As we know, the reinforcement pad is very important of the wetsuit, it can greatly increase the durability for the critical area. there are two ways of wetsuits reinforcement pads construction.

1. Use the knee pads to glue and sew on the fabric and the neoprene layer under the knee pad, there will be two layers, the total thickness of this area is the thickness of the neoprene and laminated fabric layer + the thickness of the reinforcement pad.
 

2. For the area that needs elbow pads, the area will be cut a hole for sewing the reinforcement pads later. The total thickness of this area is only the thickness of the reinforcement pad.

Taking good care of your wetsuit will make it more durable. Regular post-dive care will prolong its life and save you money. Take good care of your wetsuit, it will keep you warm in the water longer all year round.
Here are some tips for maintaining a wetsuit.

1. Rinse your wetsuit after every dive or surf.

Rinsing is what you need to do at the end of a day of diving or surfing. Use cold fresh water to remove all seawater, sand and dirt from inside and outside the wetsuit. Make sure to rinse inside and out thoroughly.

2. Never use hot water to rinse your wetsuit.

If you rinse the wetsuit in hot water, the wetsuit material will break down. Always use cold or lukewarm water. Do not expose the wetsuit to the sun! Ultraviolet rays can quickly deteriorate wetsuit fabrics. Dry your wetsuit in the shade if possible. Do not leave the wetsuit in the car or in the trunk of the car for an extended period of time. Soft boiled wetsuit? not good.

3. Dry your wetsuit inside out first.

Don't let your wetsuit get wet after rinsing. Hang it to dry on a suitable hanger such as SlideHanger™ to reduce fabric stress. Don't use traditional shoulder hangers. Dry the wetsuit inside and out first. In any case, you should always strip your diving suit inside out. Once the inside is dry, turn the wetsuit outside to finish drying. Flat it in storage by laying is ok. Do not hang wetsuits on shoulder hangers. Don't fold your wetsuit - neoprene will wrinkle and won't recover.

4. Don't wash your wetsuit in the washing machine.

Do not attempt to wash or dry your wetsuit with a washer and dryer! Do not use bleach, laundry detergents, stain removers, fabric softeners, olive oil, jet fuel, etc. Don't iron your wetsuit either! Use soap made specifically for wetsuits, or a mild liquid soap such as baby shampoo. View available wetsuit care products. Hand-washing your wetsuit!

5. Surf wax sticks to the wetsuit fabric.

Surf wax can get on your wetsuit. That's it. There is no efficient way to remove the wetsuit without damaging it. You can try using ice cubes to harden the wax. It may come off easily. However, don't rub the fabric or brush it with your fingers. You will be layering the fabric at the rub. Do not use solvents, alcohol, lighter fluids, wax removers, or any petroleum-based products.

6. How to keep your wetsuit odor free?

In most cases, rinsing your wetsuit with fresh water and drying it thoroughly will keep your wetsuit fresh and odor-free. However, if your wetsuit smells, wash your wetsuit with a bucket of fresh lukewarm water (not hot water). Use a special wetsuit soap or some baby shampoo. Gently wash the wetsuit by hand. Rinse thoroughly to remove all detergent, then dry your wetsuit.

This is a very common and understandable question. In fact, it should be said NO, the wetsuit stitching is added the internal taping inside is a kind of reinforcement action for our wetsuit. It isn’t for warming. When the glue at the wetsuit seams begins to leak and deteriorate after using for a term time, the inner tape will act as a backup seal, preventing the suit from leaking and keeping you warm.

Yes, there are the following differences:

1. Clip

Women have different body shapes than men, and so are wetsuits. Women's wetsuits have wider hips, less material on the shoulders, and more on the chest. There are also sizing adjustments, if men's wetsuits usually come in sizes XS, S, M, MT, L, …etc. Women's sizes are 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, ...etc.

2. Color and Design

In the past, black was the predominant color for men's and women's wetsuits. There are occasional pink lines or flowers here, separating them. But today there are a wide variety of wetsuit styles and brands, and a color can be labelled as a woman from a mile away. Go for colors, I love colors :)!

3. Features

Women's wetsuits are more about focusing on appearance, such as style and color, while men's are more about focusing on function, such as flexible, performance-oriented and technologically advanced wetsuits.

4. Can girls wear men's swimming trunks?

Hmm... yes, if necessary. But it really depends on her size. Wetsuits these days are very flexible and adapt well to your body type, and the same wetsuit can cover up some body differences. But a girl with a very feminine figure (wide hips, etc.) should definitely opt for a women's wetsuit.

How to put it on?

