Aldi Wetsuit

muggyog

Bargain or not, any thoughts?
http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/58_6354.htm

spillcoe

Depends what you're using it for. If you just want a wetsuit to use 7 or 8 time a year in the summer then it's great value but if you want to get into surfing or something and need it for the winter then it's probably no good.

Gone West

Just so that you know: water will gush down the inside of it from neck and wrists more than likely.
Also, the materials its made out of are inferior to other wetsuits.
You really do get what you pay for with this, which is SFA.

xt40

FuzzyLogic wrote: »

Just so that you know: water will gush down the inside of it from neck and wrists more than likely.
Also, the materials its made out of are inferior to other wetsuits.
You really do get what you pay for with this, which is SFA.

i dont think you know what you are talking about. its a wetsuit , not a drysuit, water is supposed to get into it.
all wetsuits are made of neoprene which does not come in different qualities, just different thicknesses. the best thickness depends on the application. for surfing,jetskiing, in our type of climate where you need movement, thinner is better,shortie for summer,sleeves and legs for winter. for diving, thicker -upto 10mm is necessary but movement is much more restricted. the aldi ones are as good as any others

Murphisto

xt40 wrote: »

i dont think you know what you are talking about. its a wetsuit , not a drysuit, water is supposed to get into it.
all wetsuits are made of neoprene which does not come in different qualities, just different thicknesses. the best thickness depends on the application. for surfing,jetskiing, in our type of climate where you need movement, thinner is better,shortie for summer,sleeves and legs for winter. for diving, thicker -upto 10mm is necessary but movement is much more restricted. the aldi ones are as good as any others

The problem with a badly fitting wetsuit is that the water flushes around inside the suit making it much colder. I found that the Lidl suits didn't fit very well.
Wetsuits do come in different qualities. There are loads of different types of seams, layers of nylon, titanium, knee pads, flexibilities.
I have a cheap summer suit (3mm, €150) and an expensive winter suit (5mm, €300) and despite being thicker, the Winter suit is much more flexible and easier to move in. You get what you pay for.

My advice would be to try on a few different suits to find one that feels comfortable and then get online and try and find the same suit for a cheaper price.

duffmagic

Fit is the most important thing in a wetsuit. A cheap suit that fits well will always outperform an expensive suit that doesn't. It should fit, to embrace the cliché, like a glove.

For surfing, you want it to be very tight everywhere but flexible in the shoulders. This is to allow for easy paddling. It's especially important to have an excellent neck seal as paddling through waves will tend to flush cold water down any cheaper suit. Don't be fooled into thinking this is normal for a "wet"suit - wetsuits should not constantly replace the water inside. This means you keep expending energy heating new cold water, only to flush it out and take more in. This is nearly as bad as having no suit at all. Also important, are tight wrists and ankles.

Wetsuits designed for windsurfing/kiteboarding tend to be slightly different. There is less importance placed on the neck seal, wrist and ankles, as most of your time is spent out of the water. Also, the forearm and wrists are particularly flexible to make it easy to hold onto the rig for hours at a time. The outside of these suits are usually protected from windchill with a rubber coating outside the neoprene.

Going back to surf suits, the most common seam types in order of merit are:
Sealed & Taped (Glued Blindstitched & 100% Taped) > Sealed (Glued and Blindstitched) > Flatlock Stitching

From wetsuit warehouse dot com:

Flatlock Stitching: Recommended for warm water above 16°C. You can recognize this seam from the outside. It looks like railroad tracks. The interior and exterior seams look about the same. The interior seam construction is flat and comfortable against the body. Some water may seep in through these seams.

Sealed (Glued and Blindstitched): Recommended for cold water 12°C and up. This construction is best for cold water because the seams are glued, then stitched. It looks similar to Flatlock stitching, but is narrower in width. Very little water will seep through these seams.

Sealed & Taped (Glued Blindstitched & 100% Taped): Recommended for very cold water 12°C and below. Same construction as above plus interior seam taping. The tape reinforces seams for added durability, and prevents any water from seeping through.

fade2che

I think its all about the fit to be honest, if you are lucky that the Aldi or Lidl ones fit your particular body shape then they are great value. I have been into surfing for a few years now and I have had two 3mm Lidl wetsuits that happened to fit me great. I only wish I got another spare one so I dont have to put on a cold suit if I go out more than once in the weekend

muggyog

Thanks for all the input. Obviously this is a cheap suit so whether it is value for money depends on usage and requirements. Its flatlock stitching (cheapest option) so will leak however I dont intend to use it that often and if I start turning in Olympic times (unlikely @ 50) I will know what to buy. Will have a look and see how acceptable they are tomorrow.

Maybe buy two and put both on together!

