I was using my husband’s old wetsuit for 1.5 years before I finally bought my first tailored wetsuit. The old one was, by this time, paper thin, had a huge rip in the seat of the bottom part of the suit and ripped down the side of the top. Needless to say, I was exceptionally excited to buy my first proper freediving wetsuit, made specifically for ME. The reason I had chosen Polosub is that my husband had a 5.5mm suit by them, and loved the quality and price. We lived in Dahab at the time and saw many different brands of wetsuits go in and out of the Blue Hole; Polosub seemed to be the one that held up the longest?? and was highly recommended by everyone who owned one.
First Impressions
It’s a good-looking suit. Seriously good looking. Polosub is written in white letters on the chest in a cool and fun font, and down the right leg as well. It looks very well built; the stitching looks sturdy, and there is added protection on the hood, wrists, and ankles from the inevitable fraying that happened to my previous wetsuit. I also ordered my wetsuit with nylon on the inside rather than the standard open cell, so that the suit would be more durable and reversible (my husband and I wear nylon on the outside while teaching freediving courses), and the nylon is quite stretchy and comfortable against the skin. It also fits like a glove; Polosub asks for 22 measurements for women and, luckily for me, has videos showing how to take each measurement, which is truly helpful. Without the videos, many people (including myself) would most likely take the measurements the wrong way, earning them a poorly-fitted wetsuit.
Truly Customizable
This suit offers so many customizations that the spearos out there will weep with joy. You can choose between simple Velcro, Velcro with a buckle, single frog, or double frog fastenings; I chose the single frog, as it effectively makes the wetsuit reversible. Polosub has customizable reinforcements on the internal chest, elbows, and knees, and the option to add a pee tube or turn the bottoms into long johns. I also asked for nylon instead of an open cell in my wetsuit; Polosub had no problem with that, and they did not charge me for it.
Unfortunately, this suit is lacking in selection for solid colors, since dark gray is the only option available, although they do offer different styles of camouflage in brown, green, red, and blue. This was not a problem for me since I have seen plenty of brightly colored smooth skin wetsuits lose their color after some use, so I prefer dark gray smooth skin, myself. Most of these customizations are geared towards spearos, but the option for fastenings is really useful for turning your suit into a reversible suit, or if you are picky about how it closes. Anything we asked for, if it was possible, Polosub did it for us.
Performance
Polosub’s smooth skin wetsuit is very well insulated and keeps you toasty warm. It is a little less flexible than some of the wetsuits out there, so you might feel a bit restricted, but it does not impact performance. The hood covers the head very well, the chin and most of your forehead are completely covered as long as the measurements are correct, so you will have very little of your face exposed. This is excellent for colder temperatures and also offers more coverage in the event that there are tons of stinging creatures in the water with you (which definitely applies to us in the Philippines).
Final Thoughts
I have not had my own suit for very long, but my husband has had his Polosub smooth skin wetsuit for 1.5 years, training usually 2-3 times a week in it. The smooth skin is very resilient, there are no traces of it has come off in any area of the suit. The wrists, ankles, and hood, which usually start to fray if not reinforced on other wetsuits, are perfectly intact on the Polosub smooth skin wetsuit and remain taut and snug. This suit also seems to be less fragile than other wetsuits my husband has owned; of course, there have been some tears that needed gluing, but these are more from accidents than from general wear and tear and old age.
Lastly, the price is seriously competitive compared to other custom-made freediving wetsuits. I really appreciate the fact that Polosub is a small company and pays attention to detail, along with being very personable and having excellent customer service. They really stand out compared to big companies who mass-produce tons of wetsuits, and you know that every wetsuit that comes from them was stitched (or glued) with love and care.
Key Features
- Customizable fastenings: simple Velcro, Velcro with buckle, single frog, or double frog
- Customizable internal chest, elbows, and knees reinforcements
- Ability to add a pee tube or make the bottoms long johns
- The suit originally comes with an open cell inside, but you can request nylon instead for no extra cost
- No stitching involved if you choose open cell on the inside, only special neoprene glue
- Comes in black or various styles of camouflage in brown, green, red, or blue
- Comes in a variety of thicknesses: 3.5mm, 5.5mm, 6.5mm, 7.5mm, 8.5mm, 9.5mm
Price
Complete wetsuit in dark gray outside of the EU:
- 3.5mm – ~$230 USD / €201 EUR / ~£176 GBP
- 5.5mm – ~$247 USD / €217 EUR / ~£190 GBP
- 7.5mm – ~$266 USD / €232 EUR / ~£204 GBP
Price for buying the wetsuit inside of the EU is subject to EU VAT
