The main advantage of a wetsuit is of course warmth. You can remain in the water longer and be more comfortable whilst there. Surface sports such as sailing and canoeing, which don't necessarily involve long spells of immersion, can also be enjoyed more fully by the use of a suit as you are afforded protection from wind and splashing. Another advantage is physical protection from sharp rocks and equipment. The neoprene in wetsuits also gives them buoyancy , making swimming and treading water much less exhausting. This feature gives children in particular more confidence in the water.

A WETSUIT SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A LIFE JACKET.

Sometimes people encounter difficulties whilst putting a wetsuit on. To understand why this happens, we need to look at the differences in the way a wetsuit and clothing varies. Our clothing hangs on our bodies and touches at certain points making casual contact at others. Shirts, blouses, and jackets hang from our neck and shoulders and usually hang away from our bodies in most other areas. Pants and skirts are drawn about our waist and often hang loose around our legs. There are a few exceptions and some people do wear tight clothing. Lycra is much like a very thin wetsuit. Wetsuits differ greatly from this loose hanging concept. A properly fitting wetsuit will make contact over most of the area it covers, leaving as little space as possible between it and your skin. The less space, the less room there is for water to enter and carry away your body heat. Water will find spaces where the wetsuit does not follow the contours of your body and this will cause the body to cool. You will then use energy warming these areas which will leave less energy to do your activity. Not every one can be a perfect "off the shelf" fit and children in particular will have a suit that may be a little loose here and there. These spaces can be filled in with clothing such as T-shirts or jumpers. Whilst not ideal, it is a solution. Water cannot enter a space that has already been filled.

The closer fit and stretchiness of neoprene, makes it more resistant to sliding on your arms and legs. This often results in people getting their suits on but not pulled up in vital areas. This throws off the fit for the rest of the body. This is the usual reason that most people believe their suit does not fit. This problem is often worse for women as their different proportions makes it harder for them to get comfortable unless the suit is worn properly. 
Fortunately, there is an easy way to make sure your suit fits properly but you cannot grab hold of the suit and expect your foot to slide through like a pair of trousers. All you have to do is pull it up at various times as you put it on. 


1) Once over the ankles pull the legs up to the thighs, then remove any folds by pulling on the shins to move the ankle into position.

2) Then pull on the knee to move the shin area and then pull on the thigh to put the knee pads in position.

3) As you pull it up over your thighs, make sure it is pulled up snugly into the crotch. If your crotch area is sagging, the suit will feel too tight at the shoulders and chest and you are going to be uncomfortable.

4) At this point many people will insist the suit is too small but it probably isn't. As you pull the sleeves on, be sure to put the left arm then pull up with the right arm, once up then use your left up to pull the right sleeve up.

5) Once on, make sure the armpit area is pulled up snug, similar to the crotch. If not, your chest area is likely to feel cramped from the bunching of the excess material along your arms and from the pull on top of your shoulders and across the back. Having said that wetsuits are made with extra material under the arms to allow for free movement when doing your sport, be it surfing, windsurfing, sailing etc.

6) After everything feels good, pull over the neck panel over your head.

7) Pull the zipper together and zip up You can also adjust the tighness of the flap on the right shoulder with the cord on the right side of the zipper panel.

8) Get wet.

Wetsuits are made of a flexible and soft material called neoprene , which allows a very thin layer of water between your skin and the suit . This water quickly warms up and the insulation provided by the neoprene keeps you warm . Of course, it is important that as little water as possible enters the suit and is not being constantly replaced by cold water flushing through i.e. the ingress of new water and loss of the warmed water. This is why wetsuits are tailored to fit so tightly all over the body - a loose wetsuit simply won't work .