Now that you’ve got into the surf scene, taken three or four courses with your favorite surf school, and dropped a few waves, you’re ready to get your first wetsuit. We tell you three very basic things that you should know about surf suits and that many people who start in this world do not know.
1. Wetsuits Keep you Dry within so you don’t get Cold in the Water
All surf suits filter water and it is precisely this same water that has previously entered, which heats up with your body temperature while you go for winter surfing (sometimes other fluids come into play, it must also be said). Once the wetsuit has been filled with water, it is released and renewed more slowly and it is precisely this that allows the water already inside to heat up and maintain your higher body temperature.
There are also so-called dry wetsuits on the market, used for example by divers who dive in very cold waters, their operation is completely different “but this is another story”
2. Thickness doesn’t Matter
Anyway, Seraph, don’t give it to you with cheese “the thickness matters a lot”. I know surfers (particularly the individuals who are beginning) who to set aside a little cash like to purchase a 3/2mm thick wetsuit believing that they are not cold and will actually want to bear the colder time of year with it. It will depend a lot on the area where you surf but what I do assure you is that if you surf in the Cantabrian you will not have balls to endure the winter with it, unless you are from Bilbao “the Basques are made of another paste”.
Some recommendations on the thickness you should use in your surf wetsuit depending on the water temperature.
- 18ºC to 22ºC 2mm short suit would suit you very well.
- 17ºC to 18ºC Integral suit (long sleeve, long leg) of 2mm, you would be very “cute” with it.
- 14ºC to 17ºC 3 / 2mm long suit you would be the envy of the girls and / or boys of the place.
- 12ºC to 14ºC 4 / 3mm long suit and go thinking about booties.
- 9ºC to 12ºC 4/3mm long suit (just for butts or butts), with cap and booties obviously. Better a 5/4mm without a doubt, when we talk about this thickness solace becomes possibly the most important factor, search for a flexible suit.
3. Wetsuits can be Repaired
How to repair a wetsuit? Now that you chose your wetsuit a few months ago and you have burst it from several keels, scrapes against the asphalt, or jerks due to the urge to put it on or take it off quickly when entering or leaving the water. Now is the time to find out how you can repair your wetsuit. Let’s be honest, repairing a surf suit and making it perfect is not an easy task and there are no miracles (at least in these cases), although it is true that there are some fixes that look very good and that you can try to lengthen the lifetime of your wetsuit. The most common damages in a wetsuit are usually open seams or cuts in the neoprene. Repair your wetsuit with liquid neoprene:
Before starting, make sure your wetsuit is clean and dry, especially in the area to be repaired.
If the cut is not completely open or deep, the repair of your wetsuit will be easier. If the cut is not completely open, that is, the tear does not go through the suit. Open or separate the crack well, apply liquid neoprene on both sides. Help yourself with an applicator, liquid wetsuits usually include one, in case the liquid wetsuit you have bought does not have an applicator, get a tool that can help you, a small nail polish brush or a cotton swab could help you.
Let it dry a bit until the glue takes some consistency.
Once the neoprene has dried a bit, join the two faces of the crack, wait a while for both parts to grip perfectly and let it dry for 24 hours.
If the crack in your wetsuit goes through the suit, follow steps 1-4 but also add a wetsuit patch. Surf suits usually have a piece of neoprene added to the label. If yours didn’t have it, use a piece of neoprene from an old suit, big enough to cover the tear. Reapply liquid neoprene to both parts (the piece of neoprene that you will use as a patch and the part that you have already repaired). Put the patch on the outside of the wetsuit because if you put it on the inside you run the risk of rubbing your skin.
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