Scope: thermal exposure suits for immersion water sports — wetsuits (foamed-neoprene suits that work wet) and drysuits (membrane, neoprene, or hybrid suits with sealed entry that keep the wearer dry), across surf, dive/freedive, open-water/triathlon swim, and paddle/sail use. Excludes standalone hoods, gloves, boots and rash guards sold as separate SKUs (EN 14225-1 itself excludes these from the wetsuit standard), and excludes fins/masks/snorkels (sibling leaf `diving`).

## Seed
1. Equivalent of steel_hardness: `thickness_class` (e.g. 3/2mm vs 5/4mm) — a spec sheet number that is really one side of a warmth-vs-flexibility trade, same shape as HRC.
2. A dive-gear fitter would notice shell type (membrane vs neoprene vs foam) before thickness or brand, because it decides whether buoyancy stays constant with depth and whether the suit needs a separate undergarment at all — a novice looks at thickness/mm first.

## Sources
- [wikipedia_wetsuit] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetsuit — configurations (shorty/long john/steamer/semi-dry), closures, lining, thickness-warmth-mobility trade | fetched excerpt: "A thick suit will restrict mobility... a wetsuit with a torso thickness of 5 mm and a limb thickness of 3 mm will be described as a '5/3'"
- [wikipedia_drysuit] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drysuit — shell types (membrane/neoprene/hybrid), seals (latex/silicone/neoprene), boots vs socks, inflation/dump valves, attachment rings | fetched excerpt: "Membrane dry suits are made from thin materials which have little thermal insulation... the user must wear a thermally insulating undersuit"
- [xterra_wetsuit_rules] https://www.xterrawetsuits.com/pages/wetsuit-speedsuit-rules — triathlon wetsuit thickness cap and temperature cutoffs | fetched excerpt: "the thickness of the wetsuit may not exceed 5mm... wetsuits may be worn in water temperature up to and including 24.5 degrees C/76.1 degrees F"
- [trinewbies_tri_temp] https://trinewbies.com/triathlon-wetsuit-temperature-guide/ — independent confirmation of the 5mm/24.5°C cap (IRONMAN guidelines) | fetched excerpt: "IRONMAN Wetsuit Guidelines... Wetsuits cannot measure more than 5 mm thick. Wetsuits are permitted if the water temperature is up to (and including) 76.1 degrees Fahrenheit"
- [vissla_thickness_guide] https://www.vissla.com/pages/wetsuit-thickness-guide — thickness/water-temp chart | fetched excerpt: "59 to 65°F (15 to 18°C) 3/2mm full suit... 52-58°F 4/3mm... 45-51°F 5/4mm... Below 45°F 5/4/3mm or 6/5mm hooded"
- [cleanline_thickness_guide] https://www.cleanlinesurf.com/pages/wetsuit-guide-wetsuit-thickness — second thickness/temp chart, corroborates vissla's bands | fetched excerpt: "65° to 75° 3/2mm or 2mm Fullsuit... 42° and below 6/5/4mm Hooded Fullsuit"
- [softboardcenter_thickness_guide] https://www.softboardcenter.com/en/pages/wetsuit-thickness-guide — third thickness/temp chart in °C, same bands | fetched excerpt: "4/3 mm 11 to 14°C (52 to 57°F)... 6/5 mm and above Below 7°C (45°F)"
- [wetsuitcenter_materials] https://wetsuitcenter.com/learn/wetsuit-materials-explained/ — petroleum vs limestone vs Yamamoto vs Yulex neoprene; lining types; seam tiers by price | fetched excerpt: "Yamamoto (Japan) is the most respected premium neoprene manufacturer, graded by number for density and stretch... Yulex is plant-based natural rubber"
- [srface_seams] https://srface.com/knowledge-base/wetsuit-seams/ — flatlock vs GBS vs sealed/taped seam construction and warmth trade | fetched excerpt: "Flatlock... lets water through... It's not possible to use flatlock stitching in winter wetsuits... GBS (glued and blind stitched)... most common seam construction for cold water wetsuits"
- [en14225_1_nsai] https://www.intertekinform.com/preview/293947678319.pdf?sku=856231_SAIG_NSAI_NSAI_2036874 — EN 14225-1:2017 scope, explicitly excludes gloves/hoods/boots from the wetsuit standard | fetched excerpt: "This European Standard specifies the construction and performance requirements... gloves, hoods and boots are not within the scope of this document"
- [tecnalia_en14225] https://cms.tecnalia.com/uploads/2023/05/Testing-Wet-Suits-According-EN-14225-TECNALIA.pdf — CE marking under PPE regulation (EU) 2016/425, immersive thermal resistance + tensile tests | fetched excerpt: "acts as Notified Body for the CE mark of diving and surface wetsuits according to EN 14225-1, (EU) 2016/425 regulation and Module B"
- [mikesdivestore_choosing_drysuit] https://www.mikesdivestore.com/pages/choosing-a-diving-drysuit — membrane vs neoprene drysuit trade-off (buoyancy stability, insulation, repairability) | fetched excerpt: "No buoyancy fluctuations due to material compression... Negligible thermal insulation [membrane]... Neoprene is thermally insulating... neoprene is also buoyant"

