Best Spearfishing Wetsuit [ 2022 Buyer's Guide ]
Here's our top choices for best wetsuit for spearfishing in 2022.
- 3MM Camo Neoprene One Piece Spearfishing Wetsuit >> Good body fit and easy to wear under wetsuit
- Nataly Osmann Camo Spearfishing Wetsuit >> 3mm neoprene 2-pieces hooded super stretch diving wetsuit
- O'Neill Men's Epic 4/3mm Back Zip Full Wetsuit >> Backzip system enables easy entry, exit with water tight seal and krypto knee padz
- Cressi Camouflage Rash Guard for Spearfishing >> Hooded and crew-neck, also ideal for scuba diving video makers
- Unisex Short Sleeve Wetsuit for Spearfishing >> 2MM Neoprene wetsuit, also good for swimming and triathlons
Our Top Choices for Spearfishing Wetsuits
Contents
- Our Top Choices for Spearfishing Wetsuits
- 1. Dyung Tec Spearfishing Full Suit
- 2. Nataly Osmann Camo Spearfishing Wetsuit
- 3. O'Neill Men's Epic 4/3mm Back Zip Full Wetsuit
- 4. Cressi Camouflage Rash Guard for Spearfishing
- 5. 2MM Neoprene One Piece Spearfishing Wetsuit
- What To Look For When Buying a Spearfishing Wetsuit
- 1. Wetsuit Thickness
- 2. Camouflage Wetsuits
- 3. Unit of Style (One-Piece, Two Piece?)
- 4. Material of Your Spearfishing Wetsuit
In spearfishing, wetsuit is not just about preventing body heat loss, but also functions as a mechanism that allows you to get closer to the fish, shoot that spear at the closest distance possible and increases your chances of hitting your target fish.
Throughout this article I will talk about the best wetsuits for spearfishing and go over some of the top rated Cressi wetsuits and others that will be suited best for you!
Thickness: 3mm
Unit of Style: 1-piece
Type of Material: combination of neoprene, nylon and spandex
The Dyung Tec Spearfishing Full Suit is a high performance and fast drying wetsuit. Made from 80% neoprene, 10% nylon and 10% spandex.
This spearfishing wetsuit will give you an optimal body fit that is easy to wear. It has a classic crewneck design and reinforced edges on the extremities giving you a guarantee that your body heat is fully trapped within.
The chest and knee part of this spearfishing wetsuit is thick with extra padding. But you have to take note that you will be positively buoyant in wearing this wetsuit, so it is highly recommended to compensate it with the use of lead weights.
The sealing mechanism of the Dyung Tec Spearfishing Full Suit involves a heavy duty YKK zipper with a zipper pull that has a hook and loop closure at the back making donning and undonning very easy.
The seams of the fabric are flatlock which gives you a smooth, streamline and abrasion resistant wetsuit even if you are exploring in rough areas like a surf zone. With this, it has also been used in other aqusports like stand-up paddle boarding, surfing, kayaking, swimming, canoeing, bodyboarding and windsurfing.
Thickness: 3mm
Unit of Style: 2-piece
Type of Material: Open cell Neoprene
The Nataly Osmann Camo Spearfishing Wetsuit is a breathable quick drying wetsuit designed to help you improve swimming while reducing drag in the water. It has a split two-piece design that features a hooded top vest and a wetsuit vest pants with a padded chest and knee portion.
It is made from a 3mm open cell neoprene rubber with a sport skin base layer that is soft, flexible, warm and comfortable to wear. It has a tight fit design that naturally bends with the contours of your body giving you a streamline swimming pattern.
The camouflage of the Nataly Osmann Camo Spearfishing Wetsuit employs a combination of black and white undertone which perfectly blends in the water. For size and fitting, since this wetsuits exits at 0.39-1.2inch when worn, we highly recommend you choose the next bigger size to prevent body constriction.
Tips for washing: This wetsuit is suited for handwash only and do not use a washing machine. Do not twist. After washing, hang it over and allow water to naturally drip off. Do not place it under the direct heat of the sun. Instead, use air drying and hang it in a cool and dry place when storing or not in use.
