I need a new wetsuit

[1tuberider]

Winter is almost here.  We had ice on the ground yesterday morning and our winter storms are almost upon us.  Think cold air in the 40's and water in the low 50's to high 40's.  Not extreme cold but cold enough to turn your exposed skin blue while windsurfing. 

I loaned out my cold gear and doubt it will find its way home, my dry suit and bunny under suit were stolen last year and now I am in need of something warmer. 

I like the idea of wetsuits that don't suck up water, but don't like the idea of being a rubber man to climb in and out.  I also want something that will last a few years.

What should I be looking for?  I will probably have to order and have shipped unless my local shop can get it for me.  They do have excel wetsuits but my last excel from the shop already has holes in the seams and the zipper is tearing up the wetsuit.

My suit will probably be used more for windsurfing in extreme conditions. I think it would be to much for paddling except for on the crazy cold days.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

[SUPlime]

Search the site for Ocean Rodeo. Their drysuit, the Soul, looks like it's the tits.

[surfniels]

Hi there.
It sounds as if we have quite similar  conditions. I have been using a 6/5/4 wetsuit with a integrated hood for the last couple of winters , I have found this will keep you warm in most conditions.
Windsurfing in the winter is much colder than going with the sup , because of the windchill??  Gloves are a real issue when windsurfing but you can easily  SUp with 5mm gloves.
I just bougth 2 new wintersuits ( 2 offers I simply could not resist ): O'neill Psycho Freak 5.5/4.5  and a NPX 654 (windsurf wetsuit)

http://www.npxwetsuits.com/index.php?option=com_npxproducts&view=detail&id=127&Itemid=85

It seams that I only have to wait a few days to try them out, we are probably seeing the first snow of the season already this weekend...

[alap]

i am facing the same problem... my O'neill Pshyco 2 4/3 is 4 years old and after ~200 sessions it is not like new... most notable failure is the neck seal,  it is where it takes water (the rest are obvious holes - shoulders are thinner and the left elbow, from climbing up my SUP board - I had put some small neoprene patches). And it is used for SUP and wsrfng...

I am zeroing out on Pshyco 3 4/3.
PshycoFreak 4.5/3.5 is 100$ more  and it doesnt have the wind skin on the chest, so it is probably better for surfers...

I also found this, and will probably buy it
http://stores.wetsuit.com/-strse-73/wetsuit-vest-hood-neoprene/Detail.bok

it should extend the life of  my current Pshyco 2 - simply protecting the neck collar.
shouldn't hurt and easy to get in/out

the wetsuits with chest zipper are out of a question for me - I can't get in/out alone, and it is simply a minor torture even with an assistant.

surfneils, how do you compare those two wetsuits in terms of flex?  I bet O'neill should be much easier to get in/out?
is your PshycoFreak this year (techno butter) or last year model?
they say good words about this year technobutter material, but it may be marketing BS... anybody tried TechnoButter and previous year materials to compare side by side?

surfneils, I should also mention that with your name you should stick to O'neills 

[surfniels]

My Oneils is this year, cant really complain aabout the flex, but i haven't really had time to test them out yet.
I find the chestzipper suits easy to handle allthough I sometimes have to look in one of the cars mirrors to get it closed probable.  I have had a backzip suit and I always have to have someone check that i closed it the rigthway..
I most definitely  put my vote on the frontzip suits.
The extra hood west you  linked to can be a real pain to get in and out off, I have seen some surfers put them over there wetsuit and some put it inside, I dont really know the benefits of one or the other...

[alap]

thanks surfniel...
this vest link is to put it on top of the wetsuit, not under.
for me the idea is just an extra mechanical barrier from the water around the neck.
last time i windsrfed (5 days ago, next day we had 10 cm of snow) in 4.2 conditions... when waterstarting, every times the "wave" hits me from the back I feel the water going in along my spine... and it is not through the zipper... with my neck above the water nothing goes in (Pshyco zenzip system)

may be it is easier to get in into this vest if you turn it inside out first? like some recommend with wetsuits... then it will be easy to put head, hands and then roll on below the shoulders... thank you for raising this flag... ill have to ask them...

[1tuberider]

I went to our shop and she had these brands.  Excel, body glove and hot line. 
The hotline is a uhc model with a front across the shoulders zip.  My last hot line had the pull over hood and it was a pita to put on and take off.  I will try the new one for fit but I think I can find better.  I want something lite, sheds water, warm and quality for years.  I have also no need for another dry suit.  The one I had before it was stolen was used on extreme cold days but it was not easy to suit up or take it off and I really worried about tearing it and taking on water.  A wetsuit for our conditions is usually enough.

