Wetsuits prevent you from suffering hypothermia when you want to play outdoors with your surfboard or wakeboard during cold days. You may want to choose wetsuits made for a specific water sport or you may want to choose one with an attractive design, but it also pays to know what are the materials that wetsuits are made of, so you will know what is suitable for your comfort.

The most common material that makes up a wetsuit is an artificially made rubber called Neoprene. Most wetsuits are pure Neoprene but others have a mixture of butyl rubber. These materials are flexible but some manufacturers have added more flexibility to wetsuits by adding some other materials like Merino wool, spandex and lycra.

The surface of the suit can be smooth, waterproofed rubber or skin, coated or laminated with nylon or polyester. The main material, Neoprene is designed to fit around the body to prevent cold water to penetrate, and different thickness of wetsuits are available depending how warm or the cold is the water.

If you are looking for a wetsuit, it is good to know the quality of Neoprene it has. Neoprene comes in different qualities and is classified into standard or super stretch. There is also the water repellant super stretch Neoprene. The quality of Neoprene oftentimes determines the price of the wetsuit. Wetsuits may also be classified according to the percentage of super stretch Neoprene it contains.

Wetsuits having 30% super stretch neoprene usually cost lesser. The super stretch neoprene in this wetsuits is usually found in the arms and the shoulder or at the back. Surfers are often required to have this percentage of super stretch neoprene in their wetsuits but other expert surfers prefer those with higher percentage.

60 percent Super Stretch. This Neoprene is usually found in the sections of the arm, shoulders, back and thighs. The rest are made of standard Neoprene. Compared to that with 30% super stretch, this type of wetsuit is more expensive.

Wetsuits having 100 percent or pure super stretch neoprene are the most flexible types. They are also considered the lightest. With these characteristics, they are also a little expensive.

Most wetsuits have zippers for ease of getting into the suit. In some types of wetsuits, especially those that are very flexible, zippers are eliminated. This also eliminates the problem of cold water getting into the tiny openings in the zipper.

So choosing a good wetsuit may be simpler and easy now that you knew what makes a good and comfortable wetsuit.

Tags: Surfing

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