How to Choose the Best Wetsuit for UK Diving?

Have you ever had a wetsuit that fits you like a glove? That was easy to put on, fast drying, and all the seams stayed together year after year. That’s the gold standard of wetsuits and we think everyone deserves a scuba diving wetsuit-like that.

Being nice and warm on a dive is what makes dives enjoyable, and it also helps keep our focus. Yeah, our local waters are cooler than some of our holiday destinations, but we can still dive in a wetsuit in the UK!

In the summer, the sea temperature in Northumberland is around 14°C, so divers find it perfect for diving in wetsuits at local dive sites. If you dive further south or inland, you will find even higher temperatures.

You can even dive here in winter. It's all about choosing high-quality scuba diving equipment, selecting the right features, and knowing what works for you. If you're not sure where to start, then Wetop Sports can help you!

How to choose the best wetsuit for UK diving?

When you're underwater in the cold, you can't concentrate on anything but the shivering levels. In extreme cases, you put yourself at risk of hypothermia and your body will not expel gas in the same way because blood flow is restricted.

You need to find the right conditions for your dive. Even if we dive in very warm water, we can still get cold if we stay underwater long enough. If we think back to our diving theory, water cools us 20 times faster than air. We can sit happily in the sun at 28°C all day. But after a day of diving in warm water at the same temperature, we will start to feel cold.

You mix and match for a combo of suits, gloves, hoods, flipper socks, rash guards, and baselayers that fits the conditions. You’ll have the right gear to dive in a wetsuit in the UK and abroad!

Know your ratings

If you want to gain technical knowledge, exposure suits are rated from A to D for thermal performance. This is a CE requirement, so they are all tested to assess how well they keep you warm. a class A suit will keep you the warmest. It’s normally dry suits and top-of-the-range semidry wetsuits in this bracket. A suit in Category D has the lowest thermal performance. This would be warm water suits and shorts.

Don't throw your warm dry clothes to one side! Wearing a dry suit not only improves your ability to keep your body at a good temperature compared to a wetsuit, but it also keeps your suit dry! Just as important as the drysuit is the base layer you choose to use. I would recommend considering investing in a good set of thermal base layers that you can layer up and down to accommodate temperature changes throughout the year.

What you need to do is check the suit's performance against your physiology and what suits you best. Some divers don't feel cold at all, others get cold quickly, and it's important that you know where you fit on that scale so that you get the best exposure protection for your needs.

Your drysuit will allow you to stay dry and control your buoyancy. Some offer good thermal protection. Drysuits can be made from many different materials, some of which have higher thermal performance than others. Take crushed neoprene as an example. Suits made from crushed neoprene offer better thermal protection due to the special preparation of the neoprene, which creates tiny closed air bubbles. A three-layer suit will not provide thermal protection, so thermal underwear is a must.

Wetop Sports has been specializing in supplying custom water sports equipment for several years, such as wetsuits, drysuits, diving masks, fins, flippers, life vests, life jackets, buoyancy aid, surfboard, and other relevant accessories. For more information and consultation, contact us here!