[Dan Freed]

Hello! I am hoping for some guidance here as I would like to swim all year at Brighton Beach if possible. My main question is about a wetsuit. I have used wetsuit shirts a couple of times and found them pretty uncomfortable, but it looks like there’s a huge range of comfort (and price) out there. I LOVE swimming outdoors and would drop even $1000K on a wetsuit if I knew I was going to use it 100+ times. My fear is that I will get an expensive suit and either find that I don’t like it and/or that swimming 3-4 days a week at Brighton in the winter is just not for me. Another factor is wetsuit care and maintenance. If I need to wash my wetsuit after every use and it takes 20 minutes to wash, that may be too much of a hassle for me. Anyway–I’d be very grateful for your suggestions.

[Kristina Saxena]

Hi Dan, I bought my wetsuit through Xterra
And then I discovered their outlet, and I got so many great deals through their outlet,
I know own 4 wetsuits, of various thicknesses and sleeves, and I think two of them I paid $29 each… worth it!
Anyway, I have so many that I decided to cut the legs off of one of the really thin ones, so now I have a Shorty, which I like, because it gives me another option for when it’s still warm-ish but just chilly enough that I need something.

I rinse my wetsuits out in the shower,
I definitely do not give them a 20 minute wash, but I give them a good rinse.
I definitely get a lot of wear out of them.

It is super important, so follow the directions on the website very carefully in terms of fitting it properly to your body.

[Liam]

Hey Dan, Sounds like a 3mm ripcurl or something similar might do you. They make these surf wetsuits with great seamless underarms now….You’ll get in and out of it quick in the cold…. and obviously you can bump up the thickness if you aren’t into the cold…. Otherwise I’d recommend a base level orca. They don’t last long. Soaking suits at the start of a season is meant to help, and no rings or jewels etc with the swim specific suits. Also size up with the swim specific suits. They are made for aliens. Best to try-on rather than online purchase; to get the size right. There is a bunch of swimmers who have been swimming in the early mornings who can advise better. Socks, Gloves, and helmet/hat are obviously essentials, seeing as most people wear those without any wet suit.

[Dan Freed]

Thanks to you both!