Winter Wetsuit Guide 2019

The challenge to stay warm on the water gets easier every year as the innovations in insulation continue to develop. ION Product Manager Marc Burhans shares some of his industry knowledge with us and an assortment of brands tell us about their winter wetsuits.

- Marc Burhans

WS - Back to basics, how do wetsuits work?

MB - The optimal case is that as little water as possible gets into the wetsuit. The neoprene and the air bubbles contained in it form an insulating layer between your body and the water. But since a little water always enters the wetsuit, it heats up due to our body temperature and keeps us warm.

WS - Not every brand uses the same neoprene. What are the differences in the composition of the neoprene types?

MB - There are different types – petroleum based neoprene, limestone neoprene and Yulex neoprene. Petroleum based is being used less and less. In our area, limestone is probably the manufacturer’s choice for most wetsuit brands nowadays. Yulex is the most environmentally friendly alternative of all, but also the most expensive. Further differences in the foam are factors such as flexibility, hardness and durability. The foam used depends on the requirements of the wetsuits, e.g. more flexible foams are pricier than others, so would not be applicable for lower priced suits.

WS – What about different zipper types?

MB - There are differences in terms of where they are placed. There are front zip, back zip and no zip wetsuits. Furthermore, there are zippers with different product qualities; our zippers are all from “YKK” to guarantee the best quality. Front zip is on the rise in the market as it is getting easier to get into the suit with better and more flexible materials.

Zipless suits are neither colder nor warmer than others. The amount of water that gets inside the wetsuit stays the same. Their big advantage is increased flexibility as no zipper increases freedom of movement. Surfers rely more and more on this zipper kind because it supports paddle power thanks to the missing zips. Anyone who’s got flexibility as their first priority should should give zipless a try.