Scuba suit for SUS

[jerseypaddler]

So, back story: 55yo with bad flexiblity all over, have an increditably difficult time getting in and (especially) out of my 6/5/4 front zip suit. Love the warmth of the suit even in January, toasty as can be (and I run cold).

Has anyone ever SUS in two piece diver style suit? In small conditions would one expect too much flush? Seeing as how I have descent balance I spend little time in prone position so front zip shouldn't be an issue.

I SUS only in small Jersey conditions, I am acutely aware of my limitations and choose my days accordingly.

Found a 3mil john/jacket on CL for only $40, if it was closer I'd buy it in a second to try myself....but not sure I want to travel hundred miles for it.

Any feedback would be grand.....!

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

Have you looked at the Starboard SUP Suit? It's a kind of dry suit but much looser and easier to put on than a traditional dry or wet suit? It costs a fair amount of clams, but it's compelling. A paddle buddy of mine wears one, and he's close to 60 with some reduced flexibility. He swears by it.

I use a farmer John like you have pictured. That 3 mil combo will be okay until about the mid/low 40s. You can get these kind of setups for about $200 or so if you shop around.

[supthecreek]

Big Guy, very limited rotation in shoulders.
Can NOT get in front Zip
Can NOT get in a 3/4 back Zip
Surf New England all winter

I have been buying dive suits from NeoSport and Henderson for years.
They go to 7 X
and have FULL back Zips 

I love them. Cheap, comfortable and super easy to get on and off. I don't get cold either.

[leecea]

Just FYI, my wife has that 3mm Neosport farmer john and I have a Stohlquist 3mm john.  Just feeling the material, I would say there is a noticeable difference in thickness, with mine feeling thicker.  Maybe no big deal, but I guess 3mm suits can be different.

[PonoBill]

Drysuit, dude. Check out Ocean Rodeo. If I SUPed NE in winter I'd wear one for sure. You can wear your street clothes under it. I used to use a Koketat when I paddled the Willamette in mid winter, but I replaced it with a plane ticket to Maui. Neoprene is clumsy beyond 2/3 IMHO. You could also do the Patagonia suits--thin neoprene lined with wool. Easy on and off, but mine was WAY too hot for me. Skinny guys would probably love them.

I don't bend anywhere. Drysuits are super easy to get on and off once you have the neck adjusted right.

[covesurfer]

I used to windsurf all winter in Oregon back in the late 1980's. I'd sail places like Rooster Rock on strong easterlies. Water in the 38 to 42F degree range. Air usually warmer, like mid 40's to 50's. Anyway, I always used wetsuits. There were guys that sailed in dry suits but myself and the guys I used to sail with wouldn't touch 'em.

We used to call dry suits 'death bags': if you get a tear in one, or the zipper leaks, they can fill with water, you get overwhelmed by the cold water rushing in, you sink and you die. Have you ever gotten a fin cut? Unpleasant scenario. That's why I never wore one. So, I have no experience with them. Maybe they've improved over the years. But, that was pretty much a big drawback associated with drysuits.

When I started paddling 5 years ago, I was drawn to the water in winter once again. No time is more beautiful and satisfying to paddle than a cold, foggy and still winter day. Same water temps as before but instead of being out in raging winds, I chose to go on only the calmest days. I used a 3 mil farmer john with a fleece top. I always wore a leash and I was careful to not fall in. That was fine for flatwater paddling. If I were going surfing in cold winter conditions, I'd probably go with a wetsuit as suggested by some of the posts here. I'd be leery of death bags.

Plus, I like to try and undermine anything Pono suggests. Remember, he's surfing in 80 degree air and water all winter. Can you trust someone like that?

[yugi]

…
We used to call dry suits 'death bags': if you get a tear in one, or the zipper leaks, they can fill with water, you get overwhelmed by the cold water rushing in, you sink and you die. Have you ever gotten a fin cut? Unpleasant scenario. That's why I never wore one. So, I have no experience with them. Maybe they've improved over the years. But, that was pretty much a big drawback associated with drysuits.
…

They have.

