Winter Suit Hood Issues

Really? The suit temp rating is for 45 degree water and above!!! Wtf!! Its a 9/6/7!!!!

 

Yes bro I do remember that sound advice. You'll be pleased to see in the other current water temp thread I noted that I'm wearing a cap til temps are adequate and safe for the ears just for that reason.

Now, on to if the manufacturers make heavier wettys for the widest market possible per product (which would behoove the crap out of their sales) or if they are just engineering rubber for NorCal/OR/WA/AK/BC. I guess the well to do surfers in NE/NJ and NS and Iceland don't factor into their sales plans. C'mon bro, you hear a lot of dudes on here saying they're in a 5/4 tops (some 6/5s too) like me no matter what the temps and doing fine. Yes, I'm slightly abnormal with my body heat and cold tolerance but I'm fine and healthy in that 5/4 and even sweating. The more normal cats I know who charge in 5/4s are all good for an hour or two in that suit in the coldest of temps also.

Get that 9mm suit and let me know how your paddle motion feels let alone the act of springing to your feet. I guess if you're just sponging then it's a different ballgame but mobility is still highly in your favor. I'll tell you straight up that I've been in the soup in some dicey situations this winter including when my leash snapped in heavy winds and OH. Don't want to think about having to swim to safety on the jetty wearing any heavier rubber than I was at the time. Once you're warm enough to stay healthy, then freedom of movement is the next priority. Not only for salvaging some athleticism for the enjoyment your successful session, but also efficacy of movement and conservation of energy if things get hairy.

But on the bright side...you and MVsurfer (7mm club) will have that much more flush in the bubonic complexion post-mortem than I will in my svelte 5/4 or 4/3. Then again, my adequate, yet movement-conducive rubber could be the difference in me making it out. Not that I ever want to be in the thick of things like that again or for any of you to. But we have to assume the worst that's possible of all situations we are stepping into and account for all of it. I've certainly learned that by now, and that nearly all of those things (aside from freak accident) are preventable.

 

It's a diving suit. The temperature ratings are more realistic. If that EXACT same suit was a surfing suit, it would be rated for Antarctic surfing. lol

There's no difference in the construction/material of the suit compared to a surfing suit when it comes to warmth. Divers don't do a lot of movement and don't get the sun. So that's the idea, but honestly neither do surfers on a cloudy day or when their sitting on their surfboards and the outside temperature is COLDER than the water. And they have WIND to deal with. If you ask me, you need something warmer for surfing. Again "winter" wetsuits for surfing were really designed for central/northern CA. Not new england. They just put those ridiculous temp ratings on them to increase sales.

For diving below 45 they usually use a longjohn/jacket setup(14mm) or a dry suit.

 

Bro. You're not gonna be able to move let alone surf in something thicker than a 6/5. As you go thicker, economy of movement and biomechanics decrease which raises energy expenditure. You blow all your energy too fast for no benefit and then you're also sweating so you get dehydrated and cramp real fast. All great things in water and air that cold, right?

Dehydration, cramping to the point of muscle pulls, exhaustion and drowning for lack of movement in the soup if you ever got into trouble. All great side effects of the excess rubber.

mitchell, and others, can you chime in here please? How many winter surfers in cold areas are having difficulty with safety and health in a 5/4 or 6/5 beyond extremities of feet and hands ? That's not near as much of a concern as core temp.

You're talking about diving suits for surfing. Do divers have to deal with breaking waves far underwater? Or much of anything surfers do on the surface? Trying to compromise on logic and facts here bro , but I swear you're trolling at this point. 9mm to 14mm?!?!?!?! Bro, I'm sweating in my 5/4 after 3 hours in 18 air and 35 water. Going to the 4/3 Drylock when I find a deal on one. Get a well-made suit that fits and don't be a circulatory patient and you're stoked!!

 

Bro...quit having an anurism. I've been shivering on cloudy day with 48 degree air/water with 25mph in a TOP of the line chest zip with hood 6mm after an hour. My hands were shaking so violently I couldn't even get my fin socks off. That's NOT healthy/safe.

