Extend your summer with a Subea SCD diving wetsuit
Before I was a dad, I used to regularly surf on the Yorkshire Coast, from early May until late November every year. The weather was often terrible and as I was getting into or out of my wetsuit, passers-by would often make remarks like, “I bet you’re freezing out there, aren’t you?”
“I bet I’m warmer than you are,” I’d always answer, and I wasn’t being argumentative either. It was completely true. Once I was in my suit and moving around in the water I would be as warm as toast, and the only parts of me that really felt the cold were my hands and feet after a couple of hours.
So, I knew a bit about the importance of a good wetsuit when Harrison developed a love of paddle sports and was in a local lake with his club in the colder months.
Having the suit also meant that when we went to the seaside with family friends, he was comfortable no matter how long he stayed in the sea. These friends asked few questions about Harrison’s wetsuit, and what to look for, and pretty soon they had quality wetsuits too.
But ten-year-old Ella, who has congenital heart disease, feels the cold more than her brother and our friends’ children. She would often end up missing out because she couldn’t stay as warm in the water as they did, especially outside of the warmest months.
So, this year I looked into the warmest possible wetsuits for kids and discovered the Subea 5.5mm SCD 500 diving wetsuit, from Decathlon. It’s fair to say that the wetsuit has been amazing for Ella, really allowing her to stay in the water for much longer, without the shivering and chattering teeth that she used to get after thirty minutes or so.
The Subea SCD 500 is marketed as a diving wetsuit and, at 5.5mm it was the thickest wetsuit I could find for children and it also has an integrated hood, for extra warmth. There is a 7mm version for adults too, but this doesn’t seem to be available in kids’ sizes. Though to be fair, for Ella a 7mm wetsuit would have been too thick, because the thicker the material the harder it is to move freely. While 7mm is great for scuba diving, or free diving, 5.5mm is probably better for splashing around and having fun in temperate waters, like the UK’s sea.
The material is great quality and uses 100% stretch neoprene, which allows her good flexibility when she’s in it. We were at the coast this weekend and Ella and her friends were playing on our paddle boards, jumping from one board to the other, running along the boards, jumping off the boards and generally having fun in the water, as much as they were paddling. She wasn’t restricted in any way, even though the wetsuit is a snug fit. A snug fit is important in a wetsuit, because they work by trapping a thin layer of water against the skin, which the body then warms up.
But a good wetsuit has to be more than just thick and snug fitting. Seams are important too, as these are what prevent fresh cold water flushing away the warm water that’s trapped against your body. The Subea SCD 500 has seams that are glued and blind-stitched, which keep water seepage to a minimum and doesn’t let in fresh cold water.
A couple of other things to remember is that while wetsuits are primarily for maintaining body warmth in cold water, they’re great as a protective barrier against sunburn or jellyfish stings. They’re also great for saving knees and elbows from being scraped on rocks. I like the fact that the Subea SCD 500 has reinforced knees, to protect Ella’s knees – and the wetsuit – from scrapes. Most importantly – for parents at least – wetsuits are great for buoyancy, and a nice thick wetsuit is almost as good as a buoyancy aid, especially in salt water.
For Ella the wetsuit has given her the means to play for longer in the sea with her friends, she was in the sea for well over two hours this weekend and it wasn’t exactly tropical. She isn’t keen on wearing hoods in general and hasn’t used the hood of the Subea SCD yet. This does mean that it’s not being used to its full potential, but she can be stubborn about these things. What she does love is that the wetsuit can be loosened at the rear and on the legs so getting it on and off is much easier than many wetsuits.
For me, it was affordable, but great quality. It protects Ella, keeps her comfortable and seems durable. I’d have happily paid more than the retail price, because seeing Ella having fun with her friends has been priceless and it’s allowing us to extend the fantastic summer of 2025. We’ll be travelling to the coast as often as we can well into October and have a trip to Rhosneigr in North Wales booked in the half term holidays. The sea temperature there is often 15 or 16 degrees in late October and that’s three degrees warmer than it was on the Yorkshire Coast when we first tried the Subea wetsuit.
Ella, Harrison and their friends can’t wait.