## Branches
- suit_type = wetsuit → ask wetsuit_configuration, thickness_class, rated_water_temp_min_f, lining_type, seam_construction, zipper_entry_wetsuit; drysuit-only facets (shell_material, entry_zip_location, seal_material, seal_attachment_system, boot_type, inflation_valve, undergarment_type, reinforcement_pads) become irrelevant — supported by wikipedia_wetsuit's configuration/thickness/closure sections being wetsuit-specific and absent from the drysuit article.
- suit_type = drysuit → ask shell_material, entry_zip_location, seal_material, seal_attachment_system, boot_type, inflation_valve, undergarment_type, reinforcement_pads; wetsuit thickness-class and seam-construction facets become irrelevant — supported by wikipedia_drysuit's own structure (Shell/Seals/Waterproof entry/Accessories sections have no thickness-class or flatlock/GBS seam content).
- primary_activity = triathlon_openwater_swim → thickness is capped at 5mm by rule rather than chosen for warmth, changing what rated_water_temp_min_f means — supported by xterra_wetsuit_rules and trinewbies_tri_temp.

## Corrections
- Trimmed summary from 62 to under 60 words; reworded `seal_attachment_system.cold_start_question` to drop its "do you want" preamble; mapped reference `kind` values to the schema enum (buyers_guide → specialist_review, standard → standards_body).

## Corrections (2026-10-26)
- Removed the invented `min: 34` / `max: 75` on `rated_water_temp_min_f.range` — no fetched source states 34°F or a floor/ceiling pair; kept the sourced `typical` text.
- Added `ce_en14225_rating` to `makes_irrelevant` on the `primary_activity` branches for `surf_bodyboard`, `triathlon_race`, `openwater_swim_recreational` and `paddlesports_sailing` — EN 14225's own fetched scope text (en14225_1_nsai) restricts it to divers "breathing underwater"; only `scuba_freedive_spearfish` keeps it relevant.
- Relabelled `source` from `listing` to `researched` on `seal_material`, `seal_attachment_system`, `inflation_valve` — each one's own `listing_field_hint` says it sits on the drysuit spec sheet, not the retail listing.
- Added facet `neoprene_stretch_grade` (standard/high/highest-stretch neoprene panels) — a real brand-tiering axis confirmed by vissla_thickness_guide's own lineup copy ("high-stretch"/"highest-stretch") and wetsuitcenter_materials' Yamamoto #38/#39/#40/#45 grading.
- Added vocabulary entries for `Yulex`, `Smoothskin`, `Compressed/crushed neoprene` (sourced from wetsuitcenter_materials, wikipedia_drysuit and mikesdivestore_choosing_drysuit, already in references).
- Split `primary_activity`'s `triathlon_openwater_swim` into `triathlon_race` (rule-capped) and `openwater_swim_recreational` (not rule-capped); only `triathlon_race` keeps the thickness-cap branch.

## Noise
- Gender/fit sizing (men's/women's/kids) — left out: cross-category retail field, not a wetsuit-specific expertise axis.
- Buoyancy panel zoning on triathlon wetsuits — mentioned in search summaries but not confirmed in any page I actually fetched (zone3_guide and orca pages served nav-only JS content); left out per the never-cite-unseen-text rule.
- Color/pattern (hi-vis vs tonal) — left out: cosmetic, not a performance spec on any fetched sheet.
- Price tier bundling (e.g. "entry/mid/premium" line names) — left out: brand marketing tiers, not a comparable spec; the material/lining/seam facets already capture what actually changes between tiers (wetsuitcenter_materials price-tier table).
- Snorkeling-only suits — EN 14225-1 itself excludes them from the wet suit standard's scope; left as a `primary_activity` gap rather than a fifth value, since no fetched source separated snorkel suits from surf/swim suits on any other spec.