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Wetsuits Work
Wetsuits are made of a flexible and soft material called neoprene , which
allows a very thin layer of water between your skin and the suit . This water
quickly warms up and the insulation provided by the neoprene keeps you warm
. Of course, it is important that as little water as possible enters the suit
and is not being constantly replaced by cold water flushing through i.e. the
ingress of new water and loss of the warmed water. This is why wetsuits are
tailored to fit so tightly all over the body - a loose wetsuit simply won't
work .
Why wear a wetsuit ?
The main advantage of a wetsuit is of course warmth. You can remain in the
water longer and be more comfortable whilst there. Surface sports such as sailing
and canoeing, which don't necessarily involve long spells of immersion, can
also be enjoyed more fully by the use of a suit as you are afforded protection
from wind and splashing. Another advantage is physical protection from sharp
rocks and equipment. The neoprene in wetsuits also gives them buoyancy , making
swimming and treading water much less exhausting. This feature gives children
in particular more in the
water.
A WETSUIT SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A LIFE JACKET.
Wetsuit is a Wetsuit is a Wetsuit !
Not any more. Over the last few years there has been a large
influx of suits using what can only be described as an inferior grade of neoprene.
These suits are mainly for the holiday trade, mainly shortys and mainly sold
in ' beach shops '. The problem with them is the neoprene has a too high a
proportion of rubber within it, often 30% , this rubber does not have the nitrogen
bubbles in it to give the insulation . The suits often have no warranty and
are poorly constructed. The suits are often less than 3mm thick giving an equivalent
warmth of about 1mm of 100% neoprene . Not warm enough for any where other
than the tropics . The EEC has brought in legislation whereby suits that have
a rubber content of 30% or more have to be labeled as such..... So beware of
imitation Wetsuits !
Your First Wetsuit
When you first try on your wetsuit it may feel uncomfortable and restrictive
out of the water, particularly under the arms. This is normal as there is extra
material to allow for movement and lifting of the arms when windsurfing, sailing
and water skiing. If you are unused to wearing a collar and tie then the neck
of the suit may also feel tight. Again this is normal - the neck has to be
reasonably tight to prevent excessive water entering the suit. The suit may
feel generally tight and uncomfortable but remember ordinary clothes only touch
our bodies here and there, a wetsuit needs to touch everywhere in order to
work (see above How Wetsuits Work). Any feeling of discomfort soon goes as
you use and enjoy the suit in the water.
How to put on a Wetsuit
Sometimes people encounter difficulties whilst putting a
wetsuit on. To understand why this happens, we need to look at the differences
in the way a wetsuit and clothing varies. Our clothing hangs on our bodies
and touches at certain points making casual contact at others. Shirts, blouses,
and jackets hang from our neck and shoulders and usually hang away from our
bodies in most other areas. Pants and skirts are drawn about our waist and
often hang loose around our legs. There are a few exceptions and some people
do wear tight clothing. Lycra is much like a very thin wetsuit. Wetsuits
differ greatly from this loose hanging concept. A properly fitting wetsuit
will make contact over most of the area it covers, leaving as little space
as possible between it and your skin. The less space, the less room there
is for water to enter and carry away your body heat. Water will find spaces
where the wetsuit does not follow the contours of your body and this will
cause the body to cool. You will then use energy warming these areas which
will leave less energy to do your activity. Not every one can be a perfect "off the shelf" fit
and children in particular will have a suit that may be a little loose here
and there. These spaces can be filled in with clothing such as T or sweat
shirts. Whilst not ideal, it is a solution. Water cannot enter a space that
has already been filled.
The closer fit and stretchiness of neoprene, makes it more resistant to sliding
on your arms and legs. This often results in people getting their suits on
but not pulled up in vital areas. This throws off the fit for the rest of the
body. This is the usual reason that most people believe their suit does not
fit. This problem is often worse for women as their different proportions makes
it harder for them to get comfortable unless the suit is worn properly.
