Surf Wetsuit

Unless you’re surfing in a tropical region, a surf wetsuit is absolutely necessary. It protects you from cold water temperatures without hindering your movements.

The most “covered” surf wetsuits are spring suits. Buy if you’re a beginner, you probably may not know what a spring suit is suitable for. The tips below should help you purchase the right wetsuit design for your needs.

1. The most commonly used surf wetsuit designs are vests and jackets in warmer areas. These protect the surfer’s upper body in any event that s/he takes a splash. Tropical waters are warm, and surfing without a wetsuit is not necessary. Temperate regions, however, have much colder water temperatures, and wearing wetsuits for the sport is a health necessity.

When considering the cut of your surf wetsuit, you have to keep in mind the parts of the body that you want to protect. A wetsuit vest will protect your core and nothing else. Jackets, on the other hand, protect the arms and the core of your body, but not the legs. Spring wetsuits are designed to protect the core, the upper arms, and the upper legs. Your choice of cut will have to depend on the environment you’ll be surfing in and your own threshold to cold temperatures.

2. You also have to understand that the thickness of your surf wetsuit affects its capability to protect your body from the cold. The thicker your wetsuit is, the more heat it will be able to generate from your own body heat. You should get 3mm to 4mm thick wetsuits if the water you’re surfing in is 70º F or below.

Water temperatures which are higher than 70º F can be handled with 1mm- to 2mm-thick wetsuits. These thinner wetsuits are also cheaper than the thicker ones, although 3mm to 4mm wetsuits are more versatile in temperate regions.

3. You have to make sure that your wetsuit fits right. It should be snug without suffocating you or restricting your movements as you surf. You know when your suit is too tight when the seams look too strained and your suit can’t be zipped up without a struggle.

You should avoid wetsuits that are too loose because these will let in too much water. “Water flushes” are very unpleasant, and they can put your body in shock, therefore defeating the very purpose of your wetsuit.

4. You should never try to purchase used or second hand wetsuits even if you’re just using them for surfing, unless you do your homework.

Even the most high-end wetsuit will wear with use and age, and there’s always a reason why these people are trying to sell their old ones. You can end up with a wetsuit that’s much thinner than it used to be, and you will definitely end up with a suit that doesn’t fit right. Neoprene, the material which your wetsuits are made of, tends to adapt to the shape of the one wearing it.

An old wetsuit would be loose in all the places where its former owner was big. Unless your body’s form is exactly the same as the former owner’s, the surf wetsuit will be loose in all the wrong places.