Asymmetrical zippers Zippers with staggered teeth, invented to keep a tighter seal and let less water in. Common in newer zippered suits. Beavertail Early wetsuit design in the ’70s that had a large ...

Despite the onset of summer – and occasionally spring – promising warmer and more predictable weather, the sea temperature in the northern hemisphere still errs on the frigid side. As such, the best ...

Introduced in the early 1950s, wetsuits flopped among surfers, who saw the uncomfortable rubber skins as more suitable for wimps than wave riders. Enter Bill Meistrell, a dive-shop owner who used a ...

Support our work! The Inertia may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn more about our gear review policy here. Wetsuits are both the biggest blessing and curse of ...

Whether you're into that super flexy Japanese neoprene or keen to support the revolution in Yulex and limestone rubber, if you're surfing regularly you're putting your wetsuit through some punishment.

For those of us who try to spend our dollars on more environmentally-friendly gear, there is an uncomfortable truth that we don’t like admitting: Sometimes, these products don’t perform as well as ...

Neoprene is good at keeping surfers warm in the water, but producing it is a dirty business. Not only is the material non-renewable, but it's derived from petroleum or limestone, which means it's a ...

You’ve got your board sorted and you’re amped for a big day out on the waves. Someone told you about a sweet spot to check out, and the conditions look good: neat swell, not too raging, but totally ...

You’ve got your board sorted and you’re amped for a big day out on the waves. Someone told you about a sweet spot to check out, and the conditions look good: neat swell, not too raging, but totally ...

Although I’ve always been a water baby, I only started open water swimming seriously about 15 years ago, and in that time wetsuit tech has come on in leaps and bounds. My first swim wetsuit was a 6mm ...