How should I choose a wetsuit?

Question

I want to buy a wetsuit. I'm 5"2' and 108 lb. Would you give me advice what kind of things I have to check when I buy my first wetsuit?

Any good brand? How think should it be? What kind of material? etc...

Also, do you know any good store to buy wetsuit near UCLA and Burbank?

Answer 1

what kinda of water sports do you plan on doing? their are special sports specific wetsuits that are tailored for different activities (ie. swimming, surfing, bodyboarding) as well as water temperatures. If you want tell me what kinda sport you wanna do and the water temps you will be wearing it in and ill set you off in the right direction.

Answer 2

try them all on

Answer 3

Try it on.  If it fits it fits.

Answer 4

if it makes your b***s look better, buy it.

Answer 5

There are many things you have to consider. What kind of water sport are you doing? Are you using the wetsuit in cold or warm waters? salty or fresh waters and so on... Wetsuits need to be snug but you have to be able to breath fine. They have them sleeveless, long sleeve open neck, shorty's.. I scuba dive and I get cold so, mine is 7mm thick, long legs and long sleeves... mine is  AKONA (brand) and I have been using it for 4 years and works great! there are many out there... !

About your size you can go to http://www.leisurepro.com

and they have size charts

good luck!

Answer 6

do buy an o'neill or an XCEL

do not buy rip curl

Answer 7

There are a few things to consider. As far as general fit goes, you want it to be snug, but not so tight that you are having a hard time breathing or moving. Try it on and do movements that you would when you are doing the activity you want it for. Ex- surfing. Move your arms like you are paddling, squat down and stand up, just move and make sure there aren't restrictions.

Look at the features that it has. ie warmth, flexibility, blindstitched seams, etc.

- Type of suit. A spring suit has short sleeves and short legs. A full suit has long arms and long legs. Then there are some that are combined- short arms, long legs; long arms, short legs.. only a wetsuit top..

I would say just get a full suit. This is generally what you will see and is the most popular.

- Thickness. The wetsuit thickness is in millimeters. 3/2 for example, means 3mm in the body portion, and 2 millimeters for your arms and legs. This is a good thickness for 60 degrees and above. I get cold easily so I wear a 4/3 for anything under 65 degrees.

-Flexibility. For me, this is one of the most important features. If you want it for surfing, you are going to be paddling A LOT, so you want little or no restriction in your shoulders. You also want to be able to bend forward and move your legs easily.

- Seams. This is where the wetsuit is sewn together. The fewer the seams, the less chance you have of water leaking in, or having the wetsuit come apart from wear and tear. Some have glued seams, where they sew it together, but have a "reinforcement strip" along the seam as well so water doesn't leak through. The idea is the fewer the seams, the warmer the wetsuit. Not really the key factor in warmth though.... so don't worry too much about this.

And then there are going to be extra features that the wetsuit may include. Rip Curl always has 50 features for each wetsuit. Ex. Batwing, zipperless, fireskin, hydrophobic material, seamless shoulder panel, hydrolock collar, etc. Read the little booklet and decide which features you want and what's just extra money. For me, flexibility and warmth are the most important, and things like zipperless and an extra collar are just extra features that are unnecessary. Talk to the sale people too.

I like Ripcurl. Xcel is great too.. Quiksilver great also.. Try different brands on because they will all fit a little differently even if they are the same size. Find the company that fits the best. MAKE SURE IT'S NOT TOO LOSE OR YOU WILL GET COLD. So finding the right fit is key.

Lastly, try getting last year's model to save some money...