Leave it to Beaver - History of the Beavertail Wetsuit

Forget the hipsters ruining The Pass in Byron with their 'oh sooo cool' no lease wetsuit jacket vibe. Here is the real history of the humble Beavertail wetsuit. 

Before neoprene was sleek, flexible, and color-blocked into high-performance suits, there was the beaver tail wetsuit—a quirky, practical, and iconic piece of surf history. Born out of necessity in the chilly waters of California in the 1950s and 60s, the beaver tail wasn’t just about style (though it had plenty of that retro cool). It was the first real armor surfers had against cold water, and it helped push surfing beyond warm tropical reefs and into the colder breaks of the world.

From Navy Frogmen to Surf Rats

The origins of the beaver tail wetsuit are tied to the early experiments with neoprene, the same rubbery material used by the U.S. Navy’s underwater demolition teams during World War II. Companies like O’Neill and Body Glove adapted this material for civilian use in the 1950s, and surfers quickly took notice.

The beaver tail design—essentially a sleeveless jacket with a long flap that snapped between the legs—was among the first surf-specific wetsuit cuts. The flap kept the jacket from riding up while paddling and helped seal out flushing when duck-diving or wiping out. It wasn’t perfect, but for surfers used to shivering in cut-off military dive suits, it was revolutionary.

O’Neill, Meistrells, and the Birth of Surf Wetsuits

Two California surf clans deserve the credit for mainstreaming the beaver tail in surfing: Jack O’Neill in San Francisco and the Meistrell brothers (founders of Body Glove) in Redondo Beach. Both were experimenting with neoprene in the 1950s, cutting, gluing, and stitching suits by hand.

The beaver tail quickly became the standard issue for surfers on both coasts. Early versions were often sleeveless or short-sleeved, paired with long “farmer John” style pants, which provided extra warmth and mobility. Surfers who braved cold spots like Santa Cruz, San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, or even New Jersey swore by them, despite the awkward snaps and occasional discomfort of sitting on a big rubber flap.

A Look That Defined an Era

By the 1960s, the beaver tail wetsuit was as much a part of surf culture as D-fin longboards and Woodies stacked with boards. Photographs from that golden era often show bronzed surfers standing on the sand, beaver tails dangling like superhero capes. They had a rugged, almost outlaw vibe—a sign you weren’t just a beach bum, but someone willing to paddle out when the water dropped below “fun.”

The Fade-Out

As wetsuit technology improved in the 1970s, the beaver tail fell out of favor. Full suits with zippers, better stitching, and more flexible neoprene eliminated the need for the snap-on flap. The new designs were warmer, more comfortable, and didn’t leave surfers with that awkward rubber appendage.

Still, the beaver tail holds a nostalgic place in surf history. It represents a time when surfing was rougher around the edges, when innovation was done with scissors, glue, and a lot of trial and error. Without it, surfing’s cold-water frontier might have taken decades longer to open up.

The Legacy Today

Today, beaver tails live on mostly as collector’s items, conversation starters, and symbols of surfing’s DIY roots. Some retro-minded wetsuit makers still produce them for novelty or nostalgia, but their practical era has long passed.

Yet their contribution to surf culture is undeniable. The beaver tail wetsuit was more than rubber and snaps—it was a ticket into the lineup when the mercury dropped, and a sign that surfers were ready to push beyond the tropics and make the ocean their playground year-round.

Looking for more history on wetsuits in general go check out Collectors Weekly Blog on the topic

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/how-the-wetsuit-became-a-surfers-second-skin/