Winter Coming....Heated Wetsuits?

Don't expect it to turn a worn out suit into a miraculously warm suit again. But, if you put it on under a solid sealed wetsuit that doesn't flush all the time, it will easily double the length of your session on those super cold days. It also really extends the amount of time you can stay in a 4/3 before switching over to the 5/4/3. I bought one last winter and I love it.

I get super stoked on those stiff offshore wind days....I don't feel the wind a bit on my back...and then 2.5 hours later....the batteries go dead......."F&%^!"

 

good but not perfected

i first bought the cypher 2 yrs ago. battery died. replaced whole vest and now it works. not a miracle or anything but does keep me a bit warmer. i surf LI yr round and wear it under my 6/5/4. (as a frame of reference, i'm always freezing and usually the last in the lineup to go to trunks)

i also have the H bomb heated rip curl wetsuit. big let down. it is an awesome wetsuit w very comfy neoprene, but it does not keep me warm enough in the winter. it is great to wear just before and just after winter but not during. also, the geniuses at rip curl didnt put any wind protection layer over the front or back of the torso, so when its windy it goes right thru the suit and you shiver. i bought a 1 mm dawnpatrol vest that i wear over the suit and that solved the problem. i called rip curl to see if they could modify my suit and they said no. if they made the neoprene 1 mm thicker and put wind blocking stuff on the torso, the suit would be perfect.

my advice is to go w a vest of some sort. try it on first if you can. the pads have to hit your skin but in the quik vest theres no contour to the vest then it may not actually hit your back if you are skinny.

also heard rip curl is coming out w a vest to compete w the cypher. i think that would be a good one to check out bc their heating element goes from the top of your pelvis to your bottom of your neck and the quik one is just over the lumbar spine.

 

I bought the Cypher vest at the beginning of the winter last year and felt like it was a bit of a tease. I needed it to be on the warmest setting to feel it, and then I was always left hoping for just a liiiittle bit more warmth. My battery quit working after about 6 uses, and water would pour out of the battery/controller after every session. I did like the attached hood, though and wore it a few even after my batteries shot out on me.

I haven't tried the H-Bomb from RipCurl, just because I couldn't fork over the cash for a 4/3 model. I've heard some good and bad reviews, but none from anyone I know personally. I decided to go with a less expensive option.

Now I've got a Thermalution heated wetsuit vest, and it seems to be about the best of both worlds. It's a vest, so I can wear it in all my suits, rotating it into whatever thickness I need. It's got two batteries instead of just one and they are much thinner than on the cypher vest. As far as warmth, the Thermalution gets WAY warmer than the Quik Cypher. I'd say it is probably warmer on Medium than the cypher is on the high setting. I've used the vest about 25 times throughout last winter and have not had any problems as of yet.

I'm definitely a lot less worried about this coming winter, knowing I've got it hanging in my closet, batteries charged!

 

Check out buell wetsuits. not heated wetsuit, but damn fine wetsuit. Buell makes all the suits for nike, ruca, reef, volcom ect riders. hes up and coming from santa cruz and his suits are best on the market. underground too - which is cool

www.buellwetsuits.com

 

Good call about the Cypher not working so well if your skinny, I just got one last year and a lot of the cold winter days I kept thinking I was turning it off when in reality my back is just too skinny for it and the pads don't actually touch my back so it barely heats me up

 

I where a 6/5 in the winter and am rarely cold and do not feel restricted at all. I have surfed four hour sessions in 38 degree water with 34 degree air with no problem. I can only speak for surfing as fsr north as NH in the winter maybe in Maine you need more but a 6/5 seems plenty warm to me no heat needed. Paddling hard is the only heat I need.

 

get a lined suit like patagonia or axxe. very warm and no batteries required

 

I took the leap and bought a Thermalution last year when water temps were around 41-43 in New York. Never tried Cypher, so can't compare. First time out with it, I decided to wear my hooded 5/4, boots, gloves, plus the heated rash guard. I roasted with the Thermalution on low and had to turn the heat off after about 30 minutes. That puppy gets SUPER warm. I switched to a 4/3 my next session and was right where I needed to be. I was able to get away with wearing a 4/3 the rest of winter, toasty warm....while my batteries still had juice.

They pack a bit of a pricetag to them, but if you don't like wearing 7mm suits in the dead of winter, they are the ticket! Its super nice having temperature control in all your suits. If there's a long wait between sets, turn it up. If you paddle your tail off and get too hot, turn it off.

To each his own, of course. But, I like my waves like I like my women. The less rubber the better.

 

I dont know anything about Thermalution. Does it have a hood? Are you saying that in the middle of the winter in NY with water temps in the low 40s and air temps colder than that you went hoodless? That sounds crazy?

 

Sorry about that; I should have specified. I just switched the suit to a Hooded 4/3 instead of my hooded 5/4. My 4/3 and thicker suits all have attached hoods. I still had the accessories on, 5mm gloves and 5mm boots, but realized I was able to switch to 3mm gloves after a couple sessions.

Water was probably up to 44-45 around that time. Hands never got cold. I only have 5mm booties, so I never tried switching to smaller booties; I was just very anxious to get those heavy 5mm gloves off my hands.

 

Bros, where did you all go?

 

I guess cause we don't have threads like this anymore. You know ... Surf related threads...

Now it's all ppl complaining and arguing.

Oh yea, can't forget that swellinfo is now also offering advice on any area of your life:
-medical
-surgical
- automotive
-career
-college
-family life

 

It's because this thread happened 700 times

SI People are disappearing because this is where they were coming to pretend they were something their not. To escape their mundane lives and pretend they were someone else...not like a fictional FBI agent someone else like an actual other person who's living another life someone else

In the past year or so they starting getting ridiculed, found out and hassled so much in every thread that their fantasy world started to feel just like their real one...and I'm guessing that doesn't feel good, so they left to play pretend somewhere else. Probably a Harley forum or something I hear those are "in".

Only ones left are the real people with fake names and some of them are busy

 

Sounds about right

 

anybody check out the prices at heatedwetsuite.com?

yeah right.

 

For those of you who had probs with the Cypher vest, it has a 1 year warranty and they will send you a new vest and battery if you contact them. I have recieved 2 replacements from them, no questions except what size and where do you want it shipped. First was battery failure, second time it was the vest itself. Go to the quiksilver website to email the warranty dept. If you dont hear back witnin a couple of days, hit them again.

Cant say much for the reliability, but I def was happy to get a new vest and was not asked for any proof of purchase etc.

 

True. Also one more annoying thing to remember the night before (charge) and adds 10 minutes to the ritual of putting on the wetsuite.

But... In 37 degree water... its a lovely indulgence - a counter balance to the flush.

 

I've owned a Thermalution for 2 years ..love it ..so far no problems ..it works great ! 3 temp settings . turn it on and your toasty before you hit the water ..low setting lasts 2.5 hours , high about 1.5 ..usually low is enough .

 

wow.
warm water.
envious.