What makes a good wetsuit liner?
Fleece is the warm soft and fuzzy material that you generally find in wetsuits made for colder waters. This fabric contributes to the suit by easing entry as well as adding an extra layer of thermal protection. Your body heats air more efficiently than it heats water so the tall loops of this fabric provide millions of little air pockets to effectively keep you warm. Since the fleece is the layer that is in direct contact with your skin it should have a soft texture. Opting to use this material on the inside of the suit allows you the opportunity to add features to your suit that a bare neoprene suit cannot provide, such as: Anti bacteria, anti odor, far infrared, etc.
Since fleece liners have more bulk than jersey (see below) it is even more important that this material be knitted and processed with special materials to help it not to absorb too much water and to quickly eject the water that it does absorb. A poor wetsuit liner will absorb and hold a lot of water causing you to feel weighed down and sluggish in the water and take ages to dry. This means that your suit will be heavy and icy cold upon re-entry if you remove your suit between sessions. A poorly made jersey fabric will suffer from this too but it will be more apparent in pile / fleece fabrics.
Any material that stretches less than the neoprene that the suit is made of will limit the movement of the wearer. This goes for both the inner and out liner. It is important to match the neoprene and the lining so that one is not the limiting factor to the other. It is a balancing act finding a fast drying and warm wetsuit liner that is also stretchy because there is often some give and take. With economy big lot cookie cutter materials there is usually more take than give.
At Nankaigosen we use a patented knitting technique that gives our fleece incredible stretch. From there it just comes down to sourcing high quality materials and experience to get the rest right. Take a look below to see some pile wetsuit liners that we sell wholesale. Request a sample to see them in hand because pictures and figures do not do these materials justice.
A good wetsuit pile liner should:
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STRETCH AS MUCH OR MORE THAN THE NEOPRENE
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NOT ABSORB A LOT OF WATER
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DRY QUICKLY
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HAVE LOW THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
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FEEL GOOD ON THE SKIN
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DO SOMETHING EXTRA (FAR INFRARED, ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTI-ODOR, ETC.)
Jersey is the highly stretchable, ultra thin, and protective layer of the wetsuit. It can be used as both an inner and outer liner. Used as the inner liner, it helps to make getting in and out of the suit easier because of the smooth tight texture of the knit. This layer is very thin so it is usually not used for the express purpose off adding thermal insulation. Extra function can be added to this fabric however. ( Far infrared, anti bacterial, anti-odor, etc.)
Used as the outer liner this fabric serves to protect the fragile and easy to rip neoprene.
Jersey's most notable feature is its very high stretchability.
When it comes to surfing and diving the durability factor is very important. A jersey that uses poor quality yarns or knit will run (think nylons) or get little fuzzy lint balls on the surface called pilling. Using high quality materials will generally solve this problem however.
A good wetsuit jersey liner should:
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HAVE EXCELLENT STRETCH
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BE DURABLE
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DRY QUICKLY
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ALLOW EASY CHANGING
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DO SOMETHING EXTRA (FAR INFRARED, ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTI-ODOR, ETC.)
JERSEY
PILE