Thickness: 4 - 3mm
Unit of Style: 1-piece
Type of Material: Closed cell Neoprene
The O’Neill Men’s Epic Back Zip Full Wetsuit is often worn by spearfishermen, divers, surfers, paddle boarders and is suited for use in any aquasports. It is made from a 3mm closed-cell neoprene with a 4mm thickness on the chest, back and knee part. Its sealing mechanism involves a backzip system that gives you easy donning and undonning. The material is ultra stretchable with a soft feel.
The stitching of the O’Neill Men’s Epic Back Zip Full Wetsuit uses blind seams and is triple glued keeping the water out which gives you maximum warmth when worn. The neoprene rubber used in this wetsuit has a wind-resistant fluidflex firewall panels which adds protection against cold even if you are swimming in a windy climate.
The knee portion of this spearfishing is embedded with the Krypto Knee Padz which gives you added protection especially when you decide to settle down in the reef or rocks while aiming at your target fish.
Thickness: 2 mm
Unit of Style: 1-piece
Type of Material: Nylon and Spandex
Commonly called as the Hunter, the Cressi Camouflage Rash Guard is designed for spearfishermen and videomakers. It has a mimetic color pattern that is invisible to fish, which in this case, is your subject or target. It is made from a strong and elastic combination of nylon and spandex with a thickness of 2mm.
This rash guard is highly elastic and easily adapts to the natural shape of your body. Once worn, it gives you a tight fit that it effectively traps your body heat. It is tight but not too tightly.
The chest part of this rash guard is seamless that features a soft and durable pad for added body protection.
This feature is very essential for spearfishermen when loading a speargun or for video makers wishing to lean their video camera equipment towards their body. Your camouflage color variation includes black-blue-white, brown-white-black and green-brown-white.
Thickness: 2 mm
Unit of Style: 1-piece
Type of Material: Closed-cell neoprene
The Unisex Short Sleeve 2mm Neoprene Wetsuit is a one-piece shorty type of wetsuit. Aside from being a standalone exposure suit, it is ideally used as a layering suit or worn over on top of other wetsuit. It is pretty effective in protecting you against cold water and strong winds. It further provides UV protection when you are at the surface or out of the water.
It is made from a highly stretchable 2mm closed cell neoprene rubber. Its sealing mechanism involves a back zipper and a tail rope which greatly aides you in wearing it over other wetsuit and taking it out after use. Its camouflage mechanism includes an all-black colored fabric which perfectly blends when you are in the reef.
What To Look For When Buying a Spearfishing Wetsuit
Imagine you are spearfishing in a 20OC (68OF) waters while wearing a wetsuit with a thickness of 2mm and has a bright-yellow color. Question:
(1) How long do you think you can stay in the water?
(2) Can you focus on spearfishing without feeling cold?
(3) Do you think fish will come near you with that bright-yellow colored suit?
If your answers are on the negative side, then read along to find out the features of a spearfishing wetsuit that will extend your time on water while increasing your chances of bringing home your prized fish.
1. Wetsuit Thickness
Many of us would think that in order to save money, you will buy the thickest wetsuit. That's a NO NO. Different areas with different topography and different water temperature requires a specific thickness.
In a tropical setting, a 1mm to 3mm wetsuit is ideal where you can comfortably spend hours in the water with a temperature of 24OC (75OF) or higher.
If your surrounding is predominantly rocky and has a water temperature of 15OC (59OF), then we highly recommend you wear a 5mm wetsuit. Not only will it prevent the rapid decline of your body's core temperature, it will also provide skin protection against the rough surfaces of the coast.
For waters with temperature at 15OC and below, a 7mm wetsuit or thicker is recommended. But you have to remember that wearing a thicker wetsuit has its own disadvantage. First, your body movement is restricted due to the constriction brought by the wetsuit's thick material. Second, you may need to wear lead weights since thicker wetsuits makes you positively buoyant.
As mentioned above spearfishing wetsuits start off as rash guards and then move up from there. So to sum up again:
If the water temperature is above 87 degrees that is what you will need and that's it or there is a chance you could over heat which you do NOT want.
From 78 - 86 degrees you will want to look at a 2 mm/ 3 mm/ 3/2 mm. That is a thin layer enough to keep you warm and once you get moving you will warm up quick. When you see two numbers like 3/2 that means the 3 mm is the core which is the torso and then the 2 is for your extremities like your arms and legs.
