talk to me about wetsuits

[boyse7en]

My two kids (9 & 7) have started surfing lesson with their primary school. Dead keen, want to get boards, do loads more etc.

So last weekend I borrowed a friend's kids' board and went into the water with them. They are togged up in wetsuits but I've only got swimshorts. Spent an hour splashing around in waist-deep water and despite it being sunny and warm, I eventually got too cold to stay and had to drag them out of the water.

So, easy, I need to get a wetsuit.
I know nothing about them, so started doing a bit of research and it found "Surf" wetsuits and "triathlon" wetsuits.
As I swim (pool) regularly I'm thinking of getting a tri suit so that I could do a bit of sea swimming when the fancy takes me, but would they be no good for surfing (albeit at a very beginner level)?

Any features or brands to look for? things to avoid would help too.

[dangerousB]

boyse7en said:

My two kids (9 & 7) have started surfing lesson with their primary school. Dead keen, want to get boards, do loads more etc.

So last weekend I borrowed a friend's kids' board and went into the water with them. They are togged up in wetsuits but I've only got swimshorts. Spent an hour splashing around in waist-deep water and despite it being sunny and warm, I eventually got too cold to stay and had to drag them out of the water.

So, easy, I need to get a wetsuit.
I know nothing about them, so started doing a bit of research and it found "Surf" wetsuits and "triathlon" wetsuits.
As I swim (pool) regularly I'm thinking of getting a tri suit so that I could do a bit of sea swimming when the fancy takes me, but would they be no good for surfing (albeit at a very beginner level)?

Any features or brands to look for? things to avoid would help too.

First off, don't get a tri wetsuit for surfing - you'll trash it in no time. Generally they're 5mm neoprene around the waist/thigh area and 2/3mm everywhere else. They also use very soft and flexible neoprene which is great for swimming, but not particularly hard wearing - as an example, I have to make sure my nails aren't too long when I'm putting my tri wetsuit on as it's easy to puncture the outer neoprene!

Surf wetsuits are generally sold as summer or winter suits - summer suits are normally 2 or 3mm neoprene and come as either a full suit or shorty (short arms/long legs or long arms/short legs or short arms/short legs), winter suits are full length and generally 4/5mm neoprene and as the name suggests, better suited for winter sea temps - if the water is over 14/15ºC you'll begin to cook!!

If you going to wear it regularly, I'd advise buying from a shop as opposed to online - like most clothing, manufacturers sizing varies and there's nothing worse than a poor fitting suit!

[DMN]

As above, buy from a shop and try on.

I started out with a summer suit, it had the advantage of flexible arms. Plus it was cheaper. However after wearing it on Christmas day off of Scarborough, I bought a winter one.

[scotlandtim]

Any 3/4 mm wetsuit should be fine.

Cheapest place is usually here: https://www.wetsuitoutlet.co.uk

They usually have good deals in teh clearance bay. Great online shop, I buy all my suits from them - do a lot of water sports - free return if not fitting, so unless you know what you want buy a few sizes of whatever suit you go for and keep the best one!

[C0ffin D0dger]

I've got a C-Skins Element summer wetsuit, does the job for me for summer body boarding, swimming in the sea, etc. Cost about £60 so would be considered a budget jobbie but I'm pleased with it.

[sugerbear]

+1 for the wetsuitoutlet in Southend. If you can get to Shoeburyness they have a shop where you should be able to try most things on.

Previously I have used gul wetsuits which were ok but rubbed around the neck (a problem with a lot of cheap wetsuits so make sure you wear a rash vest).

I now have a 5/4 steamer (long arms and legs) wetsuit and 3/2 shortie (Short arms and legs), one for the colder uk water and the other for summer in this country or abroad. I love the mystic wetsuits, really felixble and comfortable to wear. I think I got both for about £180 last summer from the wetsuit outlet.

There are also front/chest zip up wetsuits, but I found them just as difficult to get into/out of as the ones that do up at the back (and they are more expensive).

