Wetsuits come in a huge range of forms to meet the specific needs of individual water sports enthusiasts and the varying conditions a water sports participant might face. The shortie and the full wetsuit are two examples of suits that are designed to meet the specific needs of users and are tailored to the conditions they are commonly used in.
Description
The full wetsuit is so called because it covers the full length of the body, including the torso, legs and arms. The shortie gets its name from its shorter length than the full suit, covering only the torso, the arms as far as the elbow and the legs as far down as the knees.
Materials
Both the shortie and the full suit are commonly constructed from the ultra-flexible material neoprene. The shortie will usually be constructed from a mix of 3 mm neoprene on the torso and 1 mm neoprene on the limbs, although some have an ultra-light 2:1 millimeter construction. The full suit tends to come in a thickness of 3:2, 4:3 or 5:4 mm ratios to suit a variety of conditions.
Conditions
The shortie is primarily designed for use in water conditions that are warm enough to expose the limbs but not to the degree that boardshorts can be worn on their own. Typically, a shortie might be worn in the spring or fall. The full suit is tailored to colder water conditions, with the 3:2 providing enough warmth for most waters, although in some cases, 4:3 and 5:4 suits are necessary.
Protection Levels
A shortie may regularly be worn in warm water conditions where rocks and reefs are prevalent to provide a greater level of protection than that offered by the sole use of boardshorts. However, the full suit will provide the most protection to wearers, helping to guard the extremities of the body such as the arms and legs, which can be particularly prone to water sports injuries.
Flexibility
The trade-off from a wetsuit's protection levels tends to emerge in the form of a limit to a suit's flexibility, and the shortie and full suit are not exceptions to this rule. The shortie is lightweight compared to the full suit, and the added range of movements and freedom that come from having minimal limb coverage makes the shortie far easier to execute many maneuvers in. The full suit, especially in its more heavy duty forms, can often constrain or limit performance, adding weight, which slows the wearer down, and reducing flexibility and the total range of movements available to the wearer.
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