The most important rule of wearing a wetsuit is to be gentle! A yank on your wetsuit is a surefire way to put too much pressure on the neoprene and even tear the seams. Start at the bottom with your feet and slowly work your way up to your waist.

1. To help you with the difficult task of getting your feet through the leg openings, you can place a plastic bag on your feet and slide them through easily.

2. Once the suit is at the waist, adjust it to help the bottom half fit your leg properly, then roll the rest of the suit up and through your arms. This will again save you from over-emphasizing the seams.

3. Now, before you zip it up, make sure the suit is correct before you seal yourself up. This reduces the stress on the seams. You should avoid forcing zips on your suits as repairs are expensive; slow and smooth is always the best way!

How to take it off?

1. As opposed to putting on a wetsuit, take your time. If it's stubborn, try not to pull too much on the wetsuit as this can cause the neoprene to tear and seams to crack.

2. Peel off the wetsuit and lay it inside out, as this again reduces the pressure on the seams and is better for drying after use.

There are two main types of zipper entries for wetsuits, the traditional "back zipper" and "chest zipper". They both have advantages and disadvantages to help you make up your mind when choosing the right wetsuit for your sport.

Back Zipper Wetsuits - There is a zipper from the back of the collar to the bottom of the spine, creating a large opening, they are easier to slide in and zip up. Disadvantages of back zipper wetsuits include reduced flexibility and a looser collar that allows more water to rush through (which can really wake you up on cold days!). but the special Velcro collar section partially eliminates this problem.

Chest Zipper Wetsuit - Has a flap on the chest to create a smaller opening and improve flexibility. It can be trickier to put on a chest suit than a back zipper one, but offers benefits in colder water as they seal your suit better than a back zipper one and have a full collar reinforced with safety buttons allowing for less Water seeps in. Neoprene adapts quickly to the shape of the body, so they become easier and easier to put on.

Season and water temperature are the main factors.

Check out the year-round average temperatures in your area and use the below guidelines to determine the best wetsuit or combination of wetsuits and accessories for your year-round surfing:

You should also consider the temperature, wind speed, your personal sensitivity to the cold and the intensity of exercise you will be doing!

The wetsuit types are used to make a difference in how well they perform. Here are some the basic stitching methods below:

1. Flatlock: lay one panel edge over the other and stitch through the neoprene, this way will be flexible and strong. But It may let water in, used in suits mainly for warmer water. (Thickness less than 3mm).

2. Blind stitching: glue neoprene segments together and then stitch halfway through the material and will not leave any holes-watertight and flexible seam - making it ideal for colder water. (Thickness more than 3mm).

3. Welded: sealed on the outside of the suit using melted/liquid neoprene to ensure the seam is impenetrable by water. It is ideal for cold-water and more premium wetsuits. (Thickness less than 3mm).

4. Taped: sealed on the inside of the wetsuit, it is usually to reinforce after blind stitching or welded. Sometimes it only used in the critical positions by point tape, sometimes it will tape in all the seam line.

As we know, the wetsuit is to keep our body warm by insulating between us and the cold water or air when we sport. So the thicker, the warmer!

we often are given with two numbers like 3/2, 4/3, 5/3, or three numbers like 5/4/3 for the wetsuit thickness. so we should know it, actually the number is to tell us that neoprene panels of different thickness are used in this wetsuit. The first set of numbers represent the thickness of the wetsuit at your core or torso area; the 2nd set indicates the thickness of the wetsuit at your body extremities such as arms and legs; If there is a 3rd number, then that represents your leg wetsuit thickness number.

For the goal of this variable thickness, it is to let wetsuit be lighter and cheaper before achieving our use request.

1. Shelves of neoprene
 

2. Machine cutting neoprene panels
 

3. Gluing neoprene panels
 

4. Blind stitching a seam
 

5. Stitching the zipper
 

6. Packing wetsuit

Different wetsuits are made of kinds of neoprene for different situations. Therefore, neoprene material suppliers often provide varies of neoprene surfaces. There are some common surfaces to be used usually.

1. Smooth skin, its surface is so smooth, so that it can reduce the friction resistance from wind or water. Therefore, it is often for surfing wetsuit, freediving wetsuit, triathlon wetsuit.

2. Cell skin, its surface is with many small holes that can keep warm better if the neoprene is closed to our body so much and the flexibility is perfect. Therefore, it is often for spearfishing wetsuit.

3. Shark skin, its surface is full of reinforced dots. then the strength is so perfect. Therefore, it is often for some wetsuits needed to reinforce.

