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My wife is in her hols with her mum and she is looking to buy a wetsuit. She has seen and tried on a "Oneill Bahia 3/2" with help from a shop. Cost is £85.
I know nothing about these and want to make sure it's the right thing to get for occasional UK use. I've looked online and apparantely it's good for temps down to 12c - is that ok for the UK? I don't think she'd be using it when it's very cold outside but maybe late spring/summer/early autumn for swimming/body boarding and maybe a go at surfing.
She is quite short and buying from a shop so she can ensure a good fit is much preferable to buying online so don't mind paying a bit more than you can get one online.
Does she need the matching boots?
Is there any haggle room on the price? We are Yorkshire people, may as well ask!
Thanks in advance!!
Whereabouts in the uk are you planning to swim /surf ?I live in the north east where you can get away with 3/2 mm from June to October , but if you are on the west or south coast I'm sure you could use it for longer .
The sea is warmest in September and usually stays bearable till Xmas . 5mm suits with hood and gloves are needed jan - March .
You can't go far wrong with oneill wetsuits . Best to buy first wetsuit from a shop and try a few on , then when you need a knew one you will know your size you can get the best price on web .
Hope this helps
What sort of swimming? Splashing about in the sea, or mile long open water/triathlon type stuff? Fine for the former, chilly for the latter ( I use a 5/3 mm suit year round for open water swimming).
If you live in the M62 area, Robin Hood Watersports has a massive selection to try on and staff are generally helpful and knowledgeable.
As said above, depends on where you are planning to use it. West coast late May to November. East coast June to October.
Boots and gloves will help lengthen the seasons and the amount of time in the water. No need to buy matching but O'Neil is good kit, so go for it.
#SaveyYorkshireMan, Buying a suit, boots and gloves, and maybe a rash vest, more important on a cheaper suit like the one your planning to buy, as a package from a shop, you should get a few pound off.
Fit is the most important. If it fits well it will perform better than a more expensive suit that doesn't.
That wetsuit looks a very good choice OP. I am assuming she is looking at the 3/2 full suit with the long arms rather than any shorty variant.
It won't be super warm but is a good introduction to wetsuits as it will be flexible and comfortable - buying in a shop is a good idea as wetsuits are all about the fit. You could have a superb wetsuit rendered useless by water sluicing through it or being too tight to move in. Long sleeves are what is needed for swimming and surfing. £85 seems a good price too.
Ha beaten to it by post above!
Thanks for the advice - from what you are saying it will be perfect. We live in the North of the UK so it might get use on the coast in the nicer weather but also down south too. It will also get used down south too but never in very cold weather anywhere.
It will be used for fun stuff, not triathlons or anything!!
I'll direct her to this page - great advice thanks very much all. I love STW for this sort of stuff!
She will need a rash vest too otherwise the suit clings and makes paddling/swimming more strenuous.
Last year we got our dakine rash vests from TK Maxx of all places. They were £10 each and are great. If your wife is small she might well get a good fit from a teenager wetsuit, my O'Neill reactor is age 14, I'm 158cm and a size 8 (50kg). Bargain at £17....
We were all happily using Helly Hansen Lifa wear under wetsuits for decade before some bright spark invented rash vests. Assuming that any vest that she has, (sporty, wicking, not string)is a close fit as it should be. Use it. That's a tenner saved.
Sounds perfect. You can buy a rubbish wetsuite for £30 so it should be quite good