This question is asked very often.
Every customer with experience already has a latex thickness in mind. But how should the first-time buyer with little experience decide?
In general, there are 3 aspects that cannot be combined;
- Durability
- Wearing comfort
- Fit
Is thicker latex more durable?
I can answer this with a very clear NO or YES. You should never hang on a nail, even 0,8mm thick latex will not survive that. But what is the difference between 0,25mm and 0,4mm?
Fantastic Rubber repairs free of charge for all customers who still have the premium status at the time of a repair. At the beginning it was predicted that we will repair only and have no time for new orders. Fortunately, this did not happen.
But we also have advantages from this service and gain knowledge about weak points of our products. So I can say with conviction that there is no noticeably higher damage at 0.25mm to 0.4mm. The durability is about the same.
For new orders, 2/3 of our female customers opt for 0.25mm, every fourth for 0.4mm. For men, this is the other way around. However, only every 10th customer decides for thicker latex than 0.4mm, i.e. for 0.5mm, 0.8mm or even for 1mm.
But especially first-time buyers often have big concerns and want, if at all possible, a full suit that never breaks. I myself am still looking for it, please let me know if you find it ;-)
This wish arises from fear, the suit costs a lot of money after all, but also from questionable advice in internet forums.
In the end, the choice of latex thickness is an individual one. Some like it thicker, others are very happy with 0.25mm.
0,25mm offers the best wearing comfort and fit
0.4mm is a very good compromise of the 3 aspects. But needs already much more force when tightening, it is after all 60% thicker than 0.25mm.
0,5mm does not sound so much more than 0,4mm, but it is again 25% thicker and the force needed to tighten the suit grows exponentially.
So far, we've always talked about area when it comes to damage, but what about seams?
The stretchability is the same for all thicknesses, but due to the force needed to stretch it, the stress on the seams increases with thicker latex. For this reason, we back-glue all seams on the inside of 0.8mm and 1mm.
But how does the feel change?
Fantastic Rubber creates the pattern individually for the customer and the ordered latex thickness. So if a customer already has a suit from us made of 0.4mm latex, and now orders a suit made of 0.25mm for example, we will create a new pattern.
The goal is to produce a full suit that feels as much as possible the same when at rest, i.e. regardless of whether it is 0.25mm or 0.5mm.
How is this to be understood? Imagine you are on the beach. And when you stand there on a spot, it doesn't matter whether you stand on the loose sand, wet sand or in the water. But when you start walking, the resistance of the wet sand is definitely less than that of the loose sand.
When you visit our workshop, we will be happy to give you remnants of different thicknesses and you can try to tear them.
Please keep in mind that the nominal latex thickness can vary slightly, 0.25mm can be 0.22mm, but also 0.29mm.