4. Cross Mesh Skin, its surface is with checkered reinforcement, then the strength is so perfect but less than shark skin. Therefore, it is often for some wetsuits needed to reinforce.

Yamamoto SCS neoprene is an additional process coating above smooth skin surface made by Yamamoto company, the full name of SCS is called “Super Composite Skin”. This special material is usually used in making triathlon wetsuits or some surfing wetsuits, as it will reduce the friction during putting on and taking off (wetsuits) and alleviate water resistance.

Yamamoto SCS Material Composition

Triathlon Wetsuits

Surfing Wetsuits

Spandex cloth is another flexible material used to make wetsuits and is often used as a replacement for nylon. Spandex is especially popular in the seams of wetsuits. Wetsuits made entirely of spandex do exist, but only in warmer climates because it doesn't hold heat anywhere like neoprene.

Nylon cloth is commonly found in the lining of most popular wetsuits. It is an extremely durable material that helps protect weaker wetsuit materials from damage and holds wetsuit parts together. The main disadvantage of using nylon is reduced flexibility if the neoprene is so perfect, which makes wetsuits more restrictive.

Jersey cloth is a very soft material, suitable for sensitive skin, which is why it is often used to make the inner lining of wetsuits. A jersey is sometimes used on the outside of a wetsuit, usually a wetsuit with a camouflage pattern. Jersey liners can also be reinforced with other materials, including titanium.

Yulex natural rubber is made from guayule plant by Yulex Corporation and it is FSC® certified. It is produced by trees that absorb carbon throughout their life span. Switching to hevea reduces the CO₂ emissions from one wetsuit by up to 80%.

In 2012, it was used into diving suit by Patagonia for the first time. but until now, it is also not to expand to all over the world as other wetsuit manufacturers can not buy Yulex material.

Yulex is a good neoprene alternative for surfers, but not so much for divers because Yulex isn't very pressure resistant and the pressure of water will shorten its lifespan considerably. Therefore, it can be said that the material improvement of diving wetsuits is much more difficult than surfing wetsuits or triathlon wetsuits, which is why diving wetsuits are counted separately in industry statistics.

Dope dyeing for wetsuit laminated fabric is a dyeing technique used to dye synthetic fibers such as acrylic, nylon and polyester. In dope dyeing, pigments are added to a liquid polymer solution prior to extrusion of the synthetic fibers. method. Traditional fiber dyeing entails applying color to the fiber surface without coloring it.

In dope dyeing, colored pigments become part of the fiber, which improves color fastness and reduces color deviation compared to traditional dyed fibers.

Compared with traditional dyeing, dope dyeing reduces water consumption by 80%, dye consumption by more than 20%, use of alkaline and other chemical reagents by 80%, and electricity consumption by 7%.

Neoprene will be processed before the wetsuit is made. There are four common processing methods:

Laminating. It is to glue the fabric to the surface of the "neoprene sponge" to increase the surface strength (tear resistance and abrasion resistance), so that the neoprene sponge has the characteristics of the fabric. This is the most conventional machining process. Application: Widely used in the production of various related products, commonly used fabric types are polyester, nylon, spandex, … etc.

Coating. It is to coat the surface of the "neoprene rubber sponge" with polyurethane polymer material to increase the surface strength and smoothness, this is to avoid the accumulation of water and reduce the friction in the water, so that the neoprene sponge will have more colors. Additional titanium can be added to the "coating" to improve thermal performance. Application: Usually used to make high-end products, such as triathlon wetsuit and spearfishing wetsuit etc.

Embossing. It is embossed on the surface of the "neoprene rubber sponge" with different patterns of molds, so the surface will have different patterns to increase the surface strength, anti-slip, and reduce friction in water. It also looks more beautiful. Application: "Embossed Neoprene Fabric" is often used to make products

Perforation. It uses different shapes of molds to punch holes on the "neoprene rubber sponge" to form holes of different shapes and sizes to increase breathability, reduce weight, and enhance the sense of design. There are two methods: "Visible perforation" is lamination of a neoprene sponge with fabric and then perforated, the holes are visible. "Inner perforation" is where the neoprene sponge is perforated and then the fabric is laminated so that the holes are invisible. Application: It is often used to make products that require increased breathability or appearance.

The lining is the insulating layer on the inside of the wetsuit and is mainly used for medium and high-grade wetsuits. The lining material should be stretchy and lightweight, and be water repellent and quick-drying so it doesn't become a heavy, wet fleece after wearing.

