full suit advice from OC/bethany beach area needed!

wait i got a great idea, go buy a snowboard and leave the ocean alone

 

This is something that you should Search the forums about, since this is a prolonging topic.

5/4 hooded and 5mm gloves/boots is the standard in these parts.

Some guys say they can take it in a 4/3, but I think they are the weekend warriors and don't get out daily, or multiple time a week.

I know some guys who go with a 7mm boot no questions asked. I use 5mm penguin gloves and they do the trick.

Sealed, taped, blind double-stitched, fireskins, and inner linings are some things to look into. Make your choice wisely, because it will either make a session or break a session.

 

Yeah I have to agree . I would just get a Hyper Flex Flow 5/4/3/ and some 7mm booties and 5mm lobster mitts and call it a day. You'll probally spend $300 total for everything if you get everything Hyperflex. Exit98 has some used stuff he is selling CHEAP! and is practily new.

 

PS. Don't try to be cheap. Think of it as survival gear. You wouldn't want to get lost in the forest without anything to start a fire would you? Don't find yourself staring at 6fters and thinking you can't go out because I don't have the proper gear.

And think more along the lines of 40 degree water, and below freezing winds, and air temps into the teens.

 

Yeah 3/2 is still good right now. 3/2 and booties for most. Gloves come next.

...Then the dreaded HOOD! I don't think ANYONE likes wearing a hood. Someone post on here tell me you like wearing the hood, except for the obvious reason "keeps my head warm" Duh.

 

This is really a case-by-case basis. When the air temp dips into the 40s, it does have an affect on you, so some change their wetsuit based on that. Some don't. Just get the 3/2. You obiously don't want to surf during the coldest months and a 4/3 will be too much for the end-of-summer to beginning-of-winter period you described .

Some guys need more/less than others. A little over a week ago, I saw a guy with a 6oz lycra hood on and the water was 63! I'm guessing he also gets ice cream headaches real bad. I was next to him in a 2/2 Guru & a 5oz lycra top. It was perfect for me & I was out for 3 hours. I could've gone much longer.

I find the advertised temperatures for the suits are slightly conservative (for me). I'll be swapping to a .5mm top and sticking with my 2/2 until 55 or 56 degrees. Then, I'll switch over to my 3/2, which (with 5mm Drylock booties/gloves & a hood) will take me through winter. I have a Pyscho Freak, though, and anybody who owns one, will tell you the 3mm XDS rubber is at least as warm as a 5mm solid rubber.

Anyway, again...get the 3/2. If you get cold due to air temp, get a thermal top to wear underneath. If you're hypersensative to ice cream headaches, get a top with a lycra or 3mm hood attached. You don't have to wear the hood. Just my two cents.

 

I have:
3/2 Rip Curl E-Bomb
4/3 Body Glove Vapor
Those suits last me all year. If you want 1 suit, get a 4/3. It can last all winter (get a good one), and can last until boardshorts

 

Go for durability. Spend the money once and do it all right.

A good suit makes everything better. And look for xcell 7 mm mittens. They feel and fit goooood.

 

Have to agree with the majority here. Don't scrimp. You'll get more comfortable year-round usage out of the 5/4. I'm in my 5/4 from Sept through late June. I've never been too warm in it.

I'm not sure what kind of machismo factor around the Mid Atlantic coast says that you're a wimp if you use a thick suit or any suit for that matter past Memorial Day. There seems to be some weird "badge of honor" for the first guy out in the waves without a wetsuit in the spring. The rest follow like lemmings, even if they are shivering with goose bumps out in the surf! ;-)

Truth is, we live in a cold water ocean environment here on the DelMarVa MOST of the year. Yeah, the ocean temp spikes for a few weeks in Aug and Sept in the upper 70s, but that is the time of year the jelly fish are at their worst. This year I went back to a full suit (3/2) after some serious stings on my legs and arms in late August with water temp flirty with 80. I was never too warm and I wasn't getting stung anymore.

Go for the 5/4 with detachable hood. Good boots and gloves will complement it and keep you much warmer. With the stretchier neoprene, there is not much difference in flexibility, but a heck of a lot of difference in warmth in the winter. Look for suit with max rubber skin on much of the torso; that will guard against the wind too.

Good luck.

 

Earlier you said you'd not go out in very cold weather or water and that you get "icecream headaches" in the cold water. THERE is your argument FOR a good 5/4 with all the bells and whistles. Being in a good suit avoids that ice cream thing and extends your riding season well into the winter. I HATE being cold and in cold water--unprotected. Most of us are not out on a day in the teens or twenties anyway, but when there is a nice day in February in the 50s or 60s, you'll want to be out there in the 42 degree water with the rest of the heard.

 

Yea, but how many suits are out there with detachable hoods? I've been looking but i can only come up with O'Neill. Anyone else know of more options?

 

I just bought a 6/5/4 Xcel Infiniti. It seems to fit me real well even though I have not tried it out yet. Its going to be soooo toasty, maybe even too toasty! But I'd rather be too hot than too cold, and the suit seems really flexible for the amount of insulation it has..definitely feels much thicker than my 3/2 i've been wearing lately.

To the poster's question, 5/4 is standard for winter surfing

 

Dont get caught up in the More You Spend the Better the suit is gonna be Hype . While there are Suits out there in there own class such as Patagonia and Matuse. You can get a Hyper Flex Suit of the same caliber for half the price of a name brand top of the line suite ( Rip Curl, Xcel, Quick Silver Ect.) and it just as good if not better than the Top Name brands. All my suits are HyperFlex and range in age from 5 years old to Brand new. I got a 3/2 Hyper Flex Flow that is going on its 5 year of use and is holding up great and still has all its strech and feel like it did when It was new. I never had a issue with the suite ripping or seams blowing out either and I am pretty rough on my gear to say the least.
As long as you wash your suite out with fresh water and every once in a while clean it with wetsuit soap your suit will last a long time