Surfing Wetsuits Glossary

These are common construction and material terms associated with surfing wetsuits.

Blindstitched
Blindstitched surfing wetsuits feature seams that are glued together and sewn only halfway through the wetsuit, meaning they are unseen or "blind" on the other side.

Double blindstitched
Double blindstitched surfing wetsuits are even more watertight than blindstitched. Their seams are glued and blindstitched on the outside, then turned inside out and blindstitched on the inside.

Flatstitched aka flatlocked
More porous than blindstitched wetsuits, the seams of flatstitched wetsuits have stitching sewn fully through the material. Flatstitched surfing wetsuits are very flexible but impractical for cold water.

Fullsuit
A surfing wetsuit with full-length arms and legs. Sleeveless fullsuits are commonly known as Long John wetsuits.

Mini-back zip
A surfing wetsuit design midway between zippered wetsuits and zipperless wetsuits. Mini-back zip wetsuits feature a small, rubber-flanked zipper to combine the easy access of zippered suits and flexibility of zipperless suits.

Neoprene
Neoprene is a synthetic rubber compound invented by DuPont over 75 years ago. Neoprene's high flexibility, buoyancy, and poor heat conductivity make it an ideal material for surfing wetsuits. Neoprene contains nitrogen bubbles that reduce heat transference from the body to the outside water. The thickness of neoprene surfing wetsuits varies from 1/2mm to 9mm depending on the need for greater warmth or flexibility.

Panels
Panels refer to the neoprene sheets used to make surfing wetsuits. The panels are formed to fit different body parts and then attached using glue or stitching.

Seams
Seams are the connection points on surfing wetsuits between one neoprene panel and the next. Seams may be stitched or taped/glued.

Springsuit aka shortie
Springsuits are surfing wetsuits with short arms and legs. They're typically thinner and worn for enhanced flexibility in warm or moderately cool water.

Taping (stress point, taped seams)
Taping is the practice of using nylon gluing tape or liquid seam tape to bolster the seams on a wetsuit. Taping helps keep water out but also reduces flexibility. Stress point taping means taping only at high stress points on the suit such as the underarms, elbows, and knees.