Youth Wetsuits
Youth Wetsuits: Rubber for the In Betweeners
The youth wetsuit range is for the in betweeners: too big for kids sizes, too small for the adult rack, surfing harder than both. Proper Vissla rubber in youth sizing, with the same stretch neoprene and sealed seams the adults get.
Built for the groms doing their first French winter, the surf club kids of Bundoran, and every teenager who outgrew two suits in one season. Warm rubber now beats perfect fit someday.
Youth Wetsuits That Take Surfing Seriously
Somewhere around age ten the wetsuit conversation changes. The grom is no longer splashing in the shorebreak; they are surfing proper waves, in proper conditions, sometimes more days a week than you. The youth range exists for exactly this stage: adult grade construction, high stretch neoprene, thermal lining, and sealed seams, cut for bodies that are all limbs and momentum.
Thickness by Season
The logic is the same as the adult range, and the stakes are higher because teenagers refuse to admit they are cold. A youth 3/2 covers French, Spanish, and Portuguese water from 15 to 20°C, which is most of the surf camp calendar. A 4/3 carries the committed grom through an Atlantic winter. For genuinely cold water, the hooded options and cold water boots and gloves apply at youth sizes too. The kid shivering at the surf club contest in March needed the 4/3. Buy the 4/3.
Sizing Through the Growth Spurt
Buy the size that fits now. A wetsuit bought to grow into is a wetsuit that flushes cold water for a year and then fits for a month. Check the neck, wrists, and ankles for seal; check the lower back for bagging. Younger or smaller groms should start in the kids wetsuit range. The future of the lineup is currently freezing. Fix that.
