A wet suit is a wet suit is a wet suit. So how do you differentiate between them? Does it really matter if you decide to go scuba diving or windsurfing or snorkeling? How different are the wet suits for these applications from each other? Does it really matter if you get a wet suit for scuba diving and use it for water skiing instead? It does and it doesn’t.

Two the most important things when it comes to wetsuits are warmth and fit. Warmth is decided by the thickness of the neoprene and it must be chosen by the location where the wetsuit will be used. Are you going swimming, snorkeling and diving in the tropics or are you going somewhere where the water is really cold? The other thing is the fit. If your wetsuit is to big it will not be warm no matter what, so the right fit is essential.

To take an informed decision, you need to understand how a wet suit works. Wet suits are basically made from neoprene, which is a highly porous material that contains millions of tiny little bubbles. Neoprene uses the nitrogen bubbles to create a barrier of air between the water around you and your body. A thin layer of water enters this barrier and gets heated up to your body temperature. As you reach greater depths, the suit starts getting looser as the Neoprene compresses against it self. When this happens, any water that may have entered, leaks out. At the end of the day, the wet suit must protect you and keep you warm.

So how thick wetsuit do you need greatly depends on the water temperature. And water temperature depends on the location and time – where and when are you going to use your wetsuit. Another thing to consider is also your sex. Wetsuits for women are a bit different that wetsuits for men.

Since women have more surface area than men, they tend to feel colder, faster. Hence, it is more practical for a woman to wear a comparatively warmer suit than a man diving in the same area. Ideally, you need to buy a wet suit which is a bit warmer than you require. This is based on the premise that if you are being kept too warm by your wet suit, you can let some water in to cool you down. However, if you feel cold while diving, you dont have much choice but to get out of the water.

The other thing to keep in mind is that a two-piece wet suit is likely to keep you warmer than a one-piece wet suit. The two-piece wet suit has the benefit of double insulation around the groin and chest areas. However, double the insulation also leads to greater restriction in movement and greater buoyancy, which would require you to carry more lead, than you would have to in a one-piece suit of similar thickness.

After you identify the appropriate suit, look for one that fits you perfectly. To get the right size and fit are imperative for you. Once you take all these factors into account, you will be set to dive in, and dive deep.