Suns out early this time of year, and I've been getting a couple hours in before work when its decent. I usually leave my board in the car and my suit in a covered tote/bucket. But now its getting warmer and despite leaving my windows cracked open, it smells like hot wax and broiled wetsuit funk in my car every afternoon when I punch out! I know its not good for your board, and probably not your wetsuit. It's only gonna get hotter. Any suggestions for me? Preferably not of the smart-ass variety?
I'm usually the opposite, have my gear in the car all day and go for a post work session. I usually keep an old beater around to leave in the car on the hot days so I don't have to worry about damaging one of my good boards. Best advice I have is try and park in the shade, crack the windows, and maybe get a couple of those reflective things for your windows to keep some of the heat out. It's going to get hot in there regardless, but you can try a few things to make it better.
I just stash the board in my office. If you can't do that, make friends with your building's maintence man and stash the board in his shop or a storage room.
^^This^^ Never leave your board in your car all day. OR, if you aren't in a high crime area, leave your board in a bag UNDER your car. I prefer bringing it into the office though.
With regards to your suit, you gotta try to wash it off pretty good, or else its going to stink bad, and get ruined. Check out this "solar" shower, which you could use to rinse off after a session....super cheap: http://www.target.com/p/Reliance-Solar-Spray-Shower/-/A-10305846 I would rinse the suit pretty good with this, then put it in some sort of trash bag or waterproof bag until you can get home and give it a proper shower.
this is the way to go- you can just put everything back here and not worry- wet suits dry and it does not get that hot. I have a tonneau cover- i just keep my gear and a board in the back all the time. lock it up- no worries... If you can't get a truck... get a board bag- a 'day' bag with the reflective silver side up...
My new car is tiny so my boards don't fit. I got some lockable roof racks straps and I leave it in a plain looking bag. Those straps are legit, I feel pretty good about them. They have a braided steal / kriptonite (lol yeah...) wire going through the center of the strap. I forgot the combo once and tried to cheat it, not happening. Wetsuit funk... Lay that junk flat on your back seat or the floor of the car, but make sure it's not in direct sunlight. You don't want it to mold if its damp and dark, but it can get "cooked" and dry-rot pretty quickly in the sunlight through a window. Often times I will just ball it up and throw it in the board bag. I mean, that's why I don't buy sh*t like Patagonia and Matuse.
board bags are the way to go. great protection and theyre not too expensive. i have a dakine one and it has lasted forever and is amazing quality. i have seen people put their suits in plastic tubs too.
I don't use wet suits much, but I'm thinking a 5 gallon bucket with a sealing lid. Put fresh water in the bucket and let the suit stay in there wet all day....just a guess. Board bag, I can't say enough good about them.....every board should have a board bag. It protects from dints, dings, heat, wax transfers and so on. Don't get me wrong, my board bag smells to high heavens sometimes, but only until it hits the water again.
yup totally agree with the silver reflective board bag but if it gets really hot in your car, it kinda acts like a damn convection oven and it melts all the wax anyway when it gets really hot, there really is nothing you can do about it. as for the wetsuit, haha, embrace the stink, it never goes away
just talked to a friend of mine and he said he puts an ice-pack in his boardbag.... i might try that!
If you're stuck with keeping your board in the car, your best bet is to bag it (to keep the wax contained) and crack open the windows. Remember, the silver bags reflect radiated heat (i.e. the sun) and not convected or conducted heat. If the inside of your car is 140*, your board will eventually reach 140...no 2 ways about it. I agree with the above statement of finding a place at work to place it. As far as the wetsuit goes, I use a 15 gal rubbermaid tub. Inside it, I have (4) 1 gallon plastic jugs filled with water. When I finish a session, I rinse my board with one and rebag it. After rinsing the sand off my booties and lower legs, I stand in the tub and rinse the rest of my suit, while taking it off. The suit then stays in the partially-filled tub until I get home and can give it a good rinsing. Hope that helps.
