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Original poster

Advice on children's wetsuits please!

14 replies

Prematurelyaging · 05/04/2010 18:42

Hello, I wonder if anyone can help me please?
I am thinking of buying wetsuits for my two DS(almost 5 and almost 2) for playing in the sea off Anglesey. They won't be doing serious swimming or watersports, just splashing around and getting wet - but I thought wetsuits would probably be best given the likely weather conditions and water temperature!
Does anyone have any recommendations? And are the "shorty" type more useful than the full length ones?
Any thoughts would be welcome as I don't have a clue!
Thank you.

OP posts:
MaryBS · 05/04/2010 19:30

Bear in mind I'm not an expert on this (just a holidaymaker whose children like playing in the rockpools and/or sea)

My two have always had shortie ones, we found straight away that trying to get them in and out of long ones was a nightmare, even when dry (they tried them on in the shop).

They need to be a fairly close/skin tight fit anyway, otherwise they don't have the desired effect of keeping them warm(er). Take them to a surf shop and get them to advise on what to buy.

I've never bought the expensive makes, they've never needed them (IMHO).

Hopefully someone who is more knowledgeable will come along soon!

Original poster
Prematurelyaging · 05/04/2010 19:48

Thank you MaryBS - I hadn't thought about how difficult it would be to get them into long ones, it's hard enough getting my youngest dressed at the best of times!

OP posts:
BlauerEngel · 05/04/2010 20:01

Both of mine have 'shorty' ones, bought for coping with the Irish Sea, and they make an enormous difference in the amount of time they can stay in the water. Agree with Mary that long ones are just impractical for kids. We were given the smaller wetsuit for dd2 by cousins, but we bought dd1's secondhand from a surf-shop for IIRC 35 euro, but it's top quality and as good as new.

brook1 · 05/04/2010 21:28

One of my dc has short, the other long. Cant say ive had a problem with either of them really. Have a look on ebay for them, I wouldnt pay full price. My dh picked up one of ours from a car boot sale for £2, its excellent. We just hosed it down when we got it home.

stealthsquiggle · 05/04/2010 21:32

We had the Sainsbury's short ones (which amazingly enough are made in the UK) for my DC and they have been great. We did hire a long one for a day's bodyboarding for DS and it did keep him warm for longer, but the short one was so much easier to get on and off.

..which reminds me, since there is no way either of them are going to fit this year I need to wash and ebay them (or DD's, at least - DS's I guess I could keep for DD). How big is your nearly-2-yo, OP ?

lemsiprocks · 05/04/2010 21:33

I agree with brook,we have a mixture of long and short.The long ones are much warmer,but harder to remove - Irish Sea also.Got them mostly second hand on ebay,last really well.

Original poster
Prematurelyaging · 06/04/2010 19:58

Thanks for all the replies - am new to mumsnet and didn't expect so many answers!

Stealthsquiggle, thanks for thinking of me! DS2 is 21m but an absolute whopper and in age 3 clothes already...

OP posts:
stealthsquiggle · 07/04/2010 23:00

Shortly after I typed that post I worked out that DD's wetsuit was not from last year (she was being water-phobic so I didn't bother buying one) which would have been Age 3-4, but from the previous year, so it will be Age 2-ish and probably too small (and it's pink ).

Clary · 07/04/2010 23:05

Yes they are great, also good for not needing suncream on shoulders.

Buy them in resort, much cheaper. I have paid about £15 for a shorty one (fine) for that sort of age, more ££ as they get bigger but still less than £20 (pays for itself in a fortnight in suncream if you ask me).

Wearing them, the will stay in the water for ages and actually swim! (assuming they can swim, maybe not at 5 and 2, sorry my DC are older)

kreecherlivesupstairs · 12/04/2010 07:54

Decathlon has always supplied our dd's. They are relatively cheap and have a good range of sizes and thicknesses.

No134 · 12/04/2010 08:18

Shorty ones a waste of time if you're planning to spend lots of time in the water. We had long ones for the dc from about 18 months upwards (we spend lots of time on chilly UK beaches) and the long ones will see them through from Easter to October.

The shorty ones are fine for piddling about in rockpools in the summer holidays, but for longer periods in the water and/or using at times other than warm summer weather you'd be better off with a long one.

Different brands are easier/more difficult to get on and off -- look to see how long and skinny the arms and legs are. We had one suit made by Oceanic which was a ruddy nightmare, but most of the others have been okay. The kids tend to put them on when they get to the beach and keep them on all day. For easier putting on the thing to do is to put the child's leg or arm into a plastic bag (just a standard supermarket carrier bag) and push through the leg or sleeve of the suit. Once the foot or hand has come out the other end of the suit you just pull the plastic bag through and repeat for the other limbs. Sounds silly, but makes all the difference.

Allder is a good basic cheapo brand.

We've bought suits on ebay, they also turn up in second hand shops as well. Big shopping centres or cheapy shops in seaside areas have a good selection of basic wetsuits, and will be cheaper than buying actually at the beach. The time to get bargains is September/October, which is the end of the season.

CaurnieBred · 14/04/2010 11:51

These are ideal for use at the splash parks that are common in some of the play parks in towns these days. DD gets so cold really quickly unless she has a wet suit on.

GrimmaTheNome · 14/04/2010 12:04

DD has always had shorties for cornwall and anglesey and spends loads of time in the water. Depends how tough you kid is I guess - well, I was brought up on the east coast and spent hours in the sea from whit o autumn with no wetsuit at all.

Mind you, we sometimes wish we had below-the-knee suits when bodyboarding just for physical protection when washed up on the beach.

mistlethrush · 14/04/2010 12:20

We have a shortie one for ds too - and bought another when the first was too small.

Word of warning - we would have bought the wrong size if we had sent off for it over the internet - last summer he was 4.25 - we thought he'd probably need the 5 - 6 size. However, when we tried that size on him in the shop, I had to cram his shoulders in and could hardly do the zip up - he is a broad build (you can see his ribs, but they are quite wide across compared to many of his friends) and the stretch that on most children would have allowed extra length had already been taken up by the width... so we had to get him one that was suggested age 7 -8 when he was 4

The shortie might not be sufficient for Easter to October - but we don't have the benefit of access to the sea for such a wide period - and it would certainly be fine at any time that he would normally be wearing shorts outside.

This is the make that we've been very pleased with: wetsuit

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