Wetsuits
ScubaOnly.com has carefully selected exceptional wetsuits designed for modern scuba divers venturing into warm, temperate and cold waters. Our top quality wet suits and discount pricing are guaranteed.

Basic properties of neoprene wetsuits important for scuba divers to know:

The construction and thickness of wetsuits vary to accommodate different diving and other watersports conditions. Wetsuits are made of closed-cell neoprene, a synthetic rubber containing bubbles of nitrogen.

1. Insulation: Neoprene is an efficient, flexible insulator. Thickness therefore influences warmth; thicker wet suits are warmer. When you enter water wearing a wetsuit, a thin layer enters between the skin and the wetsuit. The water becomes trapped and rapidly warmed by your body providing additional insulation. Some modern wetsuits favored by some scuba divers incorporate titanium and other fibers to increase warmth, while minimizing overall diving suit thickness. A wetsuit must fit snugly in order to work efficiently—a loose fit will allow water and heat to escape. Incorporation of spandex improves snugness of fit over a range of body shapes (and counteracts neoprene's tendency to contract over time). Flexible seals at the wetsuit cuffs further facilitate heat and water retention. Depth exerts another important influence over insulation efficiency: neoprene compresses as pressure increases, making the material stiffer, and causing the wetsuit to loosen and lose insulation.

2. Buoyancy: Neoprene is intrinsically very buoyant. While this helps swimmers float, it means that divers have to carry a calculated amount of extra weight (in the range of 2 kg / 4 pounds to 15 kg / 33 pounds) based on their wetsuit thickness in order to achieve neutral buoyancy and easily remain underwater. ScubaOnly.com has carefully selected an exceptional selection of wetsuits designed for modern scuba divers venturing into warm, temperate and cold water. Our quality and competitive pricing are guaranteed.

Choosing a Wetsuit

A wetsuit that fits well is essential for a warm and comfortable scuba diving experience. Colder waters require warmer wetsuits and vice-versa. On average, women have more surface area than men causing them to lose more heat and feel colder. Women therefore tend to prefer a warmer wetsuit under identical conditions. Overall, it is better to choose a slightly thicker (warmer) wetsuit. If you get hot you can let in some water but getting cold is miserable with only one obvious solution – not the one that most scuba divers want!

One-piece Wetsuits: These are for warm water scuba diving.

Two-piece Wetsuits: For scuba diving in cooler waters. A two-piece wetsuit will keep you warmer due to having twice the insulation around the chest and groin. Of course when a wetsuit has double the insulation it is more restricting and will be more buoyant than a one-piece wetsuit of equal thickness. This means that scuba divers wearing two-piece wetsuits need to carry more weight.