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.

When water becomes trapped between your skin and the suit, you may feel a slight chill at first, although it’s not the same shock of jumping in unprotected. In a moment, the water that is trapped warms up as an extra layer of insulation, creating additional warmth.

Each water sport has its own requirements and therefore will not be appropriate for all suits. While surfing suits can often be interchangeable with windsurfing and kiteboarding, the different movements required for each sport will require different flexibility for each activity. It is vital that you choose the appropriate suit for the sport as well as for your body type and skill level.

If you live in a northern area you will probably need a wetsuit all year long. A simple shorty or spring suit will most likely suffice during the summer months, but having it can mean the difference between staying on the water for an hour and staying out for three or four hours. If you’re in a southerly climate you might only need a light suit or even a skinsuit for much of the year, with a heavier suit for the midwinter months. Most people have more than one suit to help get them through each season.

Full suits are very popular, as they come in various weights to help you choose the right one for you. It provides your entire body with coverage and can be used with hoods. If you need extra protection you can use gloves and booties to add to the set up. The thicker, or heavier, the wetsuit is the more protection from cold you will receive.

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 wetsuit information site where you can learn everything you need to know about buying wetsuits. Just check this wetsuits guide for instance.

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