Gearing up
A wetsuit traps a layer of water between the suit and you body and therefore preserves your bodyheat. Water conducts heat from your body almost 25 times faster then air so a wetsuit can protect you from hypothermia. Wetsuits are normally used in water with a temperature between 10 and 25 ºC and come in a variety of thicknesses.
- Everflex 5-4mm Source: www.scubapro.com
- Profile 7mm Source: www.scubapro.com
- Shorty Source: www.scubapro.com
Wetsuits are made out of closed-cell foam neoprene, a synthetic rubber that contains small bubbles of nitrogen gas when made for use as wetsuit material. Nitrogen gas has very low thermal conductivity, so it reduces heat loss from your body.
When you're planning on diving in warm water you can use a 0.5mm or a 1mm skin suit or a shorty. There are also wetsuits that come in a set of a steamer suit and a shorty (for example both in 7mm thickness). You can wear the shorty on top of the steamer suit so that it's still very comfortable to dive in water colder then 10 ºC. Some brands have even begun to use titanium fibers to add warmth characteristics to the wetsuits, while keeping the thickness of the suit to a minimum.
A wetsuit must have a snug fit to work efficiently. If a wetsuit is too loose around your body it will allow water to escape from between the suit and you will loose bodyheat. Flexible seals at the suit cuffs aid in the water retention.
Neoprene is very buoyant, helping swimmers to better stay afloat. Therefore divers need to take extra weight based on the thickness of their suit to achieve neutral buoyancy underwater. The suit loses buoyancy and thermal protection as the bubbles in the neoprene are compressed at depth.
