Surfing Waves

Ok so as we creeping closer to the colder months of the year in the UK its time to get a new winter wetsuit as mine is knackered from last season. I have always just gone with a 5/4 and used a hood when it gets seriously cold but I am thinking of getting either a hooded suit or just wearing a thermal rash with stitched on hood underneath. What do people prefer?

JoeQ93 wrote:. What do people prefer?

Living in a country where a 3/2 is as much as you need....

Sorry, I have no advice. I just wanted to patronise an english person. Coming to the end of our (Australian) winter and just the other day, as I was driving through some rain, I said to my wife 'I'm so glad I dont live in England, 200 days of this weather a year and I would go insane'

In the winter, water temps at my break dip to 54 degrees F and I use a 5/4 Ripcurl with a neoprene cap. This keeps me comfy for as long as I choose to stay out.

I prefer a separate hood as I have a very large head and wetsuits with a hood were too tight around the head. The rashes with hood that I saw had fairly thin hoods. I am happy with my Xcel Drylock hood.

JoeQ93 wrote:Ok so as we creeping closer to the colder months of the year in the UK its time to get a new winter wetsuit as mine is knackered from last season. I have always just gone with a 5/4 and used a hood when it gets seriously cold but I am thinking of getting either a hooded suit or just wearing a thermal rash with stitched on hood underneath. What do people prefer?

I used a 6/5/4 with built-in hood and the hood can be cinched really tight, hardly ever letting water in. I'd recommend that for colder water/air

Or get a Surfing DRY Suit. I wouldn't recommend it for a lot of duck diving, but for longboarding it's great. Your wrist and a bit of the neck gets wet, but other than that your completely dry. The boots are attached to the suit, so no leakage there. I wear thermal underwear in mine. Don't need to even shower after surf. Only thing is you can't pee for however long you're in the water.

Are the dry suits heavier or less flexible? I've seen diving dry suits and they were really heavy, but never come across a surfing one

As heavy as a 5mm fullsuit and boots weigh. There is a large zipper that runs shoulder to shoulder. They are made more flexible because the upper body doesn't have to be tight to the skin.