Cold water wetsuit recommendations

[stoneaxe]

I'm looking for a cold water wetsuit to extend the season at least into late fall. I'm 6'4" 250 so they will need to skin a few of those neoprene's to make me a suit.... Anyone have info on what's good and what to look out for? Preferred manufacturer's?

[Dwight (DW)]

How cold?

We use kokatat drysuits in all Gore-Tex construction. We tested the fake Gore-Tex, it doesn't breath enough for us. Real Gore-Tex is very breathable. Way more comfortable than a wetsuit. They are not overly warm, like most drysuits, so you can wear them on 60 degree days to keep cold water off you. The wind goes right through the suit, so they stay cool and comfortable. Gore-Tex does not block wind like the manufacturer claims, total BS, always has been. You can test the breathablity standing in front of a fan. You will feel the cool air come right through real Gore-tex.

On very cold days we wear polypro underwear. On cold and windy days we use wind blocking polypro.

Expensive, but way more comfortable than anything else. No sweating like a clam in these suits.

Also be aware they are HUGELY oversized. The XL will be loose and comfortable on you.

[linter]

i use a kokatat dry suit as well but until the water gets supercold i prefer my 5/4 hotline but *only* because of the built-in hood.  i've never come up with a good hood solution for the drysuit; because it's not integrated, the hoods i've got always seem to bind around the neck and either gag me or keep me from being able to turn my head to the degree i like too.  i've tried all kinds of hoods. near as i can tell all the surfing ones suck and haven't been improved upon since probably 1970.  i currently use a cut down Henderson hyperstretch, with various skullcap combinations underneath it when the temp heads down to the 40-degree range.  not perfect but okay.
  dw: have you come up with a hood for your drysuit that works just about great for you?  if so, please to share!

[Dwight (DW)]

  dw: have you come up with a hood for your drysuit that works just about great for you?  if so, please to share!

Well it doesn't usually get that cold here. 50 degress is our average Jan high temp. Water about the same.

I don't like hoods at all because I can't turn my head and they mute sounds. I have better balance when I can hear. I think anyway. So I wear ski caps, usually the polypro ones with wind block from North Face or Mountain Hardwear. My wife likes the polypro caps with rubber outer cover.

I think you can modify your traditional thinking about what is required for surfing because we are standing, not laying in the water 100% of the time. I wouldn't wear a ski cap surfing, but I do wear it kitesurfing and will use it paddle surfing.

[nesurfari]

Stoneaxe,
I notice from some of your other posts that you live in Massachusetts. I grew up on the North Shore of Boston and have been surfing all over New England and other warmer locales for the last 20 years. I now live in Nantucket and have been paddling since I got my 12' Laird back in April. I love getting out on my SUP whenever possible whether it be surfing it, flat water paddling or downwinders. This morning my buddy and I paddled around the harbor and surfed high speed ferry wakes in our trunks because the water is absolutely perfect right now...

Anyways I have a big New England surfing website www.nesUrfari.com and have a surf school/surf camp called Nantucket sUrfari www.nantucketsurfari.com where we were able to introduce many people to the joys of SUP this summer!

I surf year round here in New England and was SUPing my brains out as soon as I got my board in April. I suggest either a good 4/3mm fullsuit with boots and gloves or a 5/4/3mm winter suit with attached hood along with boots and gloves as well. The 4/3 would get you out from April to December no problem. Add a vest with an attached hood and you could hit it up for those other three months as well on the warmer days. The 5/4/3 would be good from November through April and on the warm days you will be boiling.

Lets face it, wind is a cold water surfer's and SUP's worst enemy especially in the winter. You are not going to be going out after a cold front passes and it's howling out of the NW. Those glassy days in the middle of winter with temps in the mid 30's or better are going to be the best times and either suit will easily handle those conditions with the thicker rubber coming in handy on the colder day or if you were surfing. In April I would use my 4/3mm for flat water paddling in the harbor and 5/4/3 for surfing on the south shore of the island.

I suggest XCEL wetsuits as they are toasty and the same suits you will see a good portion of New England surfers using for winter rubber. You will probably need a 3XL for your size. If you need any suggestions for shops to grab a suit shoot me an email or check out the links page on my nesUrfari website for a list of NE surf shops. Dave Cropper is the owner of Cinnamon Rainbows Surf Shop in Hampton, NH and it is one of the biggest shops in New England. They know what they are talking about and they are and XCEL dealer as well as probably a half dozen other brands of wetsuits.

Good luck! I'm actually going to be up on the north shore of Boston for a week or two starting on Sunday. I'll have my paddle with me but no boards My wife and I are heading up to have a baby!

[stoneaxe]

Thanks for the replies all. Just what I needed.

Great to hear of your site DW. I just checked it out, looks great. lots of good info. What a coincidence. I'm planning on going over to Nantucket (just for the day) next Sunday. If the weather is nice I may bring my board. I was thinking about the ferry wakes. My daughter lives in Falmouth so I thought of the ferries as a possible ride 1st thing...

Great input on the XCELs. I'll have to get up to Hampton if I can't find them around here. Sounds like the 4/3 with the hood/vest is the best way to go. The 3xl seems to be what all the size charts recommend as well. Hopefully with all the paddling it will be big on me next year...