From 67 to 77 degrees you will want to look at something around a 5 mm wetsuit.
From 53 to 66 degrees you will be around a 7 mm or a 7/5 mm wetsuit. Once you get into a 7 mm wetsuit you are likely in some very cold waters and with a 7 mm wetsuit you will be restricted from some movement but you will be much, much warmer.
Anything colder than 52 degrees you will want a dry suit! Now if you are in a dry suit you will most likely be diving unless you have a neoprene dry suit which is more like a full thick wetsuit anyways.
This should be the first thing to consider when buying a spearfishing wetsuit so now we can get onto the rest of the material and specifications.
2. Camouflage Wetsuits
You have to remember that when you go spearfishing, you have to instill in your mind that you are the predator and your target fish is your prey. This means that you need to wear a camouflage wetsuit in order to blend in the surrounding environment while freely swimming or roaming around.
Otherwise, you need to hide and cover yourself under cracks and crevices which is of great disadvantage if you are freediving. Wearing a camouflage wetsuit makes it harder for you to be spotted by your prey, which in turn, allows you to get closer to your target.
As far as swimming or freediving in a marine ecosystem is concerned, there are 2 types on how to conceal while underwater. You can either blend in the water or blend with the surrounding reef.
Spearfishing wetsuits that blends in the water employs the blue and white undertone while the ones designed to blend in the surrounding reef employs green, brown and other dark dull colors.
Point to ponder: partially camouflage is totally different from totally camouflage. Infact, partially camouflage defeats the purpose of the camouflage principle. This applies when you wear a camouflage spearfishing wetsuit, yet your fins are colored bright yellow.
In order to maximize your concealment underwater, a camouflage spearfishing wetsuit is best paired with camouflage fins.
3. Unit of Style (One-Piece, Two Piece?)
The typical wetsuit that we all know is a one-piece unit. Just put in on, fasten the zipper and you will be provided with a uniform warmth from the shoulders all the way down to the lower part of your leg.
Another unit of style for wetsuit is called the two-piece. Unlike the 2-piece bathing suit that we know where a large portion of your back and belly are exposed, the two-piece spearfishing wetsuit still provides protection from shoulders to your legs, but provides added warmth on specific areas.
Typically, a -two-piece wetsuit includes an upper jacket and a lower pants that is connected together through a series of clips, velcro or zipper. However, the thickness on a particular body part varies where some two-piece wetsuits have a thicker material on the chest and back while some have a thicker leg material, particularly on the thighs.
In general, one-piece wetsuits are recommended for newbies while two-piece wetsuits are preferred by experienced spearfishermen.
Regardless of what unit of style you choose, what is important to us is still the "comfort and fit" where you are guaranteed to stay warm while having the same freedom to move and not be confined due to constriction.
4. Material of Your Spearfishing Wetsuit
NEOPRENE will be your best friend when it comes to wetsuits. Neoprene is synthetic rubber that has great flexibility or mobility for your movement when you are spearfishing so that you are still agile enough to move around and get that catch!
Nylon, spandex or neoprene are also some of the other consistencies that will be made into different wetsuits. But also those 3 products are also consistencies of rash guards. If you are allergic to any products double check to make sure you don't get a rash.
There are 2 types of neoprene that has a different effect when used in your water.
The Closed-cell neoprene wetsuits are the ones you commonly see in a dive shop. The fabric of this neoprene is closely knitted that it only allows minimal air to flow. This in turn makes closed-cell wetsuits highly durable.
On the other hand, Open-cell neoprene wetsuits are the ones commonly used in a two-piece spearfishing wetsuit. Its fabric has pockets of air that adheres to your skin, which in effect, provides more warmth.
Aside from being expensive than closed-cell wetsuits, there are downsides in using an open-cell wetsuit. You just cannot directly wear it and you need lubrication to fully wear it on. And if you struggle putting it on, you may risk damaging the material as they are less durable and flexible than their closed-cell counterparts.
Regardless if you are in a temperate or tropical area, it is a given fact that the temperature of water is colder than your inner body temperature, not unless if you are in a hot spring.
This is the reason why you will feel cold after exposing your bare skin in water and your body heat starts to dissipate. But with the use of exposure suits, like a wetsuit, you can spend hours in the water without feeling drastically cold as your body heat is trapped courtesy from the wetsuit material.