Start with the size chart on each product page. Chest and height are the two measurements that matter most for spearfishing and freediving suits. If you're between sizes, size up if you're stockier through the chest, size down if you're leaner.

The hooded jackets are cut close to seal in body heat — a snug-but-not-restrictive fit is what you're aiming for, not a baggy "I can move a lot" feel. A well-fitted suit shouldn't have visible water gaps at the neck, wrists, or ankles.

Yes. Most Waihana wetsuits offer ML-T (medium-long, tall) and other extended sizing options. Check the size dropdown on each product page for what's available in that specific model and thickness.

We'll exchange unworn product, subject to a 15% restocking fee. The most important thing: don't dive in it if you're not sure about the fit. Once a suit's been in the water, we can't take it back at all.

See our Return / Refund Policy for the full process.

It comes down to water temperature, dive duration, and personal cold tolerance. A rough guide:

• 1.5mm — warm tropical water (78°F+), short surface intervals, sun protection
• 3.5mm — warm-to-temperate (72–78°F), most tropical dive scenarios
• 5.5mm — temperate water (62–72°F), the everyday workhorse for cooler conditions
• 7.5mm or hybrid — cold water (under 65°F), long dives, working dives in challenging conditions

If you tend to run cold or you're going to be in the water for hours rather than minutes, size up the thickness rather than down. The thinner suit will save weight but cost you bottom time.

A "true" 7.5mm has 7.5mm neoprene throughout the jacket and trouser. A hybrid (like the Tropicam 5.5/7.5mm) uses 7.5mm on the legs and lower torso for warmth, and 5.5mm on the upper bib and shoulders for mobility.

The hybrid trades a small amount of warmth for noticeably better range of motion when loading a speargun, duck-diving, or working through a long surface interval. For most applications it's the better balance.

Waihana wetsuits are designed for spearfishing, freediving, and surf — disciplines that prioritize stretch, mobility, and warmth at relatively shallow-to-mid depths. The construction is built around those use cases.

They can be used for recreational SCUBA at modest depths, but for deep technical diving or heavy SCUBA gear loadouts, you'll want a suit specifically engineered for those demands.

Different tools for different conditions:

• Full wetsuit — the answer when warmth is the question. 1.5mm to 7.5mm depending on conditions.
• Rear-zip surf top — 1.5mm shoulder-season warmth in a low-profile cut. For surfers and watermen who want core warmth without the bulk of a full suit.
• Rashguard — the dive-day or surf-day layer when a wetsuit is more than you need. Sun protection, mild warmth, abrasion resistance against your boardshort waistband and your speargun.

A thin reflective layer applied to the inside of the suit that bounces your body's radiant heat back toward you instead of letting it dissipate into the neoprene. The result is meaningful warmth retention without adding bulk.

Different Waihana collections use different variants — Gold (Goliath Grouper), Silver (Brushstroke, Kajiki), Jade (Tropicam), and Charcoal (Tropicam Black). Each is part of that collection's warmth profile.

The exterior 7mm chest loading pad takes the butt of a speargun when you reload underwater. Without it, you're loading directly against your sternum — uncomfortable at best, bruising at worst.

The reinforcement also adds durability where the suit takes the most repeated stress over a working dive day.

Yamamoto is a Japanese manufacturer of premium limestone-based neoprene known worldwide for warmth, stretch, and durability — widely considered the gold standard in the industry.

Waihana uses Yamamoto 40 (YAM40) on select premium models, currently the Fishbone Impact 5/4 Steamer and the Fishbone Impact Spring Suit. The rest of the catalog uses our eco-friendly Performance Neoprene, also a high-quality limestone-based build engineered for professional waterman use.

For a dive knife, line cutter, or anything else you want one-handed access to without breaking your hunting position. The pocket on Waihana's tactical and premium suits uses a Fidlock Snap buckle — magnetic-assisted, secure, openable with one hand and a glove on.

Position is on the right thigh, where most divers find it most natural to reach.

Magnetic Fidlock clips close one-handed by feel and are the easier choice for everyday dives, including in tropical conditions where you're getting in and out of the suit often.

Classic mechanical clips have no moving electronics or magnets to fail at depth in cold water, which is why some of our coldest-water builds (like the Tropicam Black 7.5mm) use them. Operator-grade simplicity. Both close securely; the choice is about reliability profile vs. convenience.

It's about the inside surface of the neoprene, and it changes how you get the suit on.

• Closed-cell — cloth-lined inside. Slides on dry, no lubricant needed. Our Ranger Green and Essentials lines are built this way.
• Open-cell — raw titanium-lined neoprene against the skin. It seals to you for noticeably better warmth, but it grips when dry and has to be lubricated to put on. Goliath Grouper, Tropicam, and most of the rest of the catalog are open-cell.

For open-cell, use a water-based lubricant — a capful of hair conditioner or mild dish soap in a bottle of water is the standard mix. Never force a dry open-cell suit on. Fingernails and jewelry go through that interior easily, and handling damage of that kind isn't eligible for return.

Each product page notes which construction that suit uses.

Rinse with fresh, cool water after every use — inside and out. Hang on a wide hanger (a thin metal hanger will leave a permanent crease) in a shaded, well-ventilated spot to dry.

Don't leave it in direct sunlight, don't leave it in a hot car, and don't put it in a dryer. UV and heat are the two things that break neoprene down faster than anything else. Salt residue is the third.