[RobM77]

Some points that will hopefully be of help to you:

• Types of suit: Tri suits are usually made of a delicate and highly flexible neoprene which is quite fragile (often 'yamamoto neoprene'). Great care is needed for putting one on and they won't stand up to scrapes from the surfboard or the bottom very well (surfing's a shallow water sport, so you will get scrapes etc). They're also very expensive to buy (and replace!), so I wouldn't recommend one for surfing. I have one for triathlon and to be honest they're not that warm either - I quit open water swimming due to the cold in the end. Note that there are other types of specialist suits that you want to avoid: diving suits are usually made from incompressible neoprene, which is less flexible than that used in a surfing suit and windsurfing suits are made from (or lined in) a hydrophobic material that keeps you warm in high winds by drying instantly - they are delicate, but not as much as Tri suits, and quite expensive. Most suits you'll see will be intended for surfing and general watersports use, which is what you'll be wanting.

Features of surfing wetsuits to look for are as follows:

• Thickness: This is given as a number or numbers and is always in millimetres. If multiple numbers are given (eg 5/3, 4/3 etc) then the higher number is for the body of the suit, sometimes legs as well, and the lower number is for the arms, or legs and arms. The most common thicknesses you'll find are 3/2 (branded as 'summer' wetsuits), 5/3 and 5/4 (both branded as 'winter' wetsuits). Contrary to the popular myth about a layer of water being trapped next to the skin, a wetsuit actually keeps you warm just like a jumper: neoprene has bubbles of air in it which provide insulation, so the thicker the suit, the warmer it is. The internet is riddled with charts of water temperature vs thickness, but the honest answer is that it's very personal. I surf, windsurf and SUP on the south coast and lakes in the area and wear an expensive 5/4 in the colder months (April, May, Oct, Nov & Dec) and a cheap 5/3 in the warmer months (June-Sep). Jan-March I don't go in the water at all. I have a 4/3 that I bought for summer, but very rarely wear it in the UK unless I'm windsurfing in light winds and it's a scorcher. My wife on the other hand has a 5/3 for winter and a 3/2 for summer, a thickness that I'd freeze in in summer. Note that how much you feel the cold in the water is different to the air (conduction vs convection) - I for example am quite resilient to the cold in the air, but very sensitive to it in the water. If you could withstand an hour surfing in your shorts in June then I suspect a 3/2 would be ok for you, but it'd be for June-September only.

• Closure: Back zip suits are easy to get into but they usually leak water (some contain various weird collar batwing things to avoid this, which work to varying degrees). Chest zip suits are harder to get into and out of, but they don't leak anywhere near as much (if at all). The neck on a chest zip suit is not adjustable, so if you have an unusually small or large neck then chest zip suits may not fit well, or also if you don't like tight things on your neck. I prefer chest zip suits, but have a 13.5" neck, so need to get them modified to fit me (which is surprisingly cheap).

• Seams: These can be flatstitched/flatlocked, like normal clothes, which will let in water due to the stitching holes; blindstitched, which lets in much less; or glued and/or taped, which lets in virtually no water at all. These are often abbreviated to FS/FL, BS and G&BS.

• Size: The most important factor by a country mile - make sure it fits well. Note that suits can be customised if you can't find one that fits you - for example I usually have 1-2 inches taken out of the neck and chest for mine, and often the arms, depending on the brand of course and how it fits. For next winter I'll be going full custom, which is not that much more than a high end suit. Note that for surfing you need a suit that allows you to paddle, so check for fit around the shoulders and arms.

• Material: All suits vary slightly - some are more stretchy than others and some wick water away more than others. Basically you get what you pay for in terms of stretchiness etc. However, I've personally never found the super stretchy suits that warm, and bizarrely am usually warmer in a £100 winter suit than a £200 one (provided the cheaper one is GBS, see above), but I can't paddle as well in a cheap one of course because it's not as stretchy. Many suits have a rubbery panel on the chest and back which wicks away water quickly - if you're out of the water much (i.e. you're good at surfing and standing a lot, or helping your kids in the shallows), then a traditional surfing wetsuit can get you very cold if it doesn't have these panels because it'll stay wet and wind chill will set in. Fewer suits have these panels now as it reduces stretchiness, so they rely on water wicking, but like a waterproof raincoat, this is an effect that doesn't last very long.

