Buy a Surf Wet Suit

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name's Mike Sanders and I'm going to tell you a little bit about buying a wet suit, what you're going to look for when you're going to the store or thrift shop and you're finding hopefully one that fits you. And that's really the main thing, is you gotta keep in mind the fit. It's not going to be baggy, it's not going to be like clothing. It's supposed to fit your body just like a glove. It's supposed to be tight all around, not too tight that you can't move, but feel it, you know everywhere on your body. You don't want too much loose space under your arms, you don't want it behind your knees, you really don't want loose space in your crotch, it's not fun. A lot of those things can lead to rashing and it can lead to just discomfort in the water. So another thing you gotta keep in mind is how cold the water you're going to be surfing in. How thick do you want your wet suit? You know they come in outer measurements and inner measurements of thick spots and like movable spots. So your chest is going to be thicker than your arms because you're not moving so much here, but you need the mobility in your arms. So, for warmer summer seasons, you know you get like a, if you're wearing a wet suit, you'll have a two millimeter, one millimeter, two millimeters on your chest, one millimeter you arm. They range, you know three two, which are my, I have two full suits that are four threes, that's four millimeter on the thick parts and three millimeter where I need to move. Just keep in mind that the thicker the wet suit, be the harder it is, the more difficult it will be for you to turn and keep balance when you're in the water. You know, if you get a seven mill wet suit and you're down in southern California, you're going to look kind of silly when you're standing on the board like a mummy and you can't move. When you're in the store, try it on, make sure you can move, bend, flex all around, do yoga stretches, whatever you gotta do. Make sure it fits, make sure it's tight, make sure it doesn't have any rubbing. And there's a lot of different kinds of suits. There's full suit, you know long arms long legs. I got my full suit right here. This my old full suit. And like I was saying thicker chest and body, thinner arms for more flexibility. And this one's got, this is pretty nice, a short zipper up the back of diagonal Velcro. It's pretty comfortable in my opinion. Other wet suits are spring suits, like this is a long sleeve short john. This one I really like because it lets my legs breathe but it keeps my chest and arms protected from wind, is usually when I'm wearing something like this. You know the water might not be so cold but when the wind hits your body and you're wet, it gets a lot colder than you think. So that's pretty much how to choose a wet suit."