“Normally you wouldn’t leave the zipper all the way open… but”




edit to add:
I wouldn’t buy a drysuit with integrated booties. If I did get a tear and water in the suit I’d want the ankle latex seals where I can just let the gathered water out.

[Bean]

Yes a dry suit will not "pull you down" if it fills with water since water itself has neutral buoyancy.  But, it would be a bitch to get through the shore break with the extra weight of that ice cold water.

I use an O'Neil drysuit for flat water on the coldest days in NJ and last year I decided to surf some waist to chest high stuff on my 14 footer.   Even in a minor wipeout, the neck seal let in a few ounces of water.  Just enough to remind me of how cold the water really was.  If you do not completely burp all the air out of your suit before you go out, in a wipeout, you could end up with most of the buoyancy in you legs which can be a little freaky.  You really need to pick and choose your days for surfing in a dry suit.

So, in answer to the original question, I used 2 piece scuba type suits in NJ back in the early 70's without any problems, so sure, if that's what's easiest for you to get in and out of, go for it. 

[Badger]

I've been using the Soul drysuit by Ocean Rodeo for three years now. I still like it a lot. It's perfect for flatwater and downwinders. I occasionally surf with it on clean days but if I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the water I prefer a wetsuit.

The new drysuits are light, breathable and very comfortable. I've used the Soul in temps as low as 10 degrees and as high as 65 degrees. The seals on mine have never leaked. The material is extremely durable. It would take something a lot sharper than a fin to cut it. Even if you got a puncture, the water doesn't automatically start rushing in filling the suit. The water pressure surrounding the suit prevents that. The few times I've accidentally left my zipper open, only a small amount of water came in and it quickly became warmed by my body.


Things to keep in mind when using a drysuit are....

1. They can be very difficult to swim in.

2. If the air is more than 20 degrees warmer than the water, you won't be wearing much for clothes underneath so you will get cold in a survival situation if you can't get out of the water.

[yugi]

Drysuits are fantastic for paddling in winter when not planning on falling in because you can dress light enough to not overheat yet if you do fall in you don’t get wet. Problem solved. Wetsuits suck for this as you overheat and sweat like crazy. If you don't swim some and rinse it it becomes horrible.

I don’t use a drysuit in any situation where falling a lot is part of the game plan. Wetsuits are made for those situations and are way better at keeping you warm when you are in the water. Especially if you risk being left in the water for any extended period of time. End of story.

[mrbig]

Drysuit or semi-dry for winter paddling. The only drysuit that even worked a little bit for surfing was the infamous Aquala in the eighties. Built in boots and gloves with a VERY tight neck seal. The suit was made out of rubber and was inclined to pinhole. I cut the toe off on a big day at Rye on the Rocks in NH with my fin. Scared s****ess as the leg filled with water!

I have an O'Neill Boost that I use in the winter. Wear long john's under. Maybe it's the hockey player in me, but I LIKE to sweat.

I surfed in it once! DON'T! Neck seal useless in shore break.

In winter, dress so you will survive if you fall. Hands and feet are the weak points.

[SUPflorida]

Many many many moons ago I had an O'neal oasis neoprene dry suit. Best of both worlds a waterproof wetsuits of sorts I used in all windsurfing conditions. In Florida our best wind conditions are in winter, and yes it does get cold here when the fronts move through. Remember the day it snowed in Miami...I was out windsurfing that day at South Jetty Ft. Pierce in that suit.

One of the coolest things about that suit was that you could pull the neck seal up just under your nose and inhale through you nose and exhale into the suit through your mouth. You could inflate yourself up like Mighty Mouse so that your whole upper body (just a little above the navel up) would be completely clear of the water.

Neck seal worked pretty good...only a little seepage when catapulted in nuking conditions.