• What to pay: £100-£200 should get you something reasonable. Over £200 is higher quality for regular surfers or those who feel the cold. I normally buy my suits out of season to get a bargain, but not too late as they'll all go.

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

In summary, from what you've said I'd look to spend about £100 to £150 on a 3/2 GBS surfing suit, unless you plan to extend the season slightly, or want to stay a bit warmer, in which case think about a 4/3, but you'll get less choice.

As far as recommending brands goes, this is tricky for me as my sizing limits me to one or two manufacturers, and even those I have to get modified.

HTH

ETA: You can of course swim in a surfing wetsuit, but the only problem is it'll hold your body in a weird position and your arms will probably get tired. Ideally if you want to swim too then you'll need a separate suit. Again, fit is critical, probably more so for swimming.

Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 22 June 11:44

[witko999]

Great information above, but if I was you, I'd get a 5/3 or 5/4 for the UK, even in Summer. If you're standing around pushing kids into waves etc, you'll get a lot colder than if you were surfing yourself.

I don't surf much in the UK anymore, but I did a year or so ago in September, which is about when the water is warmest. I wore my 4/3, and the first thing I thought was "f*ck this is cold".

Rob, where do you get your wetsuits altered? My Xcel suit is a little slack around the neck, and my O'neill is in great condition except the for neck, which has turned to black goop from the sunscreen.

[RobM77]

witko999 said:

Rob, where do you get your wetsuits altered? My Xcel suit is a little slack around the neck, and my O'neill is in great condition except the for neck, which has turned to black goop from the sunscreen.

I've tried both Snugg and Predator for mods, both involving making suits smaller. Snugg did a better job and stuck to their time estimate for the repair much better. Following that, I plan to go back to Snugg for a custom suit ready for this coming winter.

Regarding suit thickness, yes, I hope I got this across above, but it is indeed highly personal. For diving for example my wife and I are close friends with a couple of instructors and in 27-29 degree water my wife wears a 3mm long, I wear a 5mm with a hood, one of our friends wears board shorts and a thermal rash vest and the other, her husband, is only just out of a dry suit at that point! I realise we're talking surfing here, not diving, but it shows you the variation you get. For me it seems to be that once I've got a few mm on me, I'm the same as most other people (I have almost no fat on me, so I've wondered if I just need to make up for that). So in December I'm in the same suit as everyone else I windsurf with, but right now they're all in 3mm suits and I'm still in my winter one!

[ATG]

It's going to vary from person to person, but I could happily spend an hour in the water during summer and autumn in Cornwall without a wet suit, so I guess I'm fairly tolerant. For me a summer weight suit with taped seams is adequate as early as March when the sea temp is going to be about as low as it gets with a rash vest, boots and gloves. It's not exactly comfortable on the face or head, so if I were going to do it even vaguely regularly I'd be getting a balaclava.

The first time you get into cold water in a wetsuit, you'll probably be amazed. They are great bits of kit and don't cost the earth. The first time a load of cold water goes down the back of your neck ...

[ReaderScars]

Xcel Drylock 5/4 (without hood) - all year round as far as I'm concerned but that's for use in the north sea. Might be a few degrees warmer where you are depending on your location? In addition to that, if I want to spend a good few hours in the sea I'm also using a thermal rash vest under the suit. I went for a chest entry suit to reduce flushing and although it doesn't eliminate it, it does reduce it. Oh, and boots - for cold water, at least 5mm (I have 5's and 7's).

Don't underestimate how much effort it takes to get into a thick chest entry suit. It's even worse getting out of it when your arms are fatigued.