 

When it's cold, the thermal lining will keep you warm. However, even though these materials have become lighter and more flexible, they still reduce the flexibility of the wetsuit.
If you do need a wetsuit with a thermal lining, the area covered by each wetsuit will vary. Generally, the more you're willing to pay, the more coverage you'll get. Some wetsuits are not lining at all, such as entry-level or summer suits, but some wetsuits will have full lining (1), some just the legs and torso (2), some may only have a panel on the front (3) to better protect the core area.

In our wetsuit material, are spandex, lycra and elastane all the same?

The material itself is elastane, but different names are used depending on the country and the brand that makes it.

For example, people living in the US usually refer to elastane as spandex, but the rest of the world calls it elastane unless they're referring to a specific brand name. E.g. Lycra is DuPont's product for spandex fibers. Lycra® is a trademark and brand name of DuPont Company. There are other companies that also produce spandex fibers, such as Elastam, Elaspan, Creora or Dorlastan, and so on.

So, no matter what it's called, elastane is still elastane.

Smooth skin neoprene: one side is the cell, the other side is the surface of the sponge sheet, The smooth skin is in the outside and has excellent strength and smoothness, but the stretchy performance is not as good as the neoprene cell. Because of being good at repelling water and the wind.

In general, "Smooth Skin" neoprene is used for core region of the wetsuit to prevent the wind and water from cutting through and it is to manufacture the triathlon wetsuit. However, it is not as durable as the neoprene with nylon line, and it is much more easily to tear and rip when we wearing.

1) science and technology fabric from the essence of breakthrough
triathlon wetsuit technology is mainly manifested in glue and tailoring and edition type, and the content of science and technology mainly comes from the use of materials, almost top of the world triathlon brand invariably chose Japanese Yamamoto company of neoprene as production triathlon wetsuit materials necessary。

2) low resistance performance
the technical coating of Yamamoto SCS makes the resistance coefficient of the material in water 0.021, while the resistance coefficient of the generic brand of neoprene is 4, which is an order of magnitude difference.

3) tensile capacity
the average tensile capacity of the Yamamoto neoprene is 7 times that of the ordinary neoprene stretching ability, which affects the fit and comfort of the players in their clothing buoyancy performance.

4) buoyancy performance
the average buoyancy of Yamamoto neoprene is 30% higher than the average brand. buoyancy can have a big impact on the speed of a player and it floats more smoothly in water, you can swim faster and more effortless.

It was Yamamoto Corporation from Osaka, Japan that first developed neoprene from limestone—and with no oil at all—thanks to an abundance of pure limestone close by in the mountains of Japan (their reserve of limestone is estimated to be sufficient for the next 3,000 years). Yamamoto has set the standard for quality and innovation in the neoprene industry with their advanced manufacturing techniques, leading to the creation of a limestone neoprene that has a completely independent cell structure and multi-directional stretch capacity.

The calcium carbonate, found in the limestone, is used as the base with chloroprene by a process of polymerization to produce limestone based-chloroprene rubber chips.

What are the advantages of limestone neoprene?
Limestone neoprene has a high micro-cell structure. These are independent closed cells (bubbles basically) within the neoprene that are packed together at an extremely high density. Oil-based neoprene has a cell penetration of 60-70%, whereas limestone neoprene has a 94% cell penetration. What this means in simple terms is that limestone neoprene has a lot more air bubbles inside the rubber than other brands (over 30% to be exact), and is way less dense than oil-based neoprene.
Because of this micro-cell structure, limestone neoprene provides several serious distinct advantages to the functionality of wetsuits compared to the traditional oil-based neoprene:

It is impermeable.
It is lighter in weight.
It is warmer.
It is more durable.
It is stretchy.

There are several different grade Neoprene materials for different application: SBR, CR and SCR.

For the difference between the high-end material ( CR ) and the basic material is elasticity. High-end material is softer, more resilient, and fits even better after wearing, and keep the body warmer. Basic materials does not stretch as CR and more fragile.

In addition, the high-end material is more expensive. The price of "CR" + "Super Stretch fabric" 5-6 times that of "SBR" + "Nylon fabric" in general, although their surfaces are similar. Some of rubber companies such as Sheico and Nam Liong developed high-end SCR that has good function. It is not as good as CR but price is low.

The completed chemical name of this material is actually called polychloroprene. DuPont renamed to neoprene when choosing a trade name for the material and the name stuck. Nowadays, all polychloroprene materials are simply referred to be as neoprene.

What is it? It is an elastic synthetic rubber material that has very good insulating properties due to the millions of tiny air bubbles (microcells) inside the material. These cells are filled with air or nitrogen (better insulators). So that they make up the basic insulation of neoprene to keep warm inside. This is why the wetsuits are also made of this material.