People have often wondered which is better, black wetsuits or colored wetsuits like red, blue, orange, etc.
It is safe to say that both have their advantages either black or colored.
Wetsuits are mostly made from neoprene which is a type of rubber, it is white at first then ingredients are added to give it different colors.
Like black for instance carbon black is added to the white neoprene rubber which turns it black and increases its strength and this helps it to provide heightened UV resistance and also heat absorption.
Colored wetsuits are made from scratch as well, a particular substance is added to the white neoprene rubber to give it the color that is wanted.
Some divers do change the color of their already black wetsuit, this is achieved when they use neoprene cement.
This is a common glue-like material that enables a diver to change the color of their wetsuit from black to yellow for instance with this neoprene cement.
This does not in any way reduce the quality of the wetsuit, it would still stretch the same way and remain just as durable as it was before.
Colored wetsuits aren’t as popular as blacks, because it is more expensive to make, there isn’t much demand for them, and few advantages to them.
The black and colored wetsuits have advantages that separate them from one another.
Some of these advantages are, black wetsuits absorb more sun rays which allows them to dry faster.
You cannot easily spot dirt on black wetsuits which makes them look cleaner, black also helps a swimmer look more in a formal light, and slim as well.
Colored wetsuits mostly appeal to those who want to look fancy and nice in their wetsuits with a colorful design, it also helps for easy spotting in a rescue situation.
As long as the wetsuit keeps you warm and is very well-fitting, then it doesn’t matter what color it is, it would do what it is meant to do.
Are Colored Wetsuits More Dangerous Than Black Ones?
As I have briefly mentioned both colored or black wetsuits have their advantages, one is cheaper and the other expensive to manufacture.
This is because black wetsuits are the natural form wetsuits come in when fully manufactured, but colored wetsuit it needs extra materials to be added to bring out the several different colors which are expensive to produce.
So the availability of colored wetsuits is limited due to this irrespective of their advantages and the demand for colored wetsuits is also not much.
Also, black wetsuits last longer than any other color.
The deeper you go underwater in the ocean the less light there is, so it would be difficult for the colors of the wetsuit to show deep underwater.
Dangerous creatures at sea like sharks are a subject of concern if colored wetsuits would endanger a diver or not as opposed to black wetsuits.
Sharks can spot contrast surprisingly very well, so when a diver uses any high-contrast color equipment or could be the wetsuit itself in water are surprisingly visible to sharks once there is enough light for the shark to spot the color that is.
Colors like bright yellow have been seen to attract sharks at the surface of the water where they are very visible, the devices that float on water are left by human rescuers looking for those that are missing at sea their job is to rescue those in danger at sea.
Now imagine a diver wearing a such bright yellow wetsuit at a level where sharks can spot the high-contrast color, they could easily mistake him or her for bait fish and attack the diver.
It has often been suggested to divers to avoid wearing wetsuits with colors like bright yellow, white, bright green, orange, red, and so on.
Wetsuits with colors, in contrast, have also been warned against, colors like black and white would likely attract a shark.
The question of red wetsuits has been brought up a few times if the color red attracts sharks, it would but not for reason that is believed, like cause human blood is red and it is common knowledge that sharks can smell blood from miles in water and come running, this has nothing to do with why sharks would be attracted to a diver with a bright red wetsuit.
The red wetsuit would simply attract the shark because it is a bright color and as previously mentioned that sharks can spot highly contrasting colors.
To avoid all of this it is safer to just wear a black wetsuit which would look neutral at sea a lot of things underwater look black and are passed by sharks or any other sea creature that might want to attack a diver.
So to answer the question if colored wetsuits are more dangerous than black wetsuits; yes, they are very much more dangerous and I believe this article has covered aspects that prove this to be true.