The best wetsuits for freediving in cold water
Yamamoto neoprene
Our wetsuits are made from Yamamoto neoprene, the industry's gold standard for flexibility and warmth.
Flexibility means you can take full breaths, enter and exit the suit easily, and go a size down, getting a watertight fit without compromising ease of movement.
Yamamoto's neoprene is made from limestone, the most environmentally friendly source material.
Flexibility means you can take full breaths, enter and exit the suit easily, and go a size down, getting a watertight fit without compromising ease of movement.
Yamamoto's neoprene is made from limestone, the most environmentally friendly source material.
Open cell technology
The millions of open cells in our open cell neoprene act like tiny suction cups, sticking to your skin to keep cold water out.
Open cell neoprene is warmer than any other kind of neoprene.
Open cell neoprene is warmer than any other kind of neoprene.
Built for freediving
Our wetsuits feature:
Watertight seals around face, wrists and ankles
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Super-stretch nylon
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Knee, elbow and chest pads
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High waisted bottoms which keep you warm while still allowing you to take a full breath
Watertight seals around face, wrists and ankles
•
Super-stretch nylon
•
Knee, elbow and chest pads
•
High waisted bottoms which keep you warm while still allowing you to take a full breath
Choosing your size
Use the size charts below to choose your size. Choose a size that fits you snugly, because high quality neoprene will stretch and mold to your body. The formula for staying warm in cold water is:
high quality neoprene + a snug fit.
high quality neoprene + a snug fit.
Sizing Tips
- Measure yourselfMeasure yourself around the fullest part of your chest, the narrowest part of your waist, and the widest part of your hips. If you don't have a tape measure, you can get one from Amazon for $3.
Check your measurements against the size charts. The most important measurements are your chest and waist. The least important measurement is your height. It doesn't matter if a wetsuit is a bit short in the arms and legs, because your gloves and booties will keep your wrists and ankles warm.
If you are between sizes, go with the lower size, because high quality neoprene will stretch to accommodate your body shape, and a tight wetsuit will keep you warmer than a loose one.
A wetsuit should fit like leggings, not jeans. - Standard sizes aren't right for everyoneIf your measurements differ wildly from those on the charts, consider getting a custom wetsuit. Some excellent custom wetsuit makers are Elios, Polosub and Hi. A snug fit everywhere is important for staying warm.
Wetsuit FAQs
Make a 50-50 mix of hair conditioner and water, and spray or rub it over the inside of your suit. Don't leave any bits dry. Once the inside of the suit is slick, turn it back rightside out, and put one arm through, then the other arm, then finally pull it gently over your head.
When pulling, don't stab your hand through the suit, or catch it with your fingernails.
Using more than 50% conditioner in your mix is fine, but don't use less than 50% conditioner, otherwise it won't be slippery enough, and you will stretch out your suit. Water alone does not lubricate your suit.
Use whichever brand of hair conditioner you like for your hair :) Hair conditioner is generally considered reef-safe (unlike some types of sunscreen).
When pulling, don't stab your hand through the suit, or catch it with your fingernails.
Using more than 50% conditioner in your mix is fine, but don't use less than 50% conditioner, otherwise it won't be slippery enough, and you will stretch out your suit. Water alone does not lubricate your suit.
Use whichever brand of hair conditioner you like for your hair :) Hair conditioner is generally considered reef-safe (unlike some types of sunscreen).
When you take off your wetsuit, leave it inside out. Rinse it this way in fresh water, then hang it up to dry. Don't hang it on something poky; better to lay it over a railing or a big hanger made for wetsuits.
If you don't rinse your wetsuit after diving, it is not the end of the world. Salt water will shorten the suit's life somewhat, but no suit is going to last forever anyway.
Don't leave your wetsuit lying in direct sun - it can melt, and UV degrades the neoprene.
Most importantly, take it on and off gently, with no sudden, stabbing or tearing motions. Make sure to cover the inside generously in 50-50 conditioner-water mix before putting it on.
If you don't rinse your wetsuit after diving, it is not the end of the world. Salt water will shorten the suit's life somewhat, but no suit is going to last forever anyway.
Don't leave your wetsuit lying in direct sun - it can melt, and UV degrades the neoprene.
Most importantly, take it on and off gently, with no sudden, stabbing or tearing motions. Make sure to cover the inside generously in 50-50 conditioner-water mix before putting it on.
“Open cell” means the neoprene on the inside of the suit has not been heat-sealed or covered with fabric, so it acts like thousands of tiny suction cups, sticking to your skin and keeping you extra warm. It also makes it harder to get into, so you will need to spray the inside of the suit with lube (such as a 50:50 mix of hair conditioner and water) before getting into it. But once you are in, it will stick to you like a second skin. Open-cell neoprene is warmer than any other kind of neoprene.
To make neoprene, raw rubber is mixed with a “chemical blowing agent” which, under heat and pressure, releases nitrogen gas into the rubber, creating the gas “cells” that provide insulation.
On the surface, these gas cells make us buoyant, meaning we have to wear a lot of weight to be able to dive down through the first couple of meters without generating uncomfortable levels of carbon dioxide.
But once we start to descend, Boyle’s law causes these gas cells to shrink, displacing less water and therefore exerting less buoyancy. So we get heavier and heavier, making the descent easier but the swim back up harder. For deeper freedives, the difficulty of this return swim starts to become a constraint.
Therefore, the less neoprene you wear, the more comfortable your dives will be. So warmer neoprene is a big advantage.
On the surface, these gas cells make us buoyant, meaning we have to wear a lot of weight to be able to dive down through the first couple of meters without generating uncomfortable levels of carbon dioxide.
But once we start to descend, Boyle’s law causes these gas cells to shrink, displacing less water and therefore exerting less buoyancy. So we get heavier and heavier, making the descent easier but the swim back up harder. For deeper freedives, the difficulty of this return swim starts to become a constraint.
Therefore, the less neoprene you wear, the more comfortable your dives will be. So warmer neoprene is a big advantage.
Some people will say a 5mm suit keeps them warm enough. But to be comfortably warm even in the winter season (December to June), when temperatures can get down to 51F in the ocean, a 7mm is best. Also, a wetsuit stretches out a bit over time, losing some of its warmth, so getting a 7mm ensures it will still do its job for many years. If you know beyond a doubt that you are a very warm person in the water (perhaps because you have built up brown fat by swimming in the ocean), 5mm is ok.
You can, but you will need a thicker wetsuit for the same amount of warmth. Scuba wetsuits are generally colder, because they are not open-cell, have a zipper in the back which lets in some water, and don't have an integrated hood. The drawback of a thicker wetsuit is that you will need more weight to offset its extra buoyancy, so you will have to work harder to swim up from deeper dives. If the depth of your dives isn't testing your swimming ability, feel free to re-use your scuba wetsuit.
Generally, no. Surfing is much warmer than freediving, because you are mostly out of the water and doing a lot of cardio, whereas in freediving you are immersed in the water, and often doing very little in order to relax. In Northern California many people surf in a 5/4 or 4/3, whereas you need a 7 with a hood for freediving.
Avoid buying a second-hand wetsuit unless it has never been used. Wetsuits stretch out over time, so old ones have often lost a lot of their warmth, especially if the owner did not put it on carefully.