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A wetsuit works by allowing a very thin film of water to be trapped between your skin and the wetsuit. Your body heat then heats up this film of water and this is what keeps you warm. Others wetsuits fit so snuggly that no water is needed to create that film.

Generally, the thicker the wetsuit neoprene then the warmer you stay. Any flushing of water down the neck entry or up the arms or leaking through the seams will drastically reduce the performance of the wetsuit. So a proper fitting wetsuit is so important.

There are many good wetsuits on the market but what do you need to look for in a high performance wetsuit?

First and foremost, a really good fitting wetsuit is the most important thing to achieve before any other factor. A crappy wetsuit that fits your body shape is always going to perform better than a bad fitting high quality wetsuit.

That aside, wetsuit manufacturers really do put a lot of research and to refine their wetsuits year on year. So this years wetsuit will always be better than last years and so on. New paneling layouts, better super stretchy neoprene, improved wetsuit entry, neck seal, hard wearing knee pads to withstand lots of duck dives, key stashs and how the panels are fitted together are what you need to look for.

One of the main features that wetsuit manufacturers love to fiddle with is of course the neoprene itself. The top wetsuit manufacturers improve the stretchiness every year, all of them branding it as their own type of stretchy neoprene - Quiksilver’s Hyperstretch, Xcel’s Ultrastretch, Billabong’s Super Flex, Rip Curl’s elastomax and on they go!

So what you need to look for in a high performance wetsuit are: good fit, high quality stretchy neoprene, seam welded neoprene joining of panels and a secure seal around the neck.

When choosing a wetsuit its fit and tailoring for your body shape is critical. A poor wetsuit that fits your body shape is always going to perform better than a bad fitting high quality wetsuit. So fit is very important. Look for a snugg fit all over your body especially your torso, good length on your arms and legs.

When you try a wetsuit on do a few stretches and squats to see how it follows the contour of your body. If you notice significant room especially on your lower back, in that arch between the top of your bum and your shoulder, then you do not have a good fit. Simply, if your wetsuit doesn’t cling closely to your body shape then water will flush in and you will not stay warm.

Another important area to look for good fit is around the neck, where you enter the wetsuit. Obviously you won’t want it to choke you but you do need it to be secure as can be to prevent water flushing into your wetsuit when duck diving. There are a variety of neck entry systems that different wetsuit brands will offer, the regular back zip and velcro close over or the front zip offered by Xcel or C-Skins. Most people do need to try on a few wetsuits to get one that fits them perfectly.