With proper care, a Waihana wetsuit holds up for many seasons of regular use. Heavy users — daily divers, working spearfishermen — will see their suits show wear faster than weekend divers, but the construction is built around real-world hard use: glue-reinforced stitching, mission-grade reinforcement on the suits that need it, premium neoprene throughout.

The honest truth: wetsuits aren't immortal. Compression, UV, salt, and chlorine all eventually win. A well-built suit just makes that day come later.

Small tears are repairable with neoprene cement (Aquaseal is the industry standard). Bigger damage — pulled stitching, structural separation, large holes — can usually be repaired by a wetsuit repair specialist.

If the damage is from a manufacturing defect rather than wear and tear, contact us through our Customer Support page.

Yes. New neoprene has a characteristic smell that fades within a few uses. A couple of fresh-water rinses and a few hours in a shaded, ventilated space will speed it up. If the smell is sharp or chemical rather than the standard rubber-and-glue note, contact us — that's not what should be coming out of the box.

Yes — with one exception. We no longer ship to EU member countries, effective 19 June 2026, under Directive (EU) 2023/2673 amending the EU Consumer Rights Directive. The United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, and every other non-EU destination are unaffected and can order as normal.

Free international shipping on orders over $500 USD, and free Hawaii shipping on orders over $100 USD. Standard rates apply below those thresholds.

International orders ship FedEx International Economy with tracking unless you select an expedited option at checkout, and may be subject to local duties and import fees, which are the recipient's responsibility.

Unworn, unused products can be returned within 30 days of delivery for exchange or store credit, subject to a 15% restocking fee. Once a suit has been used in the water, it's no longer returnable.

See our Return / Refund Policy for the full process and timeline.

Returns and exchanges of unused product carry a 15% restocking fee. Each returned suit is inspected, refolded, and re-inventoried by hand — the fee covers that work. (Manufacturing defects are handled separately. If something's wrong with the suit out of the box, we'll replace or refund without a restocking charge.)

The better play, when possible: measure carefully, check the size chart on each product page, and reach out to customer support if you're between sizes. Sizing correctly the first time saves the fee and gets you in the water sooner.

Yes — within 30 days of delivery, provided the suit is unworn, the hang tags are still attached, and it's in its original packaging.

Email sales@waihana.com or start the return from your account to get a Return Authorization (RA) number before you ship anything back — returns that arrive without one can't be credited. A 15% restocking fee applies, and approved refunds are issued as Waihana store credit rather than back to your card. Preorder and clearance items are final sale.

Better to get it right the first time: send us your height, weight, chest, waist, hip, and torso measurements before you order and we'll size you individually. It takes a few minutes, it's free, and it saves you the restocking fee.

Almost always because the item sold out between the moment you ordered and the moment we went to pick it for packing. We ship from one warehouse on Oahu, and occasionally the inventory count and the shelf disagree by one suit.

The automatic cancellation email uses generic wording that can read as though you cancelled it. You didn't, and we're sorry for the confusion. Unlike a standard return, an out-of-stock cancellation is refunded to your original payment method — not as store credit.

We include a note explaining the real reason whenever this happens. If you got a cancellation that doesn't make sense, email sales@waihana.com and we'll tell you exactly what happened to your order.

We're a small operation and ship wetsuits three times a week from Oahu, so allow 2 business days for processing. Expedited shipping buys you faster transit, not faster packing — paying for a quicker service doesn't guarantee the box leaves the same day.

Once a label is created, the carrier often doesn't scan the package for 24–48 hours. Tracking can look frozen while your order is genuinely moving, and the Hawaii leg adds a little on top of that.

If tracking still hasn't moved after 3 business days, email sales@waihana.com and we'll chase it down with the carrier.

Yes. Active duty military, veterans, and first responders receive 10% off storewide. See our LEO & Military Discounts page for the discount code and verification details.

Waihana is a US Veteran-Owned Small Business — the discount is one small thing we can do for service that isn't.

Yes. Waihana operates a Federal Sales program for federal agencies and institutions, including special operations units, search and rescue teams, dive medicine programs, and environmental research crews.

See our Government Sales page for procurement details, our DUNS, CAGE, and SAM credentials, and our public sector catalog.

For federal end-users with specific operational requirements, we build to spec. Email sales@waihana.com to discuss your unit's mission profile and requirements.

Email sales@waihana.com with your unit billing information and the quantities you need. We'll come back with a formal quote — and any required government forms, including the NDAA 889 form — within one business day.

Military discount and tax-exempt pricing are available on qualifying orders. Our DUNS, CAGE, and SAM credentials are on the Government Sales page.

Custom logos and graphics are available on bulk orders above $10,000 USD. Below that threshold we can't accommodate custom branding — the setup cost on a short run doesn't work out for either of us.

For unit, team, or shop orders at that scale, email sales@waihana.com and we'll talk through what's possible.

Waihana is based on Oahu's North Shore, Hawaii. The brand was founded in 2018 by three friends — Justin Baluch, Steven Murphy, and Nikolas Cartenian — and every modern wetsuit design is tested in Hawaiian water by some of the best spearfishermen in the state before it ships.

Designed and tested in Hawaii.

On Oahu, select styles are carried at Surf N Sea and Hana Pa'a. On the Big Island, Pops Spearfishing carries the line. Anywhere else, email us and we'll point you to the nearest stockist.

If you're visiting the island, you're also welcome to stop by our North Shore warehouse and try suits on before you buy — call ahead at (808) 400-0830 so someone's there to meet you.