The bad thing about the suit was it had the massive brass waterproof zipper in the back that I could never get closed without outside help. But it was a great way to meet pretty girls😏

[PonoBill]

"Death Bags" was a term invented by Bill Clinton, or maybe it was George Bush, under the direction of the Neoprene lobby. I always thought it was funny that people thought if it filled with water it would pull you down. Only true if you're a steel boat, but it does make climbing out of the water a bitch. Been there, done that, but not on a SUP--I wore drysuits for diving in the Northwest for many years. You need special certification to safely use a drysuit for diving, and they are generally thick neoprene, not goretex. The hazard is not being dragged down, it's being dragged up. The air you let into the drysuit to keep you warm and to adjust your buoyancy, migrates to your feet if you go head down. People panic when they find they can't get back. There are special moves you do to stop being a bobber, but the big issue is simply not freaking out when it happens. 

Many surf and kayak drysuits today are made of reinforced Goretex (or the non-Al Gore version of the same stuff) so they are only as warm as what you wear under them. That's a great thing in marginal conditions and for the big variation in temperature of SUP, where in the water you're cold, and up paddling you're hot. A fleece bunny suit is standard, but any amount of street clothes or a sweatsuit generally works. Like everything else, there are compromises. I don't wear them for SUP surfing, but as Greg pointed out, I don't wear anything thicker than a 2/3 short sleeve anyway. I have a full suit, but getting it off and on looks like some kind of ritual dance. But you said you surf small Jersy surf. I think a drysuit would be great for that. If you fully burp the suit you can swim pretty well in them. That means walking into the water until it's above your chest and opening the neck seal with a finger. Do it well and the suit is like a second skin, pressing tight against whatever you have for clothes underneath.

In an emergency, depending on conditions, a drysuit is either MUCH safer than a wetsuit, or not as safe. If you need to swim fast, you have a problem. But if staying warm and buoyant is the issue, you're gold. You can inflate the suit through the neck seal until you look like the Michelin man. Ocean survival suits are drysuits. I know a guy who spent one and a half days in the water off the Oregon coast after his crabbing boat went down, slowly bobbed his way back to shore and walked in on his own memorial service.

On the other hand, when a bunch of us did the eastside run a few years ago I was super impressed with Dan Gavere's Supreme full suit. He peeled it off like it was shorts and a t-shirt while I flopped and struggled. If I was going to spend time in cold water, surfing, falling, and swimming I'd probably get one. But I'm not.

[covesurfer]

In an emergency, depending on conditions, a drysuit is either MUCH safer than a wetsuit, or not as safe. If you need to swim fast, you have a problem.

Well, now I know a lot more about dry suits.

But ^^^^this quote, by Pono Bill, stands out. Exceptional. Are you working with either of the political campaigns? CYA to the max. I LOVE it. Hurry up and get back here Bill, I need your marketing expertise to help interpret daily life. I love asking Pono questions - he strongly advised me against going big on a d/w board at my relatively light weight. I even quite nearly believed him. Of course, the real reason for his advice was to keep me on a slower board. But he nearly convinced me that the bigger board would be slower for me. He's tricky that way.

Based on what I read here, dry suits for surfing in cold conditions or for windsurfing would still not be my choice. Great discussion of the bennies and drawbacks in this thread. I'd still call them a death bag though. I like the ominous sound of that.

[JimK]

I don' thave a PERFECT solution here

Drysuits are nice but can be scary
FrontZip suits are REALLY nice as long as you are flexible to get into and out of them

But ONE factor that has been over looked in this discussion is the CUT of the suit I find suits for WS and SUP specifically are cut with the arms UP So you are NOT fighting the arm gusset every stroke I'm guessing most of us (well you guys) are use to this and have accepted that limitation But YOU DON'T HAVE to SUPreme Suits are cut with the ARMS UP and are much easier to paddle/WS/KS with.
North Jersey I have some stock in these suits it might be worth the trip to check out Plus the have an LJ & Jacket option using under armour adds warmth to these wetsuits too

JimK
Extreme Windsurfing.com