Fortunately, there is an easy way to make sure your suit fits properly but
you cannot grab hold of the suit and expect your foot to slide through like
a pair of trousers. All you have to do is pull it up at various times as you
put it on.
1) Once over the ankles pull the legs up to the thighs, then
remove any folds by pulling on the shins to move the ankle into position.
2) Then pull on the knee to move the shin area and then pull
on the thigh to put the knee pads in position.
3) As you pull it up over your thighs, make sure it is pulled
up snugly into the crotch. If your crotch area is sagging, the suit will feel
too tight at the shoulders and chest and you are going to be uncomfortable.
4) At this point many people will insist the suit is too small
but it probably isn't. As you pull the sleeves on, be sure to pull them up,
once over the wrists and on your lower arms, the same way you did with
the leg.
5) Once on, make sure the armpit area is pulled up snug, similar
to the crotch. If not, your chest area is likely to feel cramped from the bunching
of the excess material along your arms and from the pull on top of your shoulders
and across the back. Having said that wetsuits are made with extra material
under the arms to allow for free movement when doing your sport, be it surfing,
windsurfing, sailing etc. This extra material can sometimes feel a little uncomfortable
when you lower the arm and notice the fold of the neoprene, but don't worry,
you won't notice it when using the suit.
6) Pull the zip up and secure any Velcro fastenings.
7) Get .
About our Suppliers
We at North Wales Wetsuits do our very best to provide the
best possible equipment for the aqueous environment at the lowest possible
price . We are very pleased to be retailing Alder wetsuits and equipment .
Alder have been involved in the surfing business for many years , always producing
high quality products but never partaking in the hype that can surround other
brands.
We apply the same philosophy to all our products and continue
to increase our range. Our new motto is " Sail ~ Wind ~ Surf ~ Ski - Not Just Suits " so
if you can't see what you want, drop us a line -
Alder Sportswear
Alder Wetsuits was a dream , originating from one mans passion for surfing
. Over 35 years ago , Bob Westlake began to surf around the west coast of England
. He soon discovered a niche in the surfing market, with a lack of Californian
style surfing wear being available in the 60's. This prompted Bob's wife, Annie
Westlake, to make some of the first board shorts in the UK . With growing sales
and increased demand for surfing products, the opportunity arose for a business
development in to wetsuits that is today ‘‘ Alder Sportswear ''.
Alder now has an established track record and moves it's business forward with
innovative technology and design, combined with a competitive strategy. Product
developers have years of experience within the surfing industry which Alder
to boast a very exciting and advanced wetsuit and accessories range.
Advice for choosing the correct size of suit
Our suits are specifically chosen to ensure a good fit will
be achieved from your measurements. However, we rely on these measurements
to be reasonably accurate. When measuring ensure that the tape measure is snug
around the body, not too tight and certainly not too loose - your suit has
to be a close fit and yet comfortable. Don't assume that because you like wearing
42" pullovers
then a 42" chest suit will fit, wetsuit sizing doesn't work like that
- remember that loose fitting jumpers may be comfy but a loose fitting wetsuit
will be cold!
* The height measurements on this chart are to be used as a guide only.
For shorter men of wide girth it is better to choose a suit that's slightly
too tall for you as it will decrease in height as it stretches out. If you
also have large limbs then two sizes bigger may be required. Some sizes come
in a Tall version, these suits have extra length in body and leg. There is
also a Large Short size which is a slightly shorter version of the standard
Large suit with the body of the Large and the leg length of the Small suit
.
Alder International has been making wetsuits with performance,
comfort and most importantly warmth for many years. Renowned for their durability,
value for money and more recently their innovation of new wetsuit materials.
With Alder you can be assured one thing, a snug fit that will keep out the
winter chill…
O'Neill, Rip Curl and Alder Wetsuits
Winter wetsuits now in stock!! There is a wetsuit for every surfer in the
surf shops wetsuit collection. Check out O'Neill's latest wetsuit 'The Mutant',
you will be kept nice and toastie during the winter sessions ahead.
