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what wetsuit for wales in the winter?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:51 pm
by megsurfgurl
Hey

Ive been surfing for 2years but never surfed in the in the winter, but ive decided to this year because everyone says theres better waves and its less crowded. I already have a 5/4mm wetsuit, would that be okay to use throughout the winter months in wales? and also what other stuff would i need like boots, gloves and hoods? By the way...I really dont wanna wear a hood =S lol.

Thanks for your help guys x

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 9:09 pm
by IdRatherBeSurfing
i wear a c-skins 5/3 with just a bikini underneath, tho you could wear a thermal rashie if you get cold.

you can get pretty thick gloves, but mine are only 2mm i think. i also wear hiking socks in my boots cos my feet get cold easily :D

im not a hood fan either :?

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:03 am
by isaluteyou
if it keeps you warm wear it screw looking good if a multi colored suit with the words "whoYah" were blasted all over and it was the only thing that would do the trick id have no trouble in sticking it on and prancing around like twerp :lol:

Ps i hate hoods as well i got sooo much hair it just infurates me putting one on. and i look like an astronought with a beard :lol:

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:42 am
by IdRatherBeSurfing
ROFL :lol: :lol: :lol:

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:46 am
by Phil
id get a hood, theres nothing worse than bailing in 9c water with no hood

i rember in feb i got pinned down on quite a big clean up set with no hood, when i came up every thing had gone really bright my vision was blured with lots of nice bright colours and one pounding ice cream headache

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:57 am
by drowningbitbybit
I cant stand hoods, they make me very claustrophobic. A cap is enough usually.


And its important to look a buffoon. If you're not in full buffoon-mode, then clearly you're not a real winter surfer :wink:

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:22 pm
by teighto
What type of cap do you wear ????

is it similar to a swinmming Cap ?

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:22 pm
by GowerCharger
5/4 will be more than warm enough, will see you through the coldest days no problem. Get a good quality pair of boots, dont be tempted by cheap crappy one cos they just fall apart and leak sooner. You will want mitts or gloves, but only when it gets really cold so a cheap pair of mitts would do as long as they fit well. (remeber boots and mitts go under the cuffs of your suit not over).
A rash vest will stop you getting a rash :D and adds a bit of warmth, and you can get ones with hoods built in giving you the option to have it on or off while you out, but you only really ineed a hood for a few days in winter when it gets super cold and its windy.

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:34 pm
by Midnight Rider
So generaly speaking what month do you normaly go from a summer suit to a winter one in Wales?

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:03 pm
by GowerCharger
depends, if its really sunny (like today) id still wear shorts now, a shortie if its colder, and last week when it was overcast and windy i wore my winter suit.

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:09 pm
by IdRatherBeSurfing
i started wearing a winter wettie around october/november last year... but saying that I also wore it down in Newquay in August this year! it was cold, and bleak! :shock:

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:18 am
by kitesurfer
I think you can get those winter steamers now that are covered in velcro, specifically designed for the welsh winters! :D

KS

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 9:32 am
by el_timmo
drowningbitbybit wrote:And its important to look a buffoon. If you're not in full buffoon-mode, then clearly you're not a real winter surfer :wink:


Image

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:26 pm
by GowerCharger
i hope thats not concrete your resting the swallow tail of that board on, thats just asking to get chipped

PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 7:41 pm
by el_timmo
1. my boards already chipped

2. it's sand

PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:46 pm
by GowerCharger
wasnt having a go man, just looks pretty solid in the photo and ive had 2 swallow tails myself and they where constantly gettign chips off the tails. (in fact i just got one back after years in my olds garage to find its been trashed and badly repaired by my nephew and has nearly an inch missing off one of the tails :( )

PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:32 pm
by el_timmo
sorry if I came across as being rude....

That was actually on the road, but there was sand all over the road as there usually is. My board however was chipped anyway. These days, I don't even bother to try to fix it properly because the repairs just keep chipping off, so I do a cowboy.

How to do a cowboy Timmo style:

1. get some old newspaper and superglue
2. rip paper up and stuff as much of it as possible in hole
3. add superglue
4. put flat piece of newspaper over rest of hole
5. paste superglue on newspaper
6. Allow to dry and read rest of newspaper

It is a VERY temporary repair, and to be honest I wouldn't suggest doing it because the superglue probably melts the foam or something, and surely adding newspaper would only increase the weight, but what the hell.... it's my board, and I'll do with it what I please!!

oh, sometimes in place of newspaper to stuff the hole, I use matchsticks! ahhahaa

PostPosted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:56 am
by Phil
so you gave up using duct tape then ? :lol:

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:38 pm
by isaluteyou
1. get some old newspaper and superglue
2. rip paper up and stuff as much of it as possible in hole
3. add superglue
4. put flat piece of newspaper over rest of hole
5. paste superglue on newspaper
6. Allow to dry and read rest of newspaper


Blue peter senirio :lol:

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:45 pm
by el_timmo
hehe phil, depends on how I'm feeling

hehehe unfortunately I never have seen Blue Peter, but I get your drift.