different methods of stitching and sealing are blind stitching, taped, glued, flatlocked and heat sealed. Interesting eh! Anyway, what type of Wetsuit you go for depends on the conditions that you will be surfing in. Take England for example, for winter comfort you would be after a 5/3 mm, waterproof zipped, blindstitched / taped suit, booties, gloves and balaclava, and maybe a nice titanium rash vest for those long midwinter surfs. Makes you cold thinking about it.

How Wetsuits Work

A Wetsuit works by trapping a thin layer of water between the Wetsuit and the skin. The body temperature of the surfer heats this water giving a nice warm water blanket. This is why getting a Wetsuit that fits well is a must. The Wetsuit should be a nice tight fit (not too tight that you can't move freely) and should be no baggy areas where the suit comes away from your body. If it is for cold water make sure that there is also a nice tight fitting neck - there is nothing worse than ducking under a wave and getting a blast of cold water right down your back.

So that is the Wetsuit. All our warm weather surfers will be chuckling to themselves. Curse you all you cold water surfers, curse you all ;-)

Wetsuit Size Charts

Mens O'Neill Wetsuit Size Chart
Mens Quiksilver Wetsuit Size Chart
Womens O'Neill Wetsuit Size Chart
Kids / Groms O'Neill Wetsuit Size Chart