Wrist and ankle zips: why our wetsuits don't have them
It's a question we get by email all the time, especially from coastal walking enthusiasts: "why don't your jackets and wetsuits have zips at the wrists?" The answer is simple: it's a design decision, not an oversight. And that decision has real consequences for warmth, flexibility and how well your gloves work.
Here is the full technical reasoning — including what a wrist zip genuinely does bring, because it does bring something — and why we chose to solve the problem differently.
What does a wrist zip actually do?
A zip at the wrist or ankle has exactly one function: to make the suit easier to put on. Opening up the end of the sleeve or leg widens the passage, so the hand or foot slides through without forcing.
That solution exists for a specific reason: it compensates for neoprene that lacks stretch. On a low-stretch foam, a close-fitting wrist becomes a bottleneck, and the user forces it — until a seam lifts or the lining tears. So the zip is a fix. It answers a material constraint, not a need you have once you're in the water.
That's why you find it everywhere on so-called "easy-entry" wetsuits, often marketed to beginners and to people with limited shoulder mobility. The intention is sound. The trade-off is rarely explained.
The three problems a zip at the extremities creates
1. Water entry exactly where it costs the most
A neoprene wetsuit doesn't keep you dry: it traps a thin film of water that your body warms up. The whole point is to stop that warmed water from being constantly replaced by cold water. That's flushing.
A zip is, by its very nature, a break in the material. It doesn't stretch, it doesn't sit against the skin the way neoprene does, and its teeth create a channel. Placed at the wrist or ankle — precisely where water gets in — it works against the wetsuit's primary function.
In coastal walking this is far from a detail: you spend most of the session standing, arms in the water, pushing against it. Your wrists are submerged and working continuously, with every paddle or arm stroke. It's the worst possible place for an opening.
2. A stiff spot on a joint that never stops moving
Wrists and ankles move constantly. Adding a rigid band several centimetres long creates a hard point: a section that doesn't follow the movement, that pinches, and that eventually marks the skin on long sessions.
The principle is exactly the one that pushed surfers away from the full back zip: a zip doesn't stretch. The fewer you have — and the shorter they are, and the less mobile the area they sit on — the better the suit follows the body.
3. Incompatibility with gloves and boots
This is the most underestimated point, and the one that causes the most trouble in winter. A neoprene glove works by overlap: its cuff slides under or over the wetsuit's wrist to form a watertight overlap, with no folds.
A wrist zip breaks that overlap. It adds bulk, creates a rigid thickness under the glove, and above all leaves a channel for water to rush in every time the arm goes under. The result: cold hands despite decent gloves. Same logic at the ankle with boots.
If you go out in cold water, this is exactly where your thermal comfort is won or lost — far more than a tenth of a millimetre of neoprene thickness.
Our choice: material stretchy enough not to need a zip
Rather than adding an opening to compensate for a stiff material, we worked the other way round: selecting neoprenes stretchy enough that hands and feet pass through without effort and without risk to the product.
The direct consequence: across our whole range, wrists and ankles are continuous cuffs. No interrupted seam, no teeth, no added thickness. The neoprene sits against the skin all the way around the wrist and does its job as a barrier. It's a more demanding solution to develop and a more expensive one in material terms — but it solves the problem instead of moving it elsewhere.
Custom fit: up to 6 cm you can trim yourself
One reality remains: no standard sleeve length suits everyone. A long arm, a short arm, a preference for a cuff that sits higher or stops right at the base of the hand — these are differences of several centimetres from one person to the next.
So we built that margin into the pattern: you can shorten wrists and ankles by up to 6 cm, in 2 cm steps. Neoprene doesn't fray: a clean cut stays clean over time, with no overlocking or special finishing.
How to cut cleanly
- Cut 2 cm at a time, maximum — never the full 6 cm in one go. The cut is permanent.
- Try the suit on between each step, and if you wear gloves or boots, try those too: your final length should be guided by the glove/cuff overlap, not by how it looks dry.
- Use sharp scissors (sewing scissors, or a craft knife on a cutting board), and cut in one continuous motion, parallel to the existing edge. A jagged cut weakens the material.
- Mark your line first with erasable marker or tailor's chalk, with the suit laid flat.
- When in doubt, cut less. You can always take another 2 cm; the reverse doesn't exist.
What if you're not flexible enough to get the suit on?
That's a fair objection, and we're not brushing it aside. Plenty of coastal walkers come to neoprene after 50, with limited shoulder mobility, and getting the suit on is a genuine issue.
But the right answer to that problem isn't a wrist zip: it's the entry system and the cut. A wide, well-placed opening, free shoulders, and above all a pattern designed for real body shapes rather than competition physiques — that's what makes a wetsuit easy to get into without sacrificing its seal. That's the logic behind our Rivage range for coastal walking, whose cut and entry system are designed specifically for this activity.
Put another way: you don't trade five more comfortable minutes getting changed for a colder hour and a half in the water.
A note on drysuits
One clarification, because the confusion is common. Drysuits (used in diving or sailing) are fitted with wrist seals in latex, silicone or smooth neoprene. Their logic is the opposite: the goal is to keep all water out, with significant compression at the wrist.
That's not the same product, nor the same thermal principle. A wetsuit works with the water, not against it. Transposing drysuit solutions onto it makes no sense.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really cut the sleeves of my wetsuit?
Yes, up to 6 cm, in 2 cm steps. The margin is built into the pattern. Cleanly cut neoprene doesn't fray.
Does a wrist zip really let water in?
A zip is a break in the material that doesn't sit against the skin the way neoprene does. Placed at the wrist — an area that's permanently submerged — it's a thermal weak point, and increasingly so as the zip ages and the neoprene around it loosens.
How do I put on a wetsuit with no wrist zips?
Work your arms and legs through gradually, without pulling on the cuff edge: roll the material up your forearm in small movements. Never force it with your fingernails. Either dry skin and dry suit, or wet skin and wet suit — it's mixing the two that makes it stick.
What about the ankles?
Same principle, same trimming margin. Set the length while wearing your boots, so the leg covers the boot shaft without folding.
In short
A wrist zip solves one entry problem by creating three usage problems: water entry, a stiff spot, and incompatibility with gloves. We chose to address the cause — material stretch and cut — rather than the symptom, and to leave the final adjustment in your hands with 6 cm of margin at wrists and ankles.
It's a deliberate choice. We stand by it, and it proves itself above all in winter, an hour and a half into the session.
Discover our Rivage wetsuits for coastal walking and our 2 mm neoprene neck warmer, designed to the same logic.