What thickness wetsuit for swimming in the UK?
A safe open water wetsuit should be a 3:3 thickness for women and a 3:5 thickness for men. This means 3mm of neoprene around the chest and legs for women, and 3mm of neoprene around the chest for men and 5mm of neoprene around the legs for men. Look for swimming costumes that are made from thicker materials such as neoprene, and make sure they have a good fit so they don’t let any cold water in. Our Linda reversible wetsuit is a great example of a long-sleeved, shorty wetsuit that can help you retain warmth without being too restrictive.Whatever you use your wetsuit for, the most important thing to get right is the fit. Your wetsuit should feel snug and tight all over. If there’s excess material in places like the neck and cuffs, it will let water in and negate all its insulating properties. Don’t be too taken aback by the tightness of a wetsuit.Ultimately, what you wear under your wetsuit is your choice. Whether you choose swim shorts, a swimsuit, a bikini, a rash vest, or nothing at all, the goal is optimum comfort, ease of movement and total confidence when in the water. If you’re unsure, try out some options before settling on what suits you best.For warmer water or competitive swimming, a thinner wetsuit (2mm–3mm) is often a better choice for improved flexibility and comfort.
How do I choose a wetsuit for swimming?
Buy a swimming specific wetsuit with the more continuous motion of swimming, all over thickness of the wetsuit for warmth is not required. Instead, a thinner suit with carefully positioned panels allow more flexibility in areas such as the arms and legs and thicker panels for warmth on the and buoyancy. Generally, a wetsuit should fit snugly, like a second skin, but not so tight that your range of motion is limited. The sleeves (if full-length) should fall at the wrist bone and the legs just above the ankle bone, and there should be no gaps, pockets, or rolls of neoprene. Wetsuits fit more snugly than clothing.A wetsuit should fit like a second skin. The wetsuit needs to heat a thin layer of water evenly around your body to regulate your body heat. So, it needs to be tight to your body. If there are any gaping spaces, the water will flush through and cause you to feel cold.Wearing a swimsuit under a wetsuit is a common practice among women, due to the advantages it offers. The swimsuit helps prevent chafing, adding to overall comfort during high-movement activities where skin irritation risk is higher​.A wetsuit should fit like a second skin. It should feel tight but not restrictive, with no gaps in the nooks and crannies of your body such as under your arms, the lower back and behind the knees.The modern wetsuit will lift your hips up and get your body floating much higher in the water. This lift and alignment reduces your resistance and will help you swim way faster. But they can also limit your shoulder rotation and make it hard for you to breathe.
What kind of wetsuit do I need for cold water swimming?
Up-to-date neoprene wetsuit technology allows these thicker fullsuits to keep you warm and keep your performance up while in colder water. A wetsuit for cold water is great for 35 degree and up water temps and can be worn for watersports like surfing, SCUBA diving, kayaking, and more! THE SCIENCE BEHIND WETSUIT THICKNESS Your body heats that water, and the neoprene helps retain the warmth. The thicker the neoprene, the warmer you will be, so thicker wetsuits are better suited for colder water. Wetsuit thickness usually ranges from 2mm for hot summer days to 7mm for very cold conditions.Cold Water and Wetsuit Open water swimming is generally a few degrees cooler than the pool, hence the need for a wetsuit, but swimming in a wetsuit takes a bit of getting used to and can slow you down at first.If your suit fits properly, that single thin layer of water becomes securely trapped, and because it’s trapped it will heat up. You’ll feel warm, lightweight, and happy when swimming. So a wetsuit should be a tight fit.If temperatures drop below 10°C to around 9°C or 8°C, then you’ll likely need to upgrade your wetsuit thickness to 5mm. This is to accommodate the drop in water temperatures and the cold weather when you’re out of the water and on the beach.If you’re primarily in warmer waters, a 3mm suit should be sufficient, if you’re primarily in waters where temperatures hover around the mid-teens, a 4mm suit should be more than enough. But if you plan to tackle cold waters or winter waves, a 5mm wetsuit will keep you toasty and ready for anything.
Can I wear a wetsuit in a swimming pool?
