Product Review: Aqua Lung Galaxy Wetsuit for Women
When it comes to any gear you purchase, especially for extreme sports such as scuba diving, safety, practicality and performance should always be the primary concerns. While it is always nice to have equipment that looks good too, functionality should always be the priority. However, when you find a product that meets all these requirements and looks amazing whilst doing it - that is definitely a piece of gear to enjoy!
The Aqua Lung Aquaflex 5mm Wetsuit with Galaxy Print is certainly one of those pieces of gear that looks amazing, but does it also meet those other performance and safety requirements? A wetsuit is primarily designed to keep you warm and be comfortable enough that you have unrestricted movement wearing it and is easy to put on and take off. This review looks at the Galaxy Wetsuit for Women to see whether that is the case!
Fit & Sizing
Firstly, the design and fit of the Galaxy wetsuit is awesome for many reasons. It is designed for women, it’s not just a smaller male wetsuit. It is sized for us ranging from size 4 to 18 and some sizes also come in petite and tall, meaning it is really easy to find the right size and fit for you (something very important when fitting a westuit).
The seam lines are strategically placed to flatter us and also to provide as little restriction of movement as possible. The neoprene they use is 4 way stretch so it is very pliant and stretches both lengthwise and crosswise, allowing the wearer excellent range of motion and flexibility, whether on the surface or underwater. The neoprene material that’s used is the base layer and nylon out and inner layers are then added to this. the outer nylon material is made to resist wear and tear, while the inner nylon layer is exceptionally soft. Together with the pre-bent legs it makes putting your wetsuit on and taking it off an absolute breeze. The suit comes with a standard back entry zipper with a long leash that is easy to reach.
Ultimately this wetsuit is very comfortable and a good fit. The suit feels snug and secure like a good wetsuit should, with plenty of flexibility and movement and without feeling constricting or uncomfortable.
Performance, Quality & Warmth
This is Aqua Lung’s top performance wetsuit that they offer. You would expect that to come with high quality materials and plenty of durability and that is exactly what you get.
The wrist cuffs are an exclusive design to Aqua Lung. Most wetsuit cuffs are finished with edge tape which restricts the stretchiness of the cuff. The X-tend cuff technology gives the cuff a finished look without sacrificing the stretchiness. The knee pads are made out of Supratex, which helps protect those key areas of the suit that get a lot of use when you kneel on the bottom of the pool or seabed.
The neck seal provides you with a comfortable. close fit around the neck, that effectively keeps water out. The three-way zipper is also designed to keep water out. The suit has a spine pad built in to help cushion the zipper seal. It also has kidney pads which help to insulate this high heat loss area located in your abdomen. The seams on the suit are glued and blind-stitched sealed which make them more durable. The glue Aqua Lung uses is water based which is a good environmental choice. This all means that the suit is incredibly warm and incredibly effective at sealing water.
Another aspect of the suit that I love is it is also an environmentally friendly choice. Aqua Lung’s neoprene is not petroleum based and free of PAHs ( Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) which are found in coal and tar deposits and are known carcinogenics. One of the essential ingredients of of neoprene can now be made from scrap rubber tires. This makes it more environmentally conscious and easier to recycle while keeping an excellent quality of neoprene with plenty of stretch.
The wetsuit comes in 3 different thicknesses: 7mm, 5mm and 3mm. I use the 5mm, which keeps me toast warm when i am diving in the pool or going diving in warmer waters. It also makes a great general use watersports wetsuit for when i go in the ocean in BC (but only in the summer and fall - its back to the drysuit for winter!).
All in all this does feel and perform like a premium wetsuit and its an absolute pleasure to wear and use.
Looks
For the fashionistas among us scuba divers, the wetsuit it is a colorful pink and purple galaxy design with a black core. It is quite literally out of this world! Whilst looking amazing on the surface or chilling on the beach, it also makes you instantly recognizable when under water. The simple black neoprene core, which looks slimming and streamlined obviously gets covered up when you wear a BCD, but this leaves the galaxy print on the sleeves and cuffs to really stand out. With it being quite difficult to find wetsuits with bright colors, and not the simple plain all-black neoprene that most people wear, having a unique and stylish print such as this is really great!
Price
The Galaxy Wetsuit is at the mid-to-high price range for a wetsuit. However the high-quality materials and design really make it a wetsuit that is worth the money. For the performance, comfort and warmth it provides it is worth the investment. Plus, it is worth a little extra to get the incredible galaxy print and be able to stand out when you next go diving. I don’t mind paying a bit extra if the wetsuit works and makes me look and feel amazing!
Conclusion
Simply put, this is a wetsuit that an environmentally conscious fashionista female who loves being comfortable and warm will love!
