SUP: Fun and function – GlideSoul women’s 3/2mm wetsuit review

There’s a raft of new wetsuit companies popping up who are injecting colour and style back into a market that’s been predominantly bland – in terms of aesthetics – for what seems like years. Black rubber maybe be top drawer in terms of keeping you toasty but there’s definitely a lack of visual flair. Enter GlideSoul who are aiming squarely at being noticed as well as producing technical, performance orientated products combined with bold colourways.

The 3/2mm full suit we tested is actually one of the more knocked back styles offered by GlideSoul. Punctuated by fluro yellow and black and white leopard skin neoprene our female tester preferred this to some of the brand’s other models on offer as it was a little more understate for her tastes – everyone has different preferences after all.

But don’t get us wrong GlideSoul wetties are more than style over substance. Their 3/2mm is a proper technical piece of kit and perfect for low air temp sweeping – even shoulder seasons. The suit fits snugly and flatters female body shapes. We doff our caps to the smooth skin neck seal which makes for easy glide during fitting – it’s super easy to get on. Diamond accents on the inside of wrists and ankles make pushing feet and hands through a doddle and the neoprene itself offers stretch and flex to accommodate fully extended paddle strokes, twists and SUP contortions. BAB Supratex knee reinforcements are a great addition and will help when scrambling on and off boards.

Being a double lined neoprene suit there’s a degree of evaporative cooling after immersion. During warmer months this shouldn’t be too much of an issue and it’s certainly a robust and durable wetty that straddles multiple SUP environments. For us GlideSoul’s 3/2mm full suit comes into its own if you’re hitting the surf, downwinding or practising any kind of SUP where you may be in the water a fair bit.

Conclusion

Visually stunning and with a style and cut that flatters women stand ups GlideSoul’s 3/2mm full wetsuit is a high end technical bit of kit that has more to it than aesthetics alone. A bunch of well thought out technical features lend it to SUP athletes while remaining applicable for everyday paddlers. We loved the suit and like the fact brands such as GlideSoul are aiming squarely at the female wetsuit market and doing so in fine form.

Price: £169

Info: http://uk.glidesoul.com/en/shop/product/full-wetsuit-32-mm/