Saltwater pools, chlorinated pools, gene pools, we don’t care where you choose to stick your wetsuit. You can absolutely use your wetsuit in a pool. Just be sure to go for good quality wetsuits that will last, and for crying out loud… take good care of it! Nothing in your urine will eat away at the seams of your wetsuit or create holes, so don’t worry about damaging your suit with a little bit of pee here and there. That said, you should always be sure to properly rinse out your suit in freshwater after a dive to keep it in the best shape possible.Chlorine damage: Pool water is treated with chlorine to maintain cleanliness, but this chemical can degrade the neoprene material of wetsuits over time. Prolonged exposure to chlorine may cause the wetsuit to lose its elasticity, leading to premature wear and tear.Needless to say, we are talking about peeing in wetsuits in the water. If you have to do it, do it at the beginning of the dive. The water will have time to rinse off the urine. Just before getting out of the water, open your wetsuit and let the water run inside.Peeing in Wetsuits Can Damage Their Fabric: TRUE Human urine is 90-95% water. The rest are compounds like urea, chloride, sodium, potassium, creatinine, inorganic sulfur, and others. This means that it is slightly acidic and its pH ranges from 5. In other words, urine is corrosive.
Does a 3mm wetsuit help you float?
Wetsuits provide moderate buoyancy, which is helpful for divers or surfers in slightly cooler waters. Wetsuits offer a significant increase in buoyancy, suitable for cold water where additional flotation and warmth are needed. The suit should feel reasonably tight when dry, but not so tight that your movement is restricted; you should be able to lift your arms and touch your toes etc. Once in the water, the neoprene will loosen up, which is another reason why it is essential that a new suit feels as tight as possible when dry.Wet suits don’t keep you dry, but they can keep you warm. Wet suits are made of waterproof, closed-cell, foam-rubber (neoprene) which insulates even when wet. The two main things that determine how warm you will be are the thickness of the neoprene and the snugness of the wet suit.Cons of Using Wetsuits While wetsuits offer great insulation, they are bulkier and restrict mobility more compared to spring suits. The thicker neoprene material limits flexibility, making paddling and maneuvering slightly more challenging.When the water temperature measures between 50 and 65 degrees, wetsuits are strongly encouraged, and some races may require their use. Between 65 and 78 degrees, it’s typically the athlete’s choice of whether to wear a wetsuit.The first few times you wear a wetsuit may be uncomfortable because of the new sensation of having tight fabric against your body. Once you get used to swimming in a wetsuit (there’s plenty of helpful guides on our blog), you can use the wetsuit as a tool to help make swimming easier.
Should you size up in a wetsuit women’s?
Tips for Women’s Wetsuit Sizing Make sure to check the measurements on the sizing guide of the wetsuit brand. If you have a different size top and bottom, it is recommended to go with the larger of the two sizes. How right fitting should a wetsuit be? In general, a wetsuit should fit snugly, like a second skin but not so tight that your range of motion is limited. The sleeves (if full-length) should fall at the wrist bone and the legs just above the ankle bone, and there should be no gaps, pockets, or rolls of neoprene.For many women, the simplest and most common choice is to wear nothing under their wetsuit. This option ensures: Maximum flexibility: No extra fabric to bunch up or restrict movement. Streamlined fit: Allows the wetsuit to conform closely to the body as it was designed for better insulation.If you land between two sizes, or you’re at the top of the size range and are unsure which would be best suited to you then we would always advise sizing up, wetsuits are already designed for a tighter fit without restricting your range of movement therefore its best to accommodate for this by sizing up.A 7mm wetsuit is highly recommended with the addition of the proper accessories such as a hooded vest.To Sum It Up But we hope that by the time you’ve finished reading this post, you’ll know that in order to save yourself time and grief, it’s simply easier to get into a wetsuit when you’re wet and to get into a dry wetsuit when you’re dry. Opposites just don’t attract in this case, so don’t force it.
Is a 3mm wetsuit ok for the UK?
C) – 3mm thick wetsuits are perfect for average water temperatures in the UK between July and October. Gloves, boots and hood are not required in these temperatures. The O’Neill Hyperfreak Chest Zip 3/2mm wetsuit is one of our bestselling 3mm wetsuits; made from super lightweight TechnoButter 3 neoprene. A 5/4/3mm wetsuit is ideal for winter surfing in the UK. The 5/4/3mm wetsuit is designed with a thick neoprene layer around your core and more stretchy neoprene around the shoulders and other areas where you need to maintain good movement.Reading the temperature guide Generally, you’ll find yourself using wetsuits that fall in the middle of the spectrum. For instance, a 3mm shortie or steamer is perfect for water temperatures between 18° and 24°C (65° – 75°F) and serves as an ideal high summer suit for the UK and other parts of Europe.A safe open water wetsuit should be a 3:3 thickness for women and a 3:5 thickness for men. This means 3mm of neoprene around the chest and legs for women, and 3mm of neoprene around the chest for men and 5mm of neoprene around the legs for men.