Wetsuit & Watersport FAQs

A drysuit is a waterproof full length garment that is tight fitting at the wrists, neck and ankles. It should keep you completely dry and not allow water inside even if you fall into the water.

A drysuit is worn for diving, kayaking and other watersports in colder conditions and is often accompanied by a layer of thermal insulation inside such as a fleece undersuit. 

A wetsuit is a garment normally used for watersports such as surfing or swimming. It is most often made from neoprene rubber material and is worn tightly around the body.

Wetsuits let water inside them but a well fitted wetsuit that fits tightly will only allow a small amount of water to enter. Your body will then warm up this water and help keep you warm by limiting the amount of  new cold water that can flush through the suit. 

See our online guide ‘How Wetsuits Work’ for a full explanation of what types of wetsuits are available.

A drysuit is a sealed garment that is close fitting around the neck wrist and ankles. It should not let water in at all and you should stay completely dry even if you fall into the water. 

A wetsuit will let in a small amount of water which your body can heat up. A well fitted wetsuit will keep most of this water in place and limit new cold water entering it and thus help to keep you warm. 

A dry bag is a waterproof piece of luggage designed to keep the contents dry in a variety of different conditions.

Dry bags come in various shapes and sizes including rucksacks, holdalls and  roll top.  Dry bags also come in special types for various sports such as kayaking, cycling and motorcycling. 

Drybags feature waterproof materials and waterproof seams that are often welded to avoid water penetration through the seams. 

Most drybags can withstand persistent rain and brief total immersion in water but are not designed as underwater bags to keep gear dry if totally submerged for long periods. 

A pogie is a type of glove that covers the whole hand whilst allowing a kayak paddle shaft to enter inside through a whole in the glove. This allows your bare hand to hold the paddle whilst keeping your hand out of the cold.

Pogies are preferred by some people to regular gloves as they feel it give a more natural feel to the activity they are doing.

A swimming wetsuit is just like a regular wetsuit but optimised for swimming. Swimming wetsuits can be made from a smooth skin material that offers lower drag in the water and thus faster swimming speeds when compared to a regular wetsuit that has a nylon or similar fabric coating but if your are not competing for a time, fabric coated wetsuits are much more durable and can be  more stretchy.

Swimming wetsuit also feature enhance flexibility around the shoulders and other muscle areas to make swimming easier than with some other wetsuits not design for that purpose.

Smoothskin swimming wetsuit are sometimes not as tough as regular wetsuits as the smooth skin coating is normally easier to tear than a nylon covered wetsuit. It is not normally recommended to use swimming wetsuits for other watersports as they can often be more easily damaged.

A PFD is a Personal Floatation Device and can cover a range of products including Buoyancy Aids and Life Jackets. In the UK and Europe we divide into these 2 categories in order to better differentiate which type of PFD is best suited to your needs. 

In the UK and Europe we mainly recognise 2 different product types to help you stay afloat in the water; Buoyancy aids and Life Jackets.

Buoyancy Aids are normally worn for activities where being in the water may be a normal part of the sport.  For example if you are stand up paddle boarding it is perfectly normal to fall into the water whilst learning how to do it. A buoyancy aid will give you extra buoyancy to assist you when you are in the water and then get back onto your board. It is recommended they are used by competent swimmers who are in sheltered waters and have other people around who can help if required. A buoyancy aid will not try to keep the head of an unconscious person out of the water so they can still breath. 

Buoyancy aids come in a variety of different designs aimed at the specific sports they are designed for.

A life jacket would normally be worn by someone doing an activity where being in the water is NOT a part of the normal activity. For example, someone on a passenger boat, would not normally be in the water as a normal part of the activity. If there are in the water it is likely to be an emergency. Life jackets are normally made from high visibility colours, have a higher buoyancy rating that buoyancy aids and will attempt to float the wearer on their back with their head supported to allow an unconscious casualty to still breath. 

Life jackets come in a variety of different ratings depending on what weather conditions your are likely to encounter.

A tow float is a brightly coloured inflatable bag that a swimmer tows behind them to increase their visibility. It should reduce the chance of being hit by a boat which didn’t see them.