Archive for the ‘Surfing’ Category

Choosing wetsuits that are designed for your performance level, your sport, and your climate is really quite important. There is nothing more discouraging than dropping a few hundred dollars on a wetsuit only to find that it chafes, doesn’t move in all the wrong places, and isn’t the appropriate weight for most of your wetsuit days.

Wetsuits are not made to keep all of the water out. As water builds inside the suit, it warms up and increases skin temperature. It also improves buoyancy and provides protection from things like stinging nettles.

There are numerous different sports that require wetsuits when the water (or the air) becomes too chilly for swimming but you still have enough warmth to keep you in the game. Surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, jet skiing, water skiing and wake boarding, and of course, swimming are just a few of the main sports that will find you picking through your options early and late in the season.

Some northern climates will require a shorty even in the middle of summer. Some southern regions will require only a short or a “John” or “Jane” in the middle of winter. Each suit comes with its own weight to help you determine which suit will keep you the most comfortable the longest.

A full suit offers full coverage of the body, legs, and arms. You can add a hood, boots, and gloves to the ensemble in order to provide 100% protection of all exposed surfaces. While there are claims that different weights will keep you warm down to certain water and air temperatures, remember that we all have a different tolerance for the cold. What one might find reasonable another might find intolerable.

A shorty is a suit that offers core protection. It has shorts, usually to just above the knee, and short or three quarter sleeves. Using three quarter sleeves gives you the option to pull the sleeves down over the elbow or push them up a bit for more arm movement. Sports like windsurfing and kiteboarding require a lot of arm movement and most people find a three quarter sleeve below the elbow to be constricting.

You can get the full leg and core coverage you need without going all out and buying the full suit. Known as “Janes” and “Johns” these suits are the sleeveless model of a full suit. They are surprisingly effective and can be very comfortable for various activities.

You generally want to buy a weight that will offer you enough protection for your coldest season while buying something light enough that will give you just that little bit of protection with lots of flexibility for your warmer seasons. Since this is almost impossible to get all in one suit, most people have an array of different suits to match to the water temperature and the weather. Don’t try to go out in a suit that is too light. Water based hypothermia is a serious deal, and you won’t last long if there isn’t someone around to bring you in to warm up in a light and ill chosen suit.

Clement owns the wetsuits information website where you can learn everything you need to know about buying wetsuits. Just check this wetsuits guide for instance.