DenMan

Yeah it looks great man. I want to start learning to surf. Unfortunately there is no aldi in Sligo where I am right now. His brother is here with lidl. They do get wetsuits in as well. Hopefully soon. Thanks for the post.

suppafly

They look half decent at least. I think i'll pick one up. I'm sure u can probably bring it back if it doesn't fit u properly. It doesn't seem to say how thick the wetsuits r on the that page. or maybe i missed it. anyone know?

Daibheid

I've owned and uses almost every kind of wetsuit - and a couple of dry-suits across a huge range of prices. As several people who actually wear wetsuits on here have already pointed out, fit is way more important than price.

More expensive does get you better cut, fit, jointing, quality materials etc. The question is how much quality do you need. fo a Summer shorty but teh cheapest you can get taht fits. If you're cold don't wear a shorty.

If you're doing something that's going to ahve you immersed a lot and outside of our 'Summer' you should plan on spending a bit more as quality does start to relate to warmth, comfort and flexibility.

If you just want to try a new watersport then these Aldi suits are great. If you advance you'll still always get some use out of a cheap suit - when the weather is warm or your €300 is away for repair.
I love the way availability of suits at these prices make it affordable for more people to try a watersport as that can only be good for everyone.

Gone West

xt40 wrote: »

i dont think you know what you are talking about. its a wetsuit , not a drysuit, water is supposed to get into it.
all wetsuits are made of neoprene which does not come in different qualities, just different thicknesses. the best thickness depends on the application. for surfing,jetskiing, in our type of climate where you need movement, thinner is better,shortie for summer,sleeves and legs for winter. for diving, thicker -upto 10mm is necessary but movement is much more restricted. the aldi ones are as good as any others

Thats incorrect actually, the neoprene composition %s, taped/vulcanised rubber/glued seams, flatlock stictching(crap), nylon backed neoprene, blindstitching and protective inner/outer veneer/sheen and so on. Every year new suits come out with new technologies in neoprene. What you are saying would be correct, perhaps in the early 90s. I have 5 or 6 wetsuits, different types and one of my 6/5/4 mm suits is more flexible than another 5/3 I have.

Water is not designed to rush inside the suit. Thats also incorrect to say that. Water should seep through the neoprene at a normal rate, and your wrist, neck and ankle seals should be generally fairly watertight. I am well aware of what a dry suit is. Your body warms up the water in the neoprene and only the tiniest film of water between you and the suit. In a good wetsuit, you shouldn't(and I don't) feel the water.

As for "the aldi ones are as good as any others" thats also, again, simply untrue.

These lidl jobs are 30 mins in the water, summer only jobs, and IMO not a bargain.

Moonbeam

If the wetsuit is not too big water will not rush in to it.

The Aldi one doesn't seem to mention the thickness on the ad.

I got one of the shortie lidl wet suits and found it fantastic for summer surfing (in Ireland) and kayaking,I did find you need to buy a size smaller then you think you need though.
I found it fantastic value for money.

For the winter and cold days I have a warm snug fleece lined one that cost me 10x the price I can't really compare them as they are different thicknesses and one is a full wet suit.

It depends what you are going to use it for really.

Sarunas

Got one this morning. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not yet. Its not tight at the wrists in any way-like finger gap loose. It could be me just having thin wrists for an XL suit.

c - 13

Sarunas wrote: »

Got one this morning. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not yet. Its not tight at the wrists in any way-like finger gap loose. It could be me just having thin wrists for an XL suit.

Probably not going to be worth a ****e to you then to be honest. Why dont you take it back and try a L ?

Sarunas

I'm 6' 3. I placed the L against me and it would need to strech alot in length for me to get into it.

suppafly

i bought one this morning too. They didn't have any L left when i went so i got an XL which a was too big. very baggy. The material felt really crap and cheap though. It was really thin too so i'd say it was maybe 2mm as it doesn't say on it anywhere what thickness it is. brought mine back too.

wendytravel1

last week i saw a few wetsuits on aldis rack...e mailed their advert from may... to my daughter in new york who wanted something waterproof... she ocean kayaks and jetski's there
just needs something to keep the cold ocean spray off her...i wasnt sure what to look for in a wet or drysuit.. been a lifetime since i've had 1 on ...i'm an over 50 ...anyway today while shopping there i noticed the suits went from about 43 down to 26...to clear ...so i grabbed the womans i thought would be too large but isnt. at that price and with their return policy in case it didnt fit...what did i have to lose?oh it's a keeper...there was 1 mens left in a large or x large there in listowel...this womens fit me pretty well like a glove...but i'm only 5 feet tall and need to alter cuff almost everything i wear ...she's taller...think it will do her ok enough...anyway i learned alot from the comments you all posted here...and wanted to thank you for your site comments;) ...it may or may not be as suitable for surfing but hoping it will be fine enough for what we need it for. has anyone here ever used one of these as a thermal layer for downhill skiing?thought i might try it out this winter on the slopes.let mr know if its a dumb idea...i ski... not crash.