How to choose the right wetsuit
8 september 2021
We all love being in the water, but the majority of the people only hits the water when it’s summer and the sun is shining. The temperature of the water is the most comfortable at this point and you probably won’t need extra gear to hit the water. Unfortunately these comfortable circumstances don’t last forever… When the weather is cooling down, the water is also cooling down and it’s getting less and less accessible to enter in there. Unless… You wear a
wetsuit!
Wetsuits are designed to protect your body against the hazards of getting in contact with cold water. Thanks to the use of neoprene, which absorbs the water, a wetsuit functions as an extra layer on your body. This extra layer smoothens the transition from your body heat to the temperature of the water. It doesn’t actually smoothen the transition, it takes away the usual ‘shock’-effect when you come in contact with cold water. And that is truly a magical feeling! Especially the first time you wear a wetsuit.
There is a wide variety of wetsuits to give you the best protection against every type of water. The level of protection is mostly determined by the thickness of the neoprene.
The thickness of the neoprene is one of the most important aspects in determining what protection your wetsuit can give you against the temperature of the water. Usually the thickness of a wetsuit is between 2 and 5 millimeters and sometimes you will come across special wetsuits of 1 mm or 6 or more millimeters. Having trouble with deciding what thickness is the best for you? The overview below will help you.
There are different types of wetsuits made for all kinds of types of water. The most common wetsuits are fullsuits, shorties and long johns.
Fullsuits are wetsuits that fully cover your body and are available in many different thicknesses of neoprene.
Shorties are mainly made of thinner neoprene and mainly used for warmer water temperatures. Perfect for having that extra protection but also great for enjoying the water and freedom of movement. Next to shorties we also have
Long John suits, which are basically the same as shorties. They just have legs fully covered but no material around the arms. The Long Johns are also made of thinner neoprene, with usually a thickness from 1.5mm to 2mm.
