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Wetsuits Buyers Guide
Wetsuits are not designed to keep you dry in the water, they are designed to keep you warm. Different wetsuits are designed for different seasons and different water temperatures, but will also depend on your susceptibility to the cold.
A wetsuit works by allowing a small amount of water in, which your body heat then warms up, which helps to keep you warm. Thicker wetsuits will obviously keep you warmer. As a rough guide, 3mm thickness is usually considered a summer wetsuit, 5mm or more is needed for a British winter.
Some wetsuits will be constructed with different thicknesses in different areas. This can improve flexibility by using thinner material where the wetsuit needs to bend more.
Also, remember that a wetsuit that is warm enough in the winter, may be too hot to use in the summer.
Water will tend to enter the wetsuit at the top, but will seep out at the bottom. For this reason, the first accessories you should consider is wetsuit boots. The water will seep into the boots where it can go no further. This helps to keep the whole of the wetsuit warmer, whereas wetsuit gloves will only keep your hands warmer.
Wetsuit boots can expand the temperature range of your wetsuit because you can use just your wetsuit during warmer weather and you can use your wetsuit and wetsuit boots in colder weather, thus eliminating the need for both a winter and a summer wetsuit.
A key pocket is a very useful feature for keeping your non-electronic car key with you if there's nobody else to look after it when you're in the water.
Some wetsuits can give you a rash in some areas, especially when used in saltwater. Whilst others will cause no marks at all. A rash vest can be used to help make your wetsuit warmer, but if this is not necessary, only buy a rash vest if your wetsuit is giving you a rash.
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