A wetsuit is constructed from many panels of neoprene rubber. The more panels your wetsuit is made out of the more flexible it will be. This design will allow your wetsuit to give you a close fit. However, if you use more panels, water will have more places to get into the wetsuit. Therefore, the panels must be carefully stitched together and sealed. If they are not, water can leak into the wetsuit and adversely affect the ability of the suit to keep you warm. There are several types of stitches that are used for today's wetsuits. The most basic stitch for wetsuits is an overlock. With an overlock stitch, the external surfaces of two panels of neoprene rubber are sewn together along the edge. This stitch cannot be seen from the outside of the wetsuit. It is used for the more affordable wetsuits because it is not an expensive stitch to produce. An overlock stitch is also very strong which means that it can last for a long time. However, one problem with this stitch is that it leaves a raised seam inside the wetsuit which protrudes enough to irritate your skin. Another problem with this stitch is that it does not do a good job of keeping water out. Another stitch that is used on wetsuits is the flatlock stitch. With a flatlock stitch, the edges of two panels of neoprene are placed next to one another and the stitch will go back and forth across the edges. A flatlock stitch will result in a flatter stitch in comparison to the overlock stitch. Therefore, it is more comfortable because it will not irritate the skin as much. A flatlock stitch is not as strong as an overlock stitch because there are needle holes on both sides of the neoprene which can degrade the neoprene rubber. A flatlock stitch can usually be found in wetsuits that are more expensive than wetsuits that use an overlock stitch. This stitch will also not keep the water out completely. There are other wetsuits whose panels are sewn together with a blindstitch. Unlike the flatlock stitch, the process of the blindstitch begins with gluing the edges of two panels of neoprene rubber together. Then the edges are sewn together just as with the flatlock stitch. But, unlike the flatlock stitch, the blindstitch only goes halfway through the neoprene rubber before it comes back out. This means that there are no needles holes that water can use to get into the suit. A wetsuit that utilizes the blindstitch will be more effective than wetsuits that use the overlock or flatlock stitch in keeping water out. If you plan on swimming in cold temperatures, you should buy a wetsuit that uses the blindstitch. A wetsuit that uses the blindstitch can also use more panels of neoprene rubber which allows the suit to be more flexible. However, a blindstitch will not last as long as the overlock or flatlock stitch. Some wetsuits will use a double blindstitch. This means that the blindstitch will be done from both the inside and outside of the suit. Neither blindstitching from the inside or outside will require the suit to be penetrated all the way through. So water will not be able to get into the suit. Double blindstitching will add extra strength to the suit. On some of the thick wetsuits that use the blindstitch, you may find tape that has been heat welded to the blindstitching in certain vulnerable areas inside of the wetsuit. The added tape is supposed to provide additional waterproofing and strength to these vulnerable areas. Wetsuits that use the blindstitch carry higher prices than wetsuits that use the overlock or flatlock stitch because the blindstitch is a more complicated process. In some cases, it can cost twice as much as a wetsuit that uses the overlock stitch.