Wetsuit thickness guide
Slide to your water temperature and get the suit, boots, gloves and hood that match — tuned for wind sports, where the apparent wind chills you all session long.
Spring and autumn on most Med coasts. A sealed-seam 3/2 is the most used suit in any wind-sport quiver.
Windy-day rule applied: the apparent wind you ride in evaporates spray off the suit non-stop, so we size as if the water were ~3 °C colder.
The full chart
Consensus of the major manufacturer charts, nudged warmer for wind sports. Everyone runs different — if you're always the cold one on the beach, read one band down.
| Water | Suit | Extras |
|---|---|---|
| 24°C + | No neoprene needed — boardshorts & a lycra top | Sun protection matters more than warmth |
| 21–24°C | 1–2 mm top or shorty | None required |
| 18–21°C | 2 mm shorty or 3/2 springsuit | None required |
| 15–18°C | 3/2 full wetsuit | Optional 2–3 mm boots late in the day |
| 12–15°C | 4/3 full wetsuit | 3–5 mm boots; thin gloves if it's windy |
| 9–12°C | 5/4 or 5/4/3 hooded wetsuit | 5 mm boots, 3–5 mm gloves, hood |
| 6–9°C | 6/5/4 hooded wetsuit | 7 mm boots, 5 mm+ mittens or lobster claws, hood |
| below 6°C | 6 mm+ hooded suit or a drysuit | 7 mm boots, mittens, hood — and a buddy on the beach |
Common questions
What does 3/2 or 5/4/3 mean on a wetsuit?
Neoprene thickness in millimetres: torso first, then limbs. A 3/2 has a 3 mm body and 2 mm arms and legs; a 5/4/3 is 5 mm body, 4 mm legs, 3 mm arms. Thicker around the core keeps you warm, thinner on the limbs keeps you mobile.
Do kitesurfers need thicker wetsuits than surfers?
Usually half a step warmer, yes. Surfers spend most of the session in the water; riders spend it moving at 15–25 knots through the apparent wind, evaporating spray the whole time. Windy-day wind chill is worth roughly 3 °C of water temperature — which is what the toggle in this guide applies.
What wetsuit do I need for the Mediterranean?
Broad strokes for the coasts we cover: boardshorts to a 2 mm top in high summer (23–27 °C), a 3/2 for spring and autumn (15–20 °C), and a 4/3 with boots — hood in a cold Mistral or Bura — for the 12–15 °C winter window. The Atlantic coast of France runs a band colder year-round.
When do I need boots, gloves and a hood?
Boots from about 15 °C water if you're out long, gloves once it drops below ~12 °C on windy days, and a hood below ~10 °C. You lose heat fastest through head and hands — winter sessions end because fingers stop working, not because the core is cold.
Suited up? Now find out if it's actually blowing.
WindNow shows live wind speed, gusts and direction from real coastal weather stations across France, Croatia and Slovenia — minutes old, not a forecast.
Open the live wind map