BreakAtlas
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What wetsuit for this water?

Enter a water temperature and the chart below highlights the row. Or skip the calculator entirely — the whole table is right there, and every BreakAtlas spot page already carries the recommendation for the temperature its buoy measured this morning.

Water temperature

With JavaScript off, read the row you need straight from the table below — it holds the same information.

The chart

Water Celsius Suit Also
75 °F and warmer 23.9 °C and warmer Boardshorts or a swimsuit —
72–75 °F 22.2–23.9 °C Rash guard or a 1 mm top —
68–72 °F 20–22.2 °C 2 mm shorty or spring suit —
62–68 °F 16.7–20 °C 3/2 mm full suit —
58–62 °F 14.4–16.7 °C 4/3 mm full suit Boots help on longer sessions
52–58 °F 11.1–14.4 °C 4/3 or 5/4 mm full suit with boots Boots · Gloves on a long session
43–52 °F 6.1–11.1 °C 5/4/3 mm full suit, boots, gloves and a hood Boots · Gloves · Hood
below 43 °F below 6.1 °C 6/5 mm hooded suit, thick boots and gloves 7 mm boots · 5 mm gloves · Built-in hood

Brands draw these lines a degree or two apart from each other, so treat a boundary as a zone rather than a switch. If you are between two rows, the colder one plus a shorter session is the forgiving choice.

Where this comes from — and where it does not

The water temperature is a measurement. On every spot page it comes from an NDBC buoy or a NOAA CO-OPS station, and the page names which one and when it was read.

The suit recommendation is a convention. It is the common ground between the manufacturers' own charts, and no agency publishes it. That distinction runs through this whole site, and it would be dishonest to blur it here just because a number sits next to a recommendation.

What the chart does not know

  • Wind. An offshore breeze on a wet suit pulls heat far faster than the water number suggests.
  • How long you stay in. A 45-minute session and a four-hour one are not the same decision.
  • How you run. Cold tolerance differs between people by more than a full suit thickness.
  • How hard you paddle. A slow longboard day gets cold long before a hard beach-break session does.
  • Suit condition and fit. A flushing suit with worn seals is a thinner suit than the label says.

Cold water is a hazard, not a comfort problem. Sudden immersion below roughly 60 °F can trigger cold shock — an involuntary gasp and a rapid loss of breath control — in the first minute, before any question of hypothermia arises. Enter gradually, surf with other people, and treat a suit as a way to extend a session rather than a licence to ignore how cold you are getting. More in the safety disclaimer.

What the water is doing today

Measured this morning at 75 spots. Warmest right now is Key West at 87.4 °F; coldest is Ocean Beach at 59.5 °F. That is 28 degrees and two entirely different suits.

Boardshorts or a swimsuit 75 °F and warmer

Rash guard or a 1 mm top 72–75 °F

2 mm shorty or spring suit 68–72 °F

3/2 mm full suit 62–68 °F

4/3 mm full suit 58–62 °F

Each temperature above is a reading from that spot's station, taken this morning. Open a spot page to see which station, and at what time.

Common questions

What wetsuit do I need for 58 °F water?
A 4/3 mm full suit is the usual answer at 58 °F (14 °C), and most people want boots on a longer session. 58 °F sits right at the bottom of the 4/3 band — a degree colder and the 5/4 with boots becomes the safer pick.
Is 60 degree water cold for surfing?
Yes, cold enough to need a full suit. At 60 °F (16 °C) a 4/3 mm suit is standard. Unprotected immersion at that temperature triggers cold shock in many people within the first minute, which is why the entry matters more than the session.
When do I need boots, gloves and a hood?
Boots come first, usually below about 58 °F. Gloves follow below roughly 52 °F, and a hood below about 43 °F. Heat leaves fastest through the head and hands, so a hood buys more warmth per millimetre than a thicker suit body does.
What does 4/3 mean on a wetsuit?
Two thicknesses in one suit: 4 mm neoprene over the torso, 3 mm on the arms and legs. The thicker core keeps heat where it matters, the thinner limbs keep you able to paddle. A 5/4/3 adds a third number for the arms.
Does the chart account for wind?
No. That is its biggest blind spot. An offshore wind on a wet suit pulls heat far faster than the water temperature alone suggests, and the same 62 °F morning can feel like two different days depending on it.

Built and checked by Christoph Ballmer. The chart is guidance, not a safety rating — what this site can and cannot tell you.