Yesterday my surf buddy forgot his boots. 42 degree water. We drove 30 minutes to surf alone so backtracking for them was out of the question. Crazy f*cker paddled out anyways... I figured he would get a wave or two and sit most of the session out. He surfed for almost 2 hours. I will never, ever, ever complain about cold water again. The end.
wow, when I was in high school I tried paddling out in March in NJ in a 3/2 no boots or gloves. It was a warm day so we thought we would be alright. Guess again. Felt like knives in my feet and hands. Got one wave just to get back to the shore and got out immediately.
Ever hear Ignorance is bliss? While back went to NC in April (the weather was awesome, but water still pretty cold). At the time, I had never worn gloves, hood, or even booties, so I didn't really get what I was missing. Stayed out for like an hour or so and came back in. Some of the locals laughed and called me crazy for not wearing booties. Now that I have actually worn the warm stuff, I don't think I could go back to manning up.
In highschool I use to use a 3/2, gloves and boots, with no hood.... Now I ride the short bus! HA HA HA Seriously though, 1 or 2 dives, I was ok, the 3rd set would kill me! I have since learned... HA HA
Yea Im pretty spoiled with wetsuit equip. I see guys charging winter in the 90s in those ****ty old wetsuits. I used to do 4/3 with 2mm bodyboard socks and 3mm gloves deep into the season. Now im in a 5/4 in november with boots and gloves. I wont appologise b/c you can charge without worrying about flushes. Sweating in Feb
a couple weeks ago my buddy went out in just a 3/2... no boots, gloves, or hood... in OCMD. he was out for a solid 15-20 minutes at least. that takes some serious cojones
his justification was "whatever, I saw some people doing it in a video in ireland- gloves, hoods and no booties".... (i bet the water in that video was in the 50's but I didnt argue because i wanted him to surf haha) After the session he couldnt walk/ balance on his feet for about 20 minutes. Fair trade off, 20 minutes of walking for 2 hours of all to your self barrels.
my poor ass can only afford one suit so i'm 3/2in it all winter long. granted i live inland a little so i don't get out as often as i'd like so it works out. Gets pretty chilly though...
my friend was home from school at the end of january/beginning of feb. he didnt have a 5/4, so me being the retard i am i let him use my 5/4. i went out in a 3/2 (i wore two layers of longjohns underneath) with booties and gloves. no hood, i lasted about an hour, but going under killed me and i couldn't take the headache. caught a few fun ones though.
depends what you mean by 'long johns'...i sometimes wear a patagonia/lotus designs short sleeve top under my rubber that's basically .5 mil rubber lined with capilene (with a nice turtleneck). don't know if they make them anymore, but it definitely helps keeps the core warmer. and eliminates cold flushing issues too.
when i was in high-school me and my buddy could only scrounge up 1 pair of boots, an 1 pair of gloves between the two of us... so we each wore 1 boot and 1 glove
ive found that wearing under armour cold gear, and socks under my booties seems to help. it could be in my head though... but I mean the extra material acts as a layer of insulation and holds in heat so it probly does help as long as its under the actual wetsuit
long johns, boxer shorts, gym socks, etc.....none of them will keep you warm unless you are dry inside that suit. Most fabrics are extremely poor insulators when wet. And if your underclothes are wet, they will likely act like a wick, allowing a fresh continuous stream of ice cold water throughout the length of the garment. Neoprene works because the AIR (a poor conductor of heat) within it, prevents the water's cooling effect on you.
yeah, any material under your wetsuit will collect cold water up against your skin. You only want the neoprene material up against you. I tried rash guards under my 3/2 one winter and it was the exact opposite of what I wanted. The thing was like an ice cube on your skin... Leethestud: Just curious, what kind of wetsuit thickness was he rocking to keep his core warm?
nice dude! Sharing is caring.... Really though, it never occurred to surf in shifts? ahaha either way, i love it. Zach, he was wearing a 4/3 xcel chesty (my friends and I wear em all winter here) with a long sleeve hoodie and 5 mil claws. Quite a sight wearing all that and no boots!
