Spearfishing Wetsuit

Make Sure the Heat Is On

There are two basic types of spearfishing wetsuit you can buy – Open Cell and Closed Cell:

Open Cell

These spearfishing wetsuits have the smooth neoprene surface removed exposing a rougher open cell surface which sticks closely to your skin – strongly reducing the water movement, creating a warmer and lighter wetsuit. Making it an ideal spearfishing wetsuit for use in more temperate climates, or in winter when the water temperature is cooler.

The only downside with this type of spearfishing wetsuit is that you need to lubricate it thoroughly before putting it on as the inside surface is very tacky. There are a number of different lubricant products that you can purchase for use on your spearfishing wetsuit - there is however, a much simpler (and cheaper) solution.

1. Make up a mixture of soap (body wash liquid soap is best) mixed with water and put into a spray bottle.
2. Shake and spray liberally over the inside surface of the spearfishing wetsuit – nice and foamy.

Note – do not spray the inside of the hood. If you do, soap is likely to run into your eyes when you are out spearfishing....nasty!

Closed Cell

These wetsuits still have the smooth neoprene surface – making them much easier to get into. This is your standard wetsuit type you are probably most familiar with and are commonly used for surfing and snorkelling. The downside is that they allow more water movement = faster heat loss.  These spearfishing wetsuits are ideal for warmer waters to keep you protected from the sun and nasties like jellyfish!

I highly recommend you get an open cell spearfishing wetsuit if you live near the less tropical parts of the planet – they are excellent for spearfishing and also very useful for snorkelling.