We've tried to make things simple. We've chosen the best general- use wetsuits
we could find, and offer them in two basic shapes- 'full' and 'shorty'. Which
style you choose depends on how much time you intend to spend in the water,
and how cold you expect the water to be. Our children wear shorties for their
swimming lessons (as do their teachers), to keep them toasty in underheated
swimming pools, and to add a little buoyancy. Shorties are fine for splashing
around in the shallows, and for extra warmth in the Mediterranean. They are
also great for kids because they are extremely easy to get in and out of.
Full suits are noticeably warmer because the long sleeves and legs reduce
the flow of incoming water and warm it before it reaches the torso. If you
intend to swim or spend hours in the water, then for most British summer days
a shorty is just not quite warm enough. This also applies to all the popular
tourist destinations on the Atlantic coasts of France, Spain and Portugal.
Of course we would say this, but the best solution is to have one
of each!
All of our suits are designed for typical summer holiday conditions in Britain.
If you are intending to swim in winter or spring in Britain, you'll need a
'Winter' suit, which we can supply by special order.
Fit
Junior and Adult suits are unisex. The Ladies suit is proportionately
smaller in the waist and fuller in the hip than the Adult suits. Further fitting
details are available on our shop pages. If you are in any doubt please don't
hesitate to e-mail us for advice.
Why buy on the web?
Most families buy their wetsuits from surf shops near their holiday
resort. Surf shops are great places for surfers. They are usually run by surfers
with expertise in boards, local wave breaks, surfing lifestyle and fashion. Unfortunately,
in our experience, surf shops are often crammed with all sorts of specialist
gear and have appalling fitting rooms with bad lighting, no mirrors, and nowhere
to sit or hang clothes.
When you consider that a family beach holiday typically costs £200 a
day, if you spend half a day in a surf shop, that's £100 you've spent
just for the privilege of queuing for the cramped fitting rooms. You could
say that buying on the web gives you half a day of your holiday back.
1. The Elements
Would you let your children go skiing dressed in just their underwear?
Of course not. Yet parents routinely allow their children to play in cold water
dressed in swimsuits that do nothing to keep them warm. In British waters, even
at the height of the summer, it's possible to get hypothermia in
as little as three hours. Hypothermia is not the same as feeling chilly- it's
a life-threatening condition. Here's a diagram that summarises the risk:
The
orange zone is where the combination of water temperature and immersion time
is unlikely to result in hypothermia. As water temperature drops, or immersion
times increase, the likelihood of hypothermia increases. People cool at different
rates - the light blue zone indicates when 'fast coolers', such as children,
are at risk, while the deeper blues indicate the increasing probability of
hypothermia for even the slowest coolers. The important conclusion is simply
that you need to guard against hypothermia at the British seaside, even on
the sunniest of summer days.
Wetsuits protect against hypothermia by trapping a thin layer of water next
to your body. You warm this layer, so while the sea may be at 16°C, you
feel like you're swimming in a tropical lagoon. When you're out of the water,
the suit is 100% sunblock, and is also windproof . Water will evaporate from
the fabric and cool you down in the same way as it does evaporating from wet
skin. From summer holidays in Cornwall, our personal experience is that our
children can play in and out of the water for much of the day without getting
either uncomfortably hot or cold. This means that they, and their parents,
enjoy their holiday more.
2. Physical protection
The seaside is full of sharp objects- barnacle-encrusted rocks, bits of shell,
anti-skid surfaces on windsurfers, all kinds of gear on sailing dinghies.
Wetsuits are made of fabric-covered neoprene foam with reinforced knees.
Although they are not indestructible, given the choice of grating my wetsuit
or my skin I'd sacrifice my wetsuit every time!
3. Flotation
Neoprene foam is gas filled. At the sea surface, a wetsuit will provide a certain
amount of buoyancy. It's not a life jacket or a life preserver, but it will
allow a competent swimmer to expend little or no effort in staying afloat.
Our children enjoy wearing their shorties even in swimming pools, because
that little bit of buoyancy, evenly distributed, allows them to swim more
comfortably.
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Hawaiian Soul Surfboards
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