Nothing works without a suit
Optimum protection against temperatures
The king of water sports clothing is the neoprene suit. It fulfils the classic task of sailor's clothing - to protect the athlete from temperatures. Even when it's cool, it's best to be on the boat for hours without freezing and catching a cold in bed the next day. With the neoprene suits you can enjoy long units on the water and are well protected from external influences such as splash water.
In principle, the colder the water, the thicker the suit should be. As a rule of thumb, at water temperatures of about 20 degrees, suits three millimeters thick in the middle of the body are sufficient to keep your body warm for a long time. If the temperature of the water drops to about 10 degrees, you should wear a suit at least five millimeters thick. Of course, this also depends on your personal perception of cold. If you never freeze anyway and still walk around in a T-shirt when others are already unpacking your down jacket, three millimetres may still be enough even at a cool 15 degrees. If you are more of a frostbite, four millimetres or better five millimetres are recommended. So if you go to the Baltic Sea to sail, three millimeters could be a little tight, at the Mediterranean you can sweat a lot with five millimeters.
When you buy a suit, you will find information about the thickness of the material, whereby in addition to the thickness in millimetres in the area of the body centre mentioned here, the thickness of the fabrics at the joints of your limbs is also given. This is usually thinner because you are less sensitive to cold in the arms and legs than in the central area of the body around the stomach and back. The thickness therefore varies slightly for optimum temperature sensation.
Find the wetsuit that suits you best!
Also concerning the style of the suit, you should pay attention to your personal preferences. There are models with long or with short sleeves to buy, also the colors vary from classic black to gray tones to various bright colors.
On warmer days and with pleasant water temperatures around 25 degrees the wetsuit, which covers the whole body, sometimes becomes superfluous and causes you to sweat too much under so much fabric. Then it's great if you can switch to a shorty. It protects your upper body while your less sensitive legs are free to enjoy the water. The thickness of the suit here is usually two millimeters. In the shop you will also find various custom-made products.
Perfect fit for your suit
If you buy a wetsuit of any kind, you should always make sure that it fits your body like a glove. Suits that are too tight can quickly cause breathing problems, especially when you leave the resting state of the fitting and the sea is really crashing. If the suit is too wide, water and air can flow through the suit, making the high quality fabric of your suit obsolete. So that your clothes can fulfil their purpose optimally, you should feel comfortable in them, but also not have too much free space.
Optimum closure system
For comfort, it can also be decisive which locking system you choose. Many people find the Back Zip to be the most comfortable because it makes the suit easy to put on and take off. In addition, suits with this system often have adjustable collars that prevent water from entering the suit. Suits with Chest Zip can, as the name suggests, be opened at the chest. You can adjust wetsuits of this type optimally to your upper body, but sometimes it can cause a slight tug in the chest area if you land with your belly first in the water.