What is a wetsuit? One thing is certain, they are essential diving gear because it is what protects your body from becoming too cold in the water. Your body loses heat much faster to water than it does to air which is why even in relatively warm waters you can start to feel cold during a long dive.
There are many kinds on the market with different thicknesses and designs. You need to understand how a wetsuit works in order to find the best wetsuit for you.
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How does a Wetsuit Work?
How does a wetsuit work?: A wetsuit works by trapping a thin layer of water between your body and the wetsuit. This water layer is then in turn, warmed by your body heat and actually prevents you from losing heat whilst you are underwater. Most wetsuits are made from a material called Neoprene. This material helps provide insulation against cold water temperatures and keeps the heat inside so that you do not get cold.
In the following blog post, you will learn how a wet suit keeps you warm underwater and what kind of wet suit you need for your dives. It is also important to know exactly how a wetsuit should fit and how to wear a wetsuit before investing in your own scuba suit for your underwater adventures.
And once you have one, you will need to learn about wetsuit cleaning and care to make sure that your suit lasts for as many dives as possible!
Why You Need a Wetsuit
So why do you need a wetsuit, do wetsuits keep you warm when you go scuba diving and what do wetsuits do? Think back to your physics classes and try to remember how little pockets of air prevent hot air from moving into space with cold air. Essentially, this is what happens to your body
heat in the water; your body heat naturally escapes to the colder temperature of the water but the layers of a wet suit trap your body heat and slow down the process.
Hypothermia is a very real risk for scuba divers, especially divers that go into the water during winter months. Your body can even go into shock from such cold environments.
Wearing an appropriate suit makes sure that all your body’s organs keep functioning the way they should and you can dive safely. However, even with an advanced technology suit, diving in cold waters is still dangerous so you need to monitor your body’s condition closely and not dive for too long. Learn what the difference is between a wetsuit and a drysuit here.
Even when you are diving in summer or in tropical waters, they are still very useful. You always lose body heat in water, even in warm water so they help you stay comfortable and safe whilst diving.
What Are Wetsuits Made of?
What are wetsuits made out of? The most important material used is neoprene. Neoprene is a synthetic material that acts as an insulator. In addition to the neoprene, there are other layers of material that either also helps to insulate your body heat or help to keep your body mobile in the water.
Neoprene is made of millions of little cells that trap nitrogen, therefore, making a neoprene wetsuit an excellent heat insulator. Also, it has the consistency of soft rubber which is somewhat flexible and does not get weighed down as much as other materials when it gets wet. Just take a look at this video to answer the question of How does a wetsuit work? to get an overall understanding.
Are you asking the question of does a wetsuit keep you dry? The outermost layer is usually a water-resistant material like lycra nylon, fleece, kevlar or kanoko. The outer most layer does allow some water in because you need a warm water pocket close to your skin to retain body heat.
In certain suits, there is an extremely thin layer of a metal like copper, aluminum or titanium between the inner layer and the neoprene. This might sound weird but a metallic material can reflect your body’s heat back or in other words, prevents your body heat from seeping through to the other layers.
Another factor to note is that Women’s and men’s suits are tailored differently. This is due to the difference in sizes and shapes between genders. For the best fit for a woman, we would recommend you look at womens wetsuits.
Some more technologically advanced suits even use FAR infrared technology to increase the body temperature. However, these suits are rarely available to the public and mainly used for the navy or specialized divers.
Wetsuit Thickness Guide
The thickness indicates what water temperatures it is suitable for. The thicker it is the better it insulates heat.
There are also different designs with some being a full body style, while others only cover the extremities 
partially or even only the torso and thighs. Shorties are popular for divers in tropical waters while the full body design is mostly used in winter conditions.
The thickness is measured in millimeters and is usually labeled in two or three numbers. The first number is the thickness around the torso, the second number is the thickness around the legs but also the arms if there is no third number given.
The thinnest is 0.1 – 2 mm, with most full-body wet suits, starting at 3 mm and reaching up to 6 mm. 0.1 – 2 mm is recommended for tropical waters, 3 mm for spring water and 4 mm or thicker for waters that are below 62° Fahrenheit.
When you are diving in cold waters then you will also need to wear dive booties and gloves. Your extremities can go numb in cold water which you must absolutely avoid.
The Importance of How a Wetsuit Is Sealed
How do wetsuits work? Most wet suits are not waterproof and will let in some water so if you are pondering the question of do wetsuits keep you dry? the answer is no, not really. This little volume of water will get trapped next to your body and actually creates another pocket of trapped hot air.
How much water seeps through depends on how it is sealed. This is why different designs have different seals depending on what water temperatures they are designed for.
In tropical warm waters, you might wear a shorty or a suit that is less than 2 mm thick. These kinds 
generally only have flatlock stitching which lets in some water and allows for maximum flexibility.
For temperature waters of at least 55° Fahrenheit, the suit lets in very little water thanks to blindstitching and glued sealed covers. Blind stitches only go through the layers partially which means that the holes of the stitches do not go all the way through creating less space for the water to seep through.
For cold water divers, the suit is not only glued and blindstitched but also has an extra protective layer of interior seam taping. The interior seam taping makes this kind the most waterproof.
The type of zipper also makes a difference in how well-sealed it is. A back zipper lets in the most water and a chest zipper lets in the least water.
