Wetsuits

Start with thickness

Thickness is the first thing to settle, and it is one of the filters on this page. Thinner neoprene bends more easily and packs smaller. Thicker neoprene holds more warmth but costs you movement. Most divers end up owning two suits rather than one that half-works everywhere, and that is a sensible outcome rather than a failure of planning.

Shorties and 2-3mm

For the tropics, liveaboards and pool work. The TUSA SPORT UA5306 shorties in mens and ladies cuts, the youth UA5308 for juniors, the Aqualung HydroFlex 3mm Shorty, the Waterproof W30 2.5mm and the Fourth Element Xenos 3mm all sit here. The Xenos comes as a full suit or a shortie in both cuts, the Fourth Element Proteus II 3mm and Aqualung AquaFlex 3mm cover the same band, and Bare offers the Revel 3/2mm, Elate 3/2mm, Nixie 3/2mm and Velocity Ultra 3mm if you already know the brand.

4-6mm, the workhorse band

Summer UK, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea in winter. Fourth Element Proteus II 5mm and Xenos 5mm, Bare Velocity Ultra 5mm, Evoke, Elate 5mm and Nixie 5mm, Aqualung AquaFlex 5mm, Waterproof W7, W8 and W50 in 5mm, and the Beuchat FOCEA COMFORT 6 all live here. Fourth Element Surface Suit 4/3mm is named for where it is meant to be worn, and the Aqualung Wave Junior Shorty covers younger divers.

7-8mm and semi-dry

Cold water and UK diving through the year, and the point at which seals matter as much as neoprene. The Apeks ThermiQ 8/7mm semi-dry in mens and womens cuts, the Waterproof SD Neoflex 7mm semi-dry, the Beuchat Semi-dry X-Trem, the Aqualung Solaflex 8/7mm and the Waterproof W80 8mm sit at this end, alongside 7mm versions of the Fourth Element Xenos, Bare Revel, Bare Elate, Bare Nixie and the Waterproof W7 and W8. A semi-dry will not keep you dry. It slows the water moving through the suit, and it is the moving water that chills you.

Scuba, freediving and surface swimming

Not everything here is a scuba suit, and cut is what separates them. A scuba suit is cut to sit under a harness. A freediving suit is cut to stretch and is usually sold as two pieces. A layering piece goes under either, or stands on its own in warm water.

Freediving and spearfishing

Beuchat supplies most of this: Espadon, Espadon Prestige and Espadon Elite, plus Redrock, Bifo, Rocksea Trigocamo Wide and the womens Athena. They are listed as separate jackets and long johns because that is how two-piece suits are sold and sized, so check you are ordering both halves. Fourth Element covers the same ground with the RF1 one-piece and the RF2 hooded jacket, leggings and vest, in mens and womens cuts.

Layering, warm water and juniors

The Fourth Element Thermocline range, in one-pieces, jackets, long-sleeve tops, vests and leggings for men and women, is for divers who want warmth without the bulk of neoprene, and it works under a suit as well as on its own. The Sharkskin Chillproof long-sleeve chest zip does a similar job. The Waterproof Neoskin 1mm is the thinnest cover in the collection. The Aqualung Wave Junior and Wave Junior Shorty are the youth options, alongside the TUSA SPORT UA5308. Both Fourth Element and Apeks make technical shorts to wear over a suit.

One collection, filtered by gender, brand and thickness

We keep wetsuits on a single page rather than splitting mens and womens into separate collections. Gender is a filter here, alongside brand and thickness, so you can hold a thickness steady and see every brand version of it, or pick a brand and follow its whole ladder from shortie to semi-dry. The gender filter offers womens, mens and unisex. Most models are cut both ways, including the Xenos, Proteus II, Thermocline and RF2 from Fourth Element, the AquaFlex from Aqualung, the Semi-dry X-Trem and ZENTO from Beuchat, and the W7, W8 and SD Neoflex from Waterproof. Filtering by gender does not shrink your choice; it removes the suits that were never going to fit.

The brands in this collection

Eight brands, each here for a reason. Fourth Element and Waterproof carry the widest ladders: Xenos, Proteus II, Thermocline and the RF freediving line from the first; W30, W7, W8, W50, W80, Neoskin and SD Neoflex from the second. Beuchat is the freediving and spearfishing specialist, and also makes the ZENTO and the Semi-dry X-Trem for scuba. Bare spans Velocity Ultra, Revel, Evoke, Elate, Nixie and Reactive. Apeks brings the ThermiQ semi-dry and the Thermiq 5mm. Aqualung runs AquaFlex, HydroFlex, Dynaflex, Solaflex and the Wave Junior suits. TUSA and Sharkskin cover the entry-level shorty and the layering top.

Fit, sizing and care

A wetsuit works by holding a thin layer of water against you and letting your body warm it, so the gaps are what make you cold, not the number on the label. Snug is right; painful is not. If you can pinch a fold of neoprene away from your chest, or there is a pocket of slack behind your knees, it is too big. If you cannot get your arms above your head, it is too small.

Rinse inside and out in fresh water after every dive, and dry on a wide hanger out of direct sun. Neoprene is killed by folding and by UV, not by diving. Keep the zip waxed. Sizing varies between these brands more than you would expect, so if you are between sizes, or between two thicknesses, call the shop before you order. We would rather talk it through than process a return.