When i saw ppl start changing into them outside their car, i thought to myself well that was a nice gift from a family member of theirs that knows little to nothing about surfing. But as it's been cold for last couple months and more and more i see of them, are these guys metrosexuals? Is that still a term or is there another way to describe these ppl?
Wouldn't it be great if it came with a wrestling championship belt embroidered around it ? Maybe we could Market one and call it the Ric Flair surf attire
Let us laugh now, as soon as O Neil or Billabong puts their label on one, then Gravy and JOB start using them (if they already haven't), they will be as commonplace as soft tops.
Are we talking "robes" like bathroom robes, or are you referring to those "changing ponchos" that I've seen so much
"changing ponchos" doesn't sound too marketable, but yea all the same. And there I am out changing under my beach towel some like 3rd world peasant. I blame my parents for not providing me with surf robes/changing ponchos to build a future in this opportunistic country
Can confirm, this is the way. Bonus points if it's not your beach house so much as just your house. Okay, confession time [hanging head in shame here to avoid making eye contact]: I'll admit to having a changing robe/poncho/whatever you wanna call it for a couple years before I moved here, and finding it somewhat more convenient and comfortable than a towel. I'm at peace with my decisions... I'd still be a kook even without this, and over the course of about 3 years, it's probably added roughly the $20-30 it cost (I think? don't really remember) of value to my life, though not all that much more. When I do drive to surf and forget it and have to use a towel, I find it ever-so-slightly more annoying when putting the wetsuite on (always), and when taking it off (if it's ~40 degrees or above). When it's freezing cold I don't really use it taking the suite off because I'm pulling a hoodie on as soon as I get the top of my wetsuit off and then it takes slightly less total time to throw a towel around the waist than to pull the changing robe overhead... and every second counts in the race against frozen hands.
I hear the changing ponchos do work and are a lot more popular than a decade ago, however when it's raining and 37° out, I would just change straight into my dry gear. Advice: bring a couple of detergent bottles with warm water in a cooler, lay out your clothes in the trunk, pants on bottom shirt/jacket on top, flip-flops on the side. takes you <8 minutes to get changed.
That works when it is 6*F out as well. But, you only have 3 minutes to change. Done a zillion of times, in the days of yesteryears, not anymore....too old.
Agree with the 3 minutes. It hasn't happened often to me, because NJ isn't THAT cold very often (relatively), and I've changed at home for most sessions since moving to New England (sometimes in jersey too since it was only a 5-10 min drive and plenty tolerable in the wetsuite), but there's not much I hate more than my hands quite literally getting too numb to remove boots/suite before I'm fully changed, and having to sit in car blasting the heat for 5-15 min to warm them up enough that I can resume changing. One LBI session 3 years ago stands out in particular... barely lasted 40 min in the water because I was so damn cold, and then spent at least that long if not longer changing after, with multiple rounds of defrosting hands in the car. Probably the coldest I've ever been in my life. Regardless of whether going poncho or old school route, flip flops are key imo, even when it's single digits with snow everywhere. Trying to dry feet and put on socks and/or shoes wastes precious time, but standing or walking barefoot on snow/frozen ground for even a minute or two is a little too hardcore for me.
Stand on towel #1 Pull the hood off and peel the top down to the waist. Throw on hoodie Wrap towel #2 peel down rest of suite pull up pants put on socks and Olukai's or Triple layer towels on driver's seat and beat it home.
