The short answer: most surfers in the US do fine with two suits. A 3/2 for spring through fall, and a 4/3 for winter. Everything past that comes down to your local water temp, how you handle cold, and how long you like to stay out.
The wetsuit thickness and water temp chart
| Water temp | What to wear |
|---|---|
| 75°F and up | Boardshorts or a swimsuit. Maybe a rashguard for sun and wind. |
| 68 to 75°F | 2mm spring suit, long jane, or a wetsuit jacket |
| 62 to 68°F | 3/2 fullsuit |
| 55 to 62°F | 4/3 fullsuit, booties at the cold end |
| 48 to 55°F | 5/4 hooded fullsuit with boots and gloves |
| Under 48°F | 6/5 hooded suit, 7mm boots, mittens, and real commitment |
Treat the chart as a starting point, not a law. Wind, air temp, and session length all push you one step warmer. A sunny 64°F day and a foggy, windblown 64°F day are two different suits.
What do wetsuit numbers like 3/2 actually mean?
The first number is the neoprene thickness in millimeters through your torso. The second is the thickness in your arms and legs. A 3/2 runs 3mm around your core, where warmth matters most, and 2mm in the limbs, where you need to paddle. Thicker core keeps you warm. Thinner limbs keep you loose. Every suit we carry from Vissla and Sisstr follows this same logic.
Do wetsuits actually keep you warm?
Yes, and it works two ways. Neoprene is full of tiny gas bubbles that block heat from escaping, the same way a foam cooler works. And a good suit traps a thin film of water against your skin that your body heats once and keeps.
That second part is why fit matters more than thickness. A baggy 4/3 flushes cold water through with every duck dive and loses to a snug 3/2 every single time. If you are between sizes, spend five minutes with the size guide before you buy. A wetsuit should feel like a firm handshake everywhere, with no gaps at the lower back, armpits, or crotch.
What most surfers actually need
If you surf California, the answer is boring and cheap: a 3/2 handles most of the year, and a 4/3 covers winter mornings and those weeks when the water forgets it lives next to a desert. That is exactly why our racks lean 3/2 and 4/3.
Gulf coast and Southeast surfers can often live in a spring suit and a 3/2. Pacific Northwest and New England folks should treat a hooded 5/4 as the baseline and layer from there.
Everything we stock is on the wetsuit sale page: Vissla suits in mens wetsuits and Sisstr suits in womens wetsuits, all at outlet pricing because we are the official outlet for both brands.
When do you need booties, gloves, and a hood?
Booties earn their keep below about 58°F, or any time you are walking reef or rock. Gloves come in around 52°F. A hood is worth it once wind or water drops below the mid 50s, or the first time a duck dive gives you an ice cream headache. Extremities lose heat fastest, so if your sessions are ending because of numb feet rather than a cold core, boots fix more than a thicker suit will.
Chest zip, back zip, or no zip?
Back zip suits are the easiest to get in and out of, and a solid choice for beginners and groms. Chest zips seal better and flush less, which is why most of our Vissla and Sisstr fullsuits are built that way. No zip suits like the High Seas II give you the most stretch and the driest seal, in exchange for a slightly more athletic entry. None of these choices matter as much as fit. All of them beat shivering.
One last honest note
Everything at Stoke Outlets is a genuine Vissla or Sisstr suit at outlet pricing, and every sale is final. So measure yourself, check the size guide, and if you are stuck between two sizes, hit the Contact Us link in the footer and ask. We would rather talk you into the right suit once than the wrong suit twice.
More reading: what to wear under a wetsuit, and our best budget wetsuit picks pulled straight from the current racks.