The best advice, we can give, is to dress for the prevailing conditions. As a starting point, you can wear swimming gear, old shorts or trousers and tee-shirts. You can add more thin layers for warmth, if required. Long sleeves are advisable to protect against the sun. An old cagoule is useful to keep the wind and rain off. Short-john wetsuits, which are often available cheaply from supermarkets in the summer, are suitable for kayaking outdoors with additional layers, such as a cagoule. We strongly recommend that you wear aqua-shoes or kayaking boots. Foot protection is always advisable, particularly in Clevedon Marine Lake.

You can purchase technical kayaking clothing as your needs develop, and as your budget allows. Full wetsuits are rarely suitable for kayaking, except for extreme cold or repeated immersion. In those circumstances, a drysuit may be more useful anyway. Full wetsuits have limited movement for paddling and can get extremely hot. Drysuits designed for paddling are quite expensive, and are probably best considered as your paddling interests develop.

See the section on Pool sessions for more information on what to wear in the pool.