Surfing Waves

Hi folk's,

Seems like a stupid question, i know, but i'm just trying to decide if i should hold out on buying a full body suit and wait a month or so and buy a cheaper spring suit and be set until next fall/winter for the full suit.

I know San Diego water temps are beginning to creep back up. What temp is good for a spring suit? 65 degrees? I was fine last year in (i think) ~68 degree water temps with just board shorts in early October.

65 sounds about right. Mind you i dont own a shortie. By the time it gets warm enough i.e middle of summer i just wear a boardies and a wetsuit jacket to cut the wind and allow longer sessions otherwise im in a wetsuit for roughly 9-10 months

Oh the water temps wont really pick up much until at least late march othewise it will hang around the 55-59 area. Mind you its around 57 at the mo so my feet arnt going numb after an hour

I wear a full(cheap) 2.5mm suit spring/autumn in 12-13 degree water (guess thats mid 50's f) with boots and its damned cold, come Autumn agin I'm buying a good 4/3...

hehehe I'm gonna get severely paid out on this... I surf a full length in australia all year round. Just lately (late summer) the water's been a comfy 23C (71F)... but I'm thin, lankey and tall, so I get cold easy, plus I stay in the water for around 1 or 2 hours at a time, every day.

I think you'd be better off with your 1st suit being a full suit. (probably a 3/2)

When it gets too warm for that; then trunk it. After you've been at it awhile you can get more stuff for the inbetween temps.

I've really never seen too much of a spot for a shortie. Either I trunk it or I use a full.

I agree with Driftingalong. I own both a full, and spring suit. I've used the spring suit maybe 2 times, and that was when I first bought it.

I wonder if I could cut the top half off, and use it that way?

I think they'd fall off.....that'd be prettty I'd say if you try it, try it alone, or just be really secure

They do make neoprene bottoms.

i wear a 5/3 full in the winter (about 10 celsius (50f) and summer is about 15 celsius (59f) and i wear a 3/2 or boardies, although i have a surfing book which says 5/3(gloves, boots and a hood) in winter which i do, but it says you need a 4/3 in the summer

tomcat360 wrote:I think they'd fall off.....that'd be prettty I'd say if you try it, try it alone, or just be really secure

They do make neoprene bottoms.

I was talking about cutting it in half, and using the top section.

ah, gotcha. Thought you were talking about using the bottom half.

Sillysausage wrote:i wear a 5/3 full in the winter (about 10 Celsius (50f) and summer is about 15 celsius (59f) and i wear a 3/2 or boardies, although i have a surfing book which says 5/3(gloves, boots and a hood) in winter which i do, but it says you need a 4/3 in the summer

You people ar definitely hard core. Our summer water temps are in the low to mid 80's. Our winter temps get into the high to mid 50's at worst. Anything colder than 60, and I stay on the beach. We've had a pretty good winter so far. Up until last week we stayed right around 63 degrees. Its around 58 today I think, and I'm nice and dry.

thing is, when you wear the right equipment it feels the same really, apart from its harder to move, and when you take a bad wipeout and the water goes into the hood its bad, but otherwise its ok

I made it out for a session on Saturday morning. (waist high and on a longboard)
30°F Air / 45°F Water
5/4mm full suit w/ hood
5mm Lobster claw gloves
5mm split-toe boots

It wasn't too bad. My feet were deffinately feeling it the most (except maybe my face on the rare wipeout). The rest of me was pretty warm, but getting changed by my car afterwards was an experience.

Yesterdays surf air37, sea 46, surfed for two hours, didn't feel the cold at all. 5/4 suit, 5mm boots, 3mm hood and gloves.

I have an Alder 3/2mm full suit which I wear whenever my quicksilver hyperstretch cell full suit is soaking wet. Although I made the big mistake of wearing my summer at the beginning of december last year I think down in llangennith and froze my nether regions off...not that there was much there anyway

So i guess the idea is to wear a full suit until you can wear board shorts?

So if noone really likes the spring suit, why are they even around? Are they for more tropical areas?

yikes, when the water gets down to 14C I don't even consider surfing!

If I'm going diving, anything under 16C is drysuit weather!

Wakka wrote:So i guess the idea is to wear a full suit until you can wear board shorts?

So if noone really likes the spring suit, why are they even around? Are they for more tropical areas?

There a nice supplemental piece for between temps. Like on an extra cold morning, or a cool windy overcast cast day.
But, they aren't particularly required gear. For just starting out; get only what you absolutely need.