BUYING A SECOND HAND NEOPRENE WETSUIT

THIS WETSUIT STINKS!

When you buy a used wetsuit you have to know that older wetsuits tend to get a bit smelly from the constant wettness and sea water. You also need to get over the fact that most wetsuit owners pee in their wetsuits. Why? It makes you feel warm on a cold day (yuck!) and there is just too much hassle to get out of the water, undress, pee, get dressed again, get back in the water… also cold water makes you pee more often or better, if you feel cold you pee more often. So if you are too disgusted by this, you should get a new wetsuit. But reasonably new used wetsuit, washed with piss-off liquid should smell nice and fresh. Then pee in it yourself and mark your territory.

HOW LONG DOES A WETSUIT LAST?

How long does a wetsuit last? What is an average lifespan of a wetsuit? It is good to know, when buying a used wetsuit, that wetsuits do not really last that long. It depends on the abuse the owner puts on his wetsuit, how often does he or she use it and how good do they take care of their wetsuit.

A top-of-the-line high-performance wetsuit should last a season if you're a hardcore user and you use it more than 3 times a week and two seasons if you use it less. If you do not use it very much it can last three seasons, but the thing with neoprene is that it will age and deteriorate if you use it or if you don't. The elasticity of a wetsuit will change even if it is hung in your closet all the time. A suit that is used daily will stretch out over time, but a suit that is never used will begin to harden and seem to have "shrunk" when put on.

Top of the line wetsuit? If you noticed, we mentioned top of the line wetsuit. Lifespan of a high performance wetsuit with super stretchy and soft rubber is shorter that a lifespan of a slightly lower-end wetsuit. That is because high tech strechy rubber breaks down quicker than the harder, cheaper stuff. So there is a tradeoff between warmth and flexibility on one side and longer lasting wetsuit on the other.

Taking care of the wetsuit is a really big issue here. If a wetsuit is rinsed in fresh water and dried in a shade after every use, that can extend its life for quite some time. On the other hand, if it is dried in the hot sun, it will die much sooner. Sun is the wetsuits biggest enemy. More info: How to take care of your wetsuit?

At the end it is also a matter of perspective, one mans old wetsuit could be just the thing a begginer needs.

USED NEOPRENE: THINGS TO LOOK FOR

Let's say that you know what kind of used wetsuit you want - a used shorty, used longsuit, how thick you want your neoprene to be, what other features etc. Now let's say you are holding a used wetsuit that you like in your hands. What to look for?

• General look of the neoprene and
• Neoprene flexibility
• Stitches
• Holes
  

USED NEOPRENE CONDITION

If you know how new neoprene feels like, you can quickly tell the difference between new and old neoprene:

• Old neoprene gets thiner in places with a lot of streching – less warmth, looser neoprene and more chance of a tear,
• If neoprene has colored outside lining, the color of the nylon will be pale, if the wetsuit is old,
• If the wetsuit is really old, also black double lined neoprene will be pale.

USED NEOPRENE FLEXBILITY

Make sure you know if you are buying a wetsuit made of ordinary neoprene or more elastic neoprene, the differrence is evident. Then test how flexible the neoprene still is. The harder, stiffer and more streched out the neoprene, the older it is (or it was drying in the sun a lot). Less flexible neoprene means worse fit, less comfortable wetsuit and more constricted movement. Neoprene deteriorates with age, so the age of the wetsuit is also an issue.

STITCHES/SEAMS

Inspect the seams and bear in mind the type of stitches we mentioned in the Wetsuit Guide. The better the construction, the warmer and more expensive the wetsuit. Then look for any tearing of the seams and cracking of the glue that helps hold neoprene panels together. This can be a little harder to repair, plus tearing and cracking of the seams in one place can tell you they will soon start to behave the same in other places too.

HOLES

Holes in neoprene itself are cheap to repair if they are not to big (around up to 4 inches), so if you can get a good deal on an otherwise good wetsuit with a hole - go for it.

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