 

Have you ever even tried on a 7mm?
LOL....Don't knock something until you've tried it. I'm not surfing so I don't have to bend in half. I just lie on the board and kick/paddle with my hands. Oh and going form a 4/3 to 5/4 is barely even noticeable as far as movement goes. Oh and as far as others chiming in, I know what the macho/polar plunge group on here will say. And no I'm not trolling. Just because soemone gives an opinion different than the group doesn't mean their trolling.

 

Bro. Few more things here since you love opening yourself up:
- Saying what works for YOU is one thing
- Saying what EVERYONE ELSE should do is another
- We are all fairly sure multi-million dollar corps know what they're doing for sales
- So far, you're but the second out of several dozen "machos" here advocating more than a 6/5
- When you chide others with medical terms like ANEURYSM, spell them correctly for emphasis
- Maybe you have Parkinson's with those violently shaking hands, get your dopamine levels checked
- Should a circulatory patient be in anything colder than bath water?
- "Maybe something's wrong with his substantia nigra!" - Colonel Sanders in The Waterboy
- "Going form" (as you say) a 4/3 to a 5/4 is a 25%/33% jump in rubber, bigger jump than 5/4 to 6/5
- Spicoli doesn't often drop the Sam Hammer on anyone here these days, it takes a lot now
- What are you trying to prove lately on here, with any of your jazz? Really bro.
- I just donated the last 12 minutes of my life to get rid of you (A Bronx Tale), so be thankful

 

Of course the companies know what their doing. Their market is not new england surfing in January. lol It probably makes up way less than 1% of sales.

So you going to bash me broman? Well, aren't you the guy that brings novice surfers out in big winter surf and nearly drowns them? And then talks about it on here like it's a great thing! Didn't you just start surfing like a year or two ago and somehow have all these magical trips everywhere, yet have the time to post on here? And your posts read like a complete skitzo. lol

Again, as you admitted you were surfing in 40 degree water with no hood because it was too hot! That says it all right there

 

Schizo. The abbreviated term for schizophrenic is schizo. Skitzo is a heavy metal band that's been around for decades, basically touring like they were the Dead of metal. Please, bro, if you want to go toe to toe, step to me with something better than a typed version of Sanskrit. Does my iPhone 6 sometimes autocorrect me into errors in posts? Sure. Those are discernible between outright lack of spelling and grammar.

As for my "heavy metal" posts, ask around this break these days. I don't think you'd find too many cats complaining about my content. It's either respectfully inquisitive, informative to the extent I am capable of providing on given topics, or happy-go-lucky and BSing in humorous ways. Not to say everyone on this forum wants to be the chairman of my fan club, but I've helped to keep the waters clean for a while now. You, however, seem to enjoy getting into it on a regular basis with multiple people here and in a general sense, that's not what this forum needs and exactly what the admin changed a couple months ago.

So you calling BS on me being relatively new to surfing yet investing the time, expense, and stoke in semi-regular surf trips? Bro, what do I post that smells funny? I was out in the PNW last week and had continued dialogue with several local SI members who were talking me through things and familiarizing me with the breaks and conditions prior to me jumping into an unknown situation of consequence. Not sure what you're getting at with calling me out on that front, but there's nothing suspect with my posts about where I'm going. Your self-proclaimed worldwide knowledge of breaks is actually something that's being contested by several here lately. Project your issues on others much?

I'm classifying your statements and behavior, not labeling you as a person. That would be ignorant. You can choose to act how you please and I'm sure it will either be accepted by or rash the others around here depending on its manner. Honestly bro, no one wants to read any more of this from either of us and I'd say let's bring it to PMs but I've got no time for senseless bickering and don't know you or care enough about this non-issue to have any personal problem with you. Try to stoke on.

 

I don't mean to interrupt your date, but what about your faces. How do you guys not get frost bite on your faces. I don't get it.

 

Vaseline bro. All over every exposed part of the grill and dome. Get the squeeze bottle and leave it in your whip. Works like a charm. I misplaced mine on Thursday's sesh so I just took Chapstick and went to town on the face. Same difference.

Good question bro. Petroleum jelly is the answer.

 

I bet that has more than one use for you and your male surfing "buddies"

(It's just a joke)