How to Choose the Best Technical Apparel for Your Watersport How to Choose the Best Technical Apparel for Your Watersport
30 Jun, 2025
How to Choose the Best Technical Apparel for Your Watersport

Ensuring you have the right gear for your sport is imperative to maximise your performance and enjoyment on the water. Vaikobi’s comprehensive range of sport-specific, technical watersports apparel offers adaptable gear suitable for the individual requirements of every athlete, but how do you ensure that you have the optimum setup for your needs?


Gear for Paddling

Your type/discipline of paddling affects your stance, which influences the gear you need:

For sit-down athletes, such as surfskiers, kayakers and dragon boat paddlers, exposure to sea spray can drastically affect your comfort on the water. Vaikobi’s range of VDRY vests and jackets keep athletes dry without restricting arm movement, and when combined with a pair of VCOLD thermal pants, any paddler can ensure a comfortable session regardless of weather and session intensity. 

Typically, sit-down paddlers who wear normal boardshorts whilst paddling find that a large portion of their back is exposed due to their top layers riding up, leading to significant discomfort. Both Vaikobi’s paddle pants and shorts are high-waisted, meaning that athletes can ensure their back will be covered throughout the session.

For upright paddlers, such as SUP athletes, adequate footwear, such as neoprene boots or socks, is imperative to maintain warmth and stability whilst paddling, whilst also avoiding cuts to the feet when entering and exiting the water. For those SUP paddlers who tend to get hot or are paddling in hot climates, Vaikobi’s UV Ocean Tech Tees are heat and moisture-wicking, meaning athletes can stay protected from the sun without overheating. Read more about SUP-specific gear here.


The conditions or climate affect the paddling gear you need:

Ensuring you maintain a good body temperature throughout the duration of your on-water session is imperative in ensuring optimum performance and comfort. Vaikobi’s extensive paddle collection allows athletes to choose the right gear based on the climate they paddle in, with the VCOLD range available in tops and bottoms of variable thickness to maintain warmth throughout a session whilst preventing overheating. Read more about Vaikobi’s VCOLD pants here.

For those paddling in warmer climates, Vaikobi’s paddle shorts and boardies allow optimum flexibility and temperature control, with built-in seat pads for added comfort.


Gear for Dinghy Sailing

Your role in your boat affects the sailing gear you need:

The class of boat you sail and your position significantly affect the clothing you need to ensure comfort without hindering performance. 

For dynamic skiff crews who require flexibility and reactiveness throughout the boat, high-performance athletes pair Vaikobi’s long-john wetsuits with the Speed-Grip Flex Boots, available in multiple thicknesses and styles, so athletes can tailor gear to their preferences. 

For both skippers and crews who wear trapeze harnesses, close-fitting apparel that doesn’t interfere with your maneuvers and movements through the boat is imperative in ensuring that your gear doesn’t affect your performance. The VXI and VX life jackets are designed specifically for these athletes, with the slimline, high-chest design minimising the chance of hardware snags, providing the ability for sailors to move dynamically through the boat.

For skippers in both skiff and dinghy classes that require less dynamic movement, Vaikobi’s Hiker Force Suit provides extra padding to support long days spent hiking, with an adjustable fit to suit comfort preferences. Read more about how to choose the thickness of your sailing wetsuit here.

For all sailors, the versatility of the Vaikobi sailing cap range allows sailors to choose their headwear based on their preferences and role, with the Performance Visors and Ocean Active caps better suited to dynamic sailors due to their slimline designs, and the wide-brim Downwind surf hats more suited to more static skippers. 

Click here for more information on critical gear for dinghy sailors. 


If you sail in summer and in winter, you need versatile gear:

With the key to year-round sailing being layering, Vaikobi’s VCOLD technical apparel collection offers a range of clothing tailored specifically to sailors who perform in a variety of climates. This allows athletes to maintain use of top and bottom base-layers in both summer and winter, and simply add further layers in colder months based on the air and water temperature of the location. Read more about sailing wetsuits here.


Gear for Surfing

Do I need a wetsuit for surfing?

Comfort whilst surfing comes almost entirely down to your choice of apparel relative to the climate of your surf spot. Vaikobi’s surf collection allows surfers to stay comfortable in the water year-round, with surf wetsuits, rash vests and thermal tops available in a variety of thicknesses and styles. This allows athletes to vary their kit across all seasons, layering thermal tops under a wetsuit during colder months, with thin UV rash shirts reserved for hotter months. Read more about wetsuit layering here.


What gear can keep me safe in the surf?

Surfing introduces significant hazards to an athlete, with anything from excessive UV exposure to sharp reefs and rocks. For those surfing in sunny locations with high UV exposure, Vaikobi’s Downwind Surf Hat provides ample protection from the sun, increasing the longevity of your session whilst minimising the potential for adverse sun damage whilst in the water. For those surfing at reef breaks with sharp bottoms, the VCOLD Neoprene Boots provide protection from nasty reef cuts without minimising performance, the neoprene maintaining flexibility in the athlete’s feet and ankles. See here for more information regarding apparel for seasonal surfing.


Gear for Foiling

What type of clothing do I need for my foilsport?

Foiling apparel varies significantly based on the type of foiling you do and how much time you spend exposed to the elements. For a foil surfer who often needs to paddle, a more comprehensive neoprene wetsuit such as a Vaikobi 4/3 Steamer provides ample warmth throughout the whole session, whether you’re pumping hard or paddling back out to the break. 

For downwind foilers who are upright their whole session, technical equipment such as Vaikobi’s VCOLD thermal collection allows athletes performing in cold climates to warm up, without overheating or restricting movement, or the UV rashies allow athletes foiling in warmer climates to avoid overheating due to the high intensity of the sport.

Across both disciplines, the flexible wide-brim of the Downwind Surf Hat allows foilers to maintain protection from the sun without the nuisance of a hard-brimmed cap that increases the risk of gear snags and impact injuries, a common occurrence due to the high-intensity of foilsports. Shop foiling apparel here.

Vaikobi’s sport-specific technical watersports apparel collections allow athletes to tailor their equipment based on the climate, their positioning in the vessel and their flexibility and comfort preferences. For functional and stylish gear to suit your individual needs, shop by sport today.

 

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