Can You Swim in a Drysuit

A drysuit gives the wearers protection, thermal insulation, and exclusion of water. It shields the entire body, excluding the head, hands, and feet. Many water sports enthusiasts, like divers, kayakers, boaters, and more, especially when they’re in colder months or near cold water. 

Regardless of the benefits, drysuits have some drawbacks that kayakers should consider. They are suitable for colder months because they could be uncomfortably hot in warmer weather. They’re also expensive and complicated to use, especially for divers. 

Only purchasing the best drysuit for kayaking is not enough if you don’t know whether you can swim in a drysuit or not. That’s because we’re here to talk about this matter. So, keep reading the entire article until the end to have a clear understanding of the issue. 

Can You Swim in a Drysuit?

Swimming in a drysuit is usually pretty challenging. It entirely depends on the type of suit you choose and wear. Some suits feel like you only put a bag over your arm and go on the water for kayaking. That would be a trilam drysuit. 

Besides, crushed neoprene feels like a tight pair of jeans. It’s a bit more costly than a trilam drysuit. Often, neoprene suits are less suitable than crushed neoprene but more than trilam ones. They do great jobs as excellent insulators and change themselves into fewer undergarments. They also come with less crushing or pinching effects. 

Neoprene suits, not crushed, usually have far less drag than their baggy shell counterparts because they are supposed to fit more snugly. Keep in mind that in many cases, you don’t need to wear any undergarments in a neoprene suit. If you do, you seldom need to wear anything that is very thick due to the neoprene’s thermal

characteristics. 

In this regard, swimming is out of the question if you wear any of these suits. We must say that you can hardly swim. You won’t quickly go anywhere without fins if you don’t do a backstroke. But even then, you feel the excessive drag. 

Again, there is another drysuit, which is the shell-style suit. It’s no matter what it’s made of the need to be baggy to allow you some freedom of movement. It will let you space to wear the necessary undergarments to keep you warm. The advantage of using a shell-style suit is that it’s easy to repair, and dries quickly. 

Overall, a well made modern neoprene suit is very stretchy. It gives ease of movement, which is usually not a problem. And of course, the less stuff you wear on when you are swimming, the better you perform on the water. That’s why we recommend you wear a neoprene drysuit. 

Conclusion

Purchase a drysuit, believing that you can go swimming with it, could be a deadly mistake. Be skilled and professional swimmer if you want to swim, wearing a drysuit. However, many experienced divers, kayakers, swimmers often find themselves in critical situations. It’s because they don’t feel comfortable wearing an uncomfortable drysuit. It even occurs that they are lazy and often skip requirements.