Materials that Make up a Wetsuit

Wetsuits prevent you from suffering hypothermia when you want to play outdoors with your surfboard or wakeboard during cold days. You may want to choose wetsuits made for a specific water sport or you may want to choose one with an attractive design, but it also pays to know what are the materials that wetsuits are made of, so you will know what is suitable for your comfort.

The most common material that makes up a wetsuit is an artificially made rubber called Neoprene. Most wetsuits are pure Neoprene but others have a mixture of butyl rubber. These materials are flexible but some manufacturers have added more flexibility to wetsuits by adding some other materials like Merino wool, spandex and lycra.

The outer layer of the wetsuit is made smooth by laminating it with polyester or nylon. Neoprene is made as flexible as possible to fit the body snugly and so it will work efficiently in preserving body heat.

Neoprene in wetsuits is usually classified depending on the quality. It can be the standard neoprene, super stretch neoprene or the super stretch water repellant neoprene. Wetsuits that have super stretch Neoprene are usually priced differently according to the percentage of that type of neoprene on it. If you are looking for a wetsuit for a specific water sport, it is good to check what wetsuits are made of before buying.

30 percent Super Stretch. A wetsuit that is 30% super stretch neoprene usually covers only the shoulders, the back and the arms, and this is usually less expensive. A surfing wetsuit usually requires at least 30% Super Stretch Neoprene. More experienced surfers however prefer suits with 60 or 100% Super Stretch neoprene. In a recreational swimming wetsuit, a standard neoprene or 30% stretch can do.

60 percent Super Stretch. This Neoprene is usually found in the sections of the arm, shoulders, back and thighs. The rest are made of standard Neoprene. Compared to that with 30% super stretch, this type of wetsuit is more expensive.

Wetsuits with 100 percent super stretch neoprene are the most expensive of the three. It is made of pure super stretch neoprene thus it is more flexible and lighter.

Wetsuits are usually zipped at the back or at the shoulders or chest. These allow the wearer ease of putting on or taking off the suit. Other more advanced wetsuits however are made very flexible that it does not require zippers.

So whether you are looking for surfing wetsuit, a swimming wetsuit, or a triathlon wetsuit, that would probably be just easy now that you know what wetsuits are made of.

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