Can anyone tell me about wetsuits?

[FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue]

I'm thinking of getting wetsuits for me and the kids (15 and 12) so that we go in the sea more. We live close to the coast but are all wusses about cold water. We're not big sporty types, but might also do a bit of snorkelling or kayaking or something on holiday in the UK if that's possible.

Do we need full wetsuits or would shorty ones be OK? I'm looking to spend as little as possible. We've been snorkelling in warmer climes but I've seen that the warmest the sea gets in England is about 18 degrees.

Any other tips on what to get? Sizing?

TIA!

We live in Australia, all my kids surf all year round even when it is 6 degrees outside.
Wetsuit come in different thickness. What you need to understand is that a wetsuit is not a drysuit. When you first enter the water, some water will come in and stay in but after that first minute of felling it you will be warm again IF the wetsuit is tight enough. It must be tight. It shouldn't feel loose or hang. If you have excess room, you will have lots of water and be cold. At the same time, you should be able to move. If your movement is restricted, the wetsuit is too small.

Almost nobody wears short wetsuit. It is either full length or just a wetsuit top for summer days. The short ones don't usually seal very well as elastic at mid tight or mid arm can't be as strong as ankles or wrists.
When doing snorkelling you don't move much, you mostly float, so I would definitely go for long. For kayaking, maybe a neoprene jacket is fine.
I find Sydney's water freezing and the first wetsuit I bought for summer for myself was too thin. I followed the shop advice and the chart they showed me about water temperature and thickness, but I hate cold and I was never enjoying being in the water with it.

I now wear a type called furnace which has very cosy and warm feeling. If too hot, I just go without. The heat wetsuit are however expensive but we use them all year round not just two weeks a year.

A good wetsuit is expensive but Decathlon has a good low-cost range.

You must be very dry to put it on. I usually put my feet in plastic bag to make them slide more easily.

You need to try a wetsuit on. Size and bodyshape differ a lot and some people have long arms or smaller shoulders. You need to find the one for you

I get ours from wetsuit outlet each year (as children grow). They have a wide range but maybe only one or two sizes in each style. I just look up the size chart (based on height) and filter their stock. I settled on one make (Gul) and just size up when I need to so I don’t have to worry about different brands having different sizing.

I live in Cornwall so we have a lot of specialist shops selling wetsuits - if you live near the coast maybe you have similar? You will get good advice and most will have a good second hand range. My advice would be a full wetsuit which fits properly otherwise it is a bit of a waste of time. Also a light weight summer rather than a heavier winter suit (unless you are a serious sea swimmer). Avoid buying wetsuits from supermarkets - they don't do the job.

If you can, go to a specialist shop. I bought one for my son today, and realised I was significantly overestimating sizes when the shop owner came to help — and she was absolutely right.

OK full wetsuits it is then. I hope the shops open soon if we'd need to try them on. The sizes on the Decathlon website just seem to refer to chest size, which wouldn't help with me being a shortarse with a mum tum!

Everything LeGrandBleu said, but I would add that getting a wetsuit on that fits properly is quite hard work, especially if it is quite thick, eg 5 mm.

Some are more stretchy, which helps, and also makes the fit better and hence effectiveness.

A rash suit worn under the wetsuit (made of swimming costume material but covers the whole body) helps enormously but this is adding to the cost and I suspect more than you were hoping to pay.

There are a couple of online suppliers that do end of line discount wetsuits so you might get a bargain there if they have the right size, Google wetsuit outlet and wetsuit warehouse.

Which sea do you live near? The English channel and Irish Sea are significantly warmer than the North Sea, which never gets anywhere near 18 C.

The website seatemperature.org is good for finding out average year round sea temperatures.

We arent going in shops at the moment and was wonderign about the decathlon ones and sizing. Its really the sort of thing we'd want to try on.

Lots here seem to have the short ones though (south coast, kids swimming and bodyboarding.)

If you want to buy online have a look at the manufacturers sizing charts, they have 4 measurements rather 1.

www.gul.com/technical/wetsuit-fitting-guide

For example I buy Gul as they're the only manufacturer that has sizes for large hipped women. You sound a different height/shape to me.

Then buy Amazon/wetsuit outlet etc as PP have said, think they're cheap as they're "last seasons colours" (all black!). I pay around £50 for a 3mm full-length suit

Wetsuits are a pain in the arse for kayaking - can cause chafing. I wear a swimming cossie and thin running tights on both my sit-on and sit-in kayaks, plus a jumper or thin waterproof if it's cool weather.

Thanks, this is all really useful info.
We live on the south coast, and I'm also thinking of possible holidays in the southwest.