I also got some neoprene cement to fix my 4/3 excel which I have been using around 2 seasons.  My experience though is once they start getting holes its time to replace. 

I don't use gloves to windsurf.  I just don't like the extra thickness in the grip.  To deal with the cold after my hands are numb and tingly is I take a 10 minute break and beat on my hands till the circulation returns and then I am good for the rest of the session.  You might try it surfniels to see if it works for you.  Some of the others brought a cooler with warm water to warm their hands but after another hour of sailing they were back warming their hands again.

Alap do you have a hooded wetsuit?  In the conditions you describe the hooded suit should eliminate the neck flushes. Hooded wetsuits do not usually come with back zips.

So back to the search.   

[getsupngo]

I would easily choose to get another Hotline UHC whenever I need to get one again. I've used them for many years in Oregon and have owned several of them.  I never felt cold surfing, SUPing, windsurfing, or kitesurfing in one.  They last a long time and I find them easy to get in and out of.  Maybe not the lightest or stretchiest as they age but it does have lasting warmth and never felt too restricted once wet.     

[alap]

tuberider, I am totally with you - can't windsurf in gloves, its like to smell flowers in the gas mask... seriously though, although I dont hold the booms with a lot of force (balanced lines) my arm muscles got fatigued very fast in gloves. And yes I make 50 fast spins with my arms to restore the circulation and normally I can last another couple of hours...

Pshyco 3 or Pscyco Freak that surfniels bought, they are the stretchiest wetsuits out there and they have regular vertical back zipper. They considered to be the caddillacs of wetsuits, but they are not cheap... very stretchy, among other things allow very easy entry and exit...

those two models come without a hood. I bought a separate hood that goes on top, but as I said for whatever reason it rolls up on my back, exposing the neck seal... its a warm comfortable O'neill hood, good fit, but it doesn't work against neck flush.... hence I am thinking about this vest. Of course new suit will eliminate the need for this vest... but the old suit has enough life in it to justify 80$- purchase...

and yes you right - all hooded suits come with horizontal zip, and O'neill is not exception...

my only problem is to try it, I kinda between the sizes, my current Pshyco 2 is XLS, but it is a touch too big. If this Pscyco 3 is really stretchier than Pscyco 2 I would think that it may be LS that will fit me the best. I asked local O'neill dealer to bring Pscyco 3 in two sizes: XLS and LS. He just ordered XLS and LS PscycoFreak, says that for the moment Pshyco 3 in LS is not available...  almost ready to fly to Santa Cruz to try

not exactly apple and oranges, but Ill be able to make my mind. Also I think that the fit for surfing and for winsdurfing / SUP has to be different - we are standing all the times and we work with our upper body all the time, so if it a tad relaxed fit in the shoulders and arms, its a good thing... Pshyco 3 is 100$ sheaper, a bit thinner and from what I understand has special smooth skin panels (good for us).

[14 West]

75% of the windsurfers and SUPers up here wear O'Neil 5/4 Mutants, many of us are on our 2nd or 3rd one too. Great bang for your buck in terms of durability and versatility, and I'd reckon it is colder and stormier up here so I think it should keep you warm!

[alap]

14 west, Mutant is a great suit... the only problem for me - I need an assistant to get in and out...

[K-541`]

If you want flex, stretch ect. that means you have to go with all the new materials that all the wetsuit brands use. I can make these suits last two years maybe also I wear them all year long as I'am just a little north of you and late spring can be colder than winter. Like the post above I think Hotline still makes an oldschool durable wetsuit.

[getsupngo]

I tried to try on some O'neils and some other suits years ago and was turned off by how hard it was to even get in or out of most them. Not so with the UHC, it was so easy that I was sold right then the first time I tried one on. The shop owner used one and said he sold many of them to the local crew.       

[southwesterly]

14 west, Mutant is a great suit... the only problem for me - I need an assistant to get in and out...

That's why they call it team O'Neill.

The O'Neill Heat is a great suit with same good rubber as the Mutant
 but with a 3/4 back zip that's real easy to get on/off

[night paddle]

Long time O'neill man but since I went Patagonia I don't think I will ever change. This will be my fourth year in my r2 and it is still in great shape. I never got more than three seasons out of any of my various psychos and after the first year they got colder and colder.  Patagonias stay warm year after year. A little more cost on the front end but well worth it.

Check out the Malloy bros surfing Ireland in Patagonia suits. That is some cold water but the wool(not scratchy) liner allows you to wear a much thinner suit.

I have an r2 full and an r2 short sleeve long leg and wear the full comfortably commando down to about 54 degrees.

If you go r4 you should be mighty warm.