Picking the Perfect Surf Wetsuit
Posted: Saturday, February 27, 2010
by Adam Hansen
Wetsuits are almost exclusively made with a synthetic fabric called neoprene and do not keep you completely dry. The suits allow small amounts of water through the suit and that plus your body heat helps insulate you from the cold.
When looking for the right surfing wetsuit you need to consider the following:
Length
What suit you need depends on the temperature of the water and your budget. Full suits are more expensive and can be more restricting compared to shorties.
Thickness
The neoprene that wetsuits are made out of is measured in millimeters and the thickness you need is a function of water temperature. The thickness of a suit will be listed like this: 4/3 mm. The first number represents the thickness of the body while the second is the thickness of the appendages.
Kind of Neoprene
Neoprene comes in a variety of variations but the most important two are normal neoprene and super stretch neoprene. Super stretch is more expensive than regular and so is often just used strategically on a wetsuit to keep the costs down.
A suit with 30% (the bare minimum for surfing) super stretch will cover the back, arms and chest; everything else is normal neoprene. This gives you the mobility you need to surf properly. A suit with 60% will have super stretch material cover the torso, short sleeve arms and legs down to the knees. A suit with 100% will be completely made out of super stretch neoprene.
The more super stretch neoprene a suit has the easier it is for you to move but it will also cost you more. Balance your budget against what you need to do what you do on a board.
A lot of more experienced surfers have preferences when it comes to zippers, seam construction and extras but in the end the three areas above are what you need to look at.
Thanks for reading my article on picking the perfect surfing wetsuit.
If you're looking for wetsuit reviews and the best deals on all kinds of wetsuits stop by Wetsuit-Reviews.com.
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