Thanks again!

[nesurfari]

I'm 6' 1" and was in the 280 range back in March/April but because of a low carb diet and a good amount of SUPing and surfing I'm now 215 and dropping. I have a used 3XL 5/4/3 XCEL winter suit with hood for sale if you are interested... as I've dropped to a 2XL now!

I've deducted that your name is Bob and your brother is Bill from ponohouse.com which I discovered before I found standupzone.com a couple of weeks ago...? I've spent a lot of time in Maui over the last ten or so years and it's always good to find another believer in the power of OMO (Our Mother Ocean)

Unfortunately I'm leaving this Sunday otherwise I could have shown you around Nantucket. i'll be up in Boston and then in Cape Ann the rest of the time (Manchester by the Sea to be exact) until we have the baby. I'm bringing my paddle and wetsuits as friends have SUP's to borrow and i have surfboards up there just in case there are waves!
 

[stoneaxe]

Congrats on the baby! Always an exciting time. Hectic but exciting. I have two girls of my own but youngest is senior in college.... <======Smiling father due to lack of college tuition soon.

I'd be very interested in the suit. Thanks for the offer. Where are you coming in? I could possibly even meet you there if that works for you.

Yes...Bill of Pono house fame is my brother. Just saw him a few weeks ago at Lime Rock. He's having a great summer. Not paddling as much as he'd like. Especially since he just gave me his Starboard. He was vintage racing in his 59' tr3 based Peyote MKII special in a 4 month tour of the classic tracks of North America. Talk about having a blast. I say he was because he just got punted at Watkins Glen last week and hit the wall. He's OK but the car is toast for the next few months until he gets her back together. He's been blogging his progress. http://www.allaluminumtour.com/?page_id=4

If you get back to Maui you should look him up, always a great guy to hang with and have a beer. He has all the toys too. He's been mumbling about an extended SUP trip from Paia to Hana using his Hobie adventure islands as support craft carrying the steaks and beer..... I'm thinking of building a kayak along the same lines. Be nice to have a beautiful wooden kayak with a mirage drive.

Sounds like a great time. Congrats again on the baby. Maybe we can hook up sometime next summer. I could use some lessons. I know I have a lot of catching up to do.

[stoneaxe]

I just thought of something. Would you be interested in a barter for the suit? Like a nice custom laminated paddle? I assume you saw the paddle post but just in case... http://www.ponohouse.com/ponoblog/?p=265

Hehe....I can't wait to get started on the next performance paddles I build. The difference in #1 and #2 is a good indication of what you'll see in the evolution of #3. Much lighter and more graceful but still plenty strong with a slight dihedral to the blade.

[andygere]

There are plenty of warm wetsuits out there, but not as many that are warm and flexible.  I'm wearing an O'Neill Psycho II 4/3, and it is the most comfortable, flexible and warm suit I've ever owned.  The neoprene can best be described as gooey, and it moves where you do, without effort. The seams are "fluid welded", so there's no stitching or taping, and no seams at all under the pits or behind the knees.  I don't wear a rashguard under it, and have always needed them with other suits, even those that are glued, taped and blindsticthed.  Also, it's a back zip suit that has sort of a funky gasket glued in behind the zipper, so water never leaks in through the zipper (Zen Zip).  Sorry if I sound like an infomercial, but I highly recommend this suit, or the 6/5/4 version of it.  I wore Rip Curl for many years, and my wife has been in a nice Hotline for a while, but nothing I've worn has compared to this.  In Santa Cruz, summer water temps rarely break 60, and winter water temps are usually around 50.  I've surfed this suit in 40 degree air, 48 degree water in total comfort, with just boots and a beanie.

It also has the best "gimmick" I've ever had on a wetsuit: The external key pocket with loop, located on the back of the calf.  Now on cold days I suit up at home, drive the old Jeep to the break, surf, then drive home fully suited and change in warmth and comfort.  Sometimes I substitute the Jeep key for a house key and just walk, but either way, it's a neat little feature.

[sponger42]

Hey Stoneaxe, what wetsuit did you end up buying? I'm used to O'neill Psychos and Ripcurl samples (because I used to be able to drive down to the outlet and pick one up for 100 bucks, but I sold them all years ago. Way back then, Xcels were having serious quality issues, have those been cleared up?

I'm looking to pick up a 4/3 fullsuit to get in the water ASAP, and eventually picking up a zipperless 5/4 or maybe 6mil w/hoodie + booties + gloves for Feb - April. I need to hold costs down, though. I can't be shelling out 400 large for an F-bomb or whatever is top-of-the line these days. Besides Ebay, any suggestions?

Surfari, I'm planning on stopping by your shop on the way to Gloucester tomorrow. Hope you're open on Sundays...

[Menlo SUPr]

I'm partial to O'Neill and I'm happy with their 4/3 Heat. Not as nice as the Psycho but more affordable. Jack's Surf shop in SoCal has them on sale sometimes.

[captain twang]

i bought a 4/5/6 xcel hooded wetsuit to do exactly the same. have not tried it yet.  still way too warm.