My post from before is too old to put replies on anymore so will continue the saga here... Several of the tassie crew now have drysuits, keep tuned for how they're going. And before anyone from vic fires up about concrete, a heap of kiters were seen over there last week using drysuits while we've all been charging in 4/3's here...

Great replies from the previous thread, we've gone ahead with the Ocean Rodeo Pyro drysuits with a mix of Pro's and Surf's. Mine is a Pyro Surf so i will describe that one.

First impression is that you are wearing a huge chip packet - that thing crinkles when you move! Took about forever to get it on the first time, taking care with the gaskets and stretching it over feet/hands/head as recommended. Had some bunching of the inner liner up below my knee that needed sorting out, but the internal bracing system seemed simple enough to sort out. Got pretty hot standing inside wearing it with the OR fleece inner, was worried about sweating heaps inside while on the water.

To explain, the thing has a waterproof loose inner membrane that the gaskets attach to, and a lycra/neoprene outer that sucks it all in to decrease the air volume inside.

Put the neck gasket on and my eyes bugged out of my head - a couple nights with the neck stretched over a medium pot loosened it up a bit, but it still feels like a tight and uncomfortable fit.

Second time getting the suit on was much faster, about the same speed as putting 3 layers of wetsuit on, maybe a tad faster. Conditions on the day were about 6 degrees, no wind and a whole afternoon of being towed behind a boat on a surfboard in about 11-12deg water. Outcome = dryzabone and warm as toast while the other blokes were shivering in the boat haha! Rotating turns means you sit in the wind while the boat is moving, getting cold (usually) and waiting for your go again. Took more than a couple hard and heavy smackdowns trying big wakestyle jumps, landing headfirst, arm first and feet first, and not a drop of water got past the seals. Am very impressed with this suit!

Another bonus was getting changed at the ramp, peeling the suit off and finding the inner fleece was stil dry and hardly any condensation inside. The next day the other blokes were pretty sore in the back from being towed about but apart from a very slight bit of stiffness i was fine - usually i'd be locked up with some kind of back spasm. I put this down to usually your cold in the boat in a wetsuit, and then out hanging on tightly to the tow rope - with the drysuit i put this down to being that much warmer and not having a cooling down effect. While riding i didn't notice the neck being tight (but not restrictive) and did not have an issue with sweat condensation either and was skurfing for about 2-3hrs.

Will pump up a shorter review after the next kite session and some pics etc as there hasn't been any decent wind on since the suit arrived.

Rider: 70kg bloke S/M Pyro surf suit
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake
Weather: 0 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
Disclosure: no shops in tassie, no affiliations

**UPDATE**

the gear works SWEET on a kite.

15-25knots (gusty) in 3ft waves, onshore

allowed the harness to spin freely slightly to the side when switching to toeside, felt comfortable throughout the whole session (4hrs+). Very easy range of movement, took a couple hard smackdowns and crunching by waves.

Stopped once for a bit to have a yarn and a piddle (super easy, just unzip, take one arm out and pull down to waist - pee hole in undergarment worked a treat was toasty as the whole time). Will leave it on next time when going home in the car cos I got cold waiting for the heater to come on in just my jeans and hoodie.

hey funky
where did ya get your suit from...and
how much????
tj

I think the surf go for about $800 to $1000, its one of the reasons I looked at the Mystic, it was too rich for my blood. The surf are supposed to be the icing of the cake when it comes to drysuits - the best that money can buy for kitesurfing (although NPX would probably argue their lucifer suit is as good or better). Flexibility and warmth with less baggy issues.

yeah tj i paid roughly $700ish for it new, had to source it from O/S as to buy here will cost you over a grand. Plus they have to be shipped from Canada anyway and its difficult (read expensive) to do returns, even if you buy here. I have details for a guy that has really looked after us.

2 more sessions to update on since last - still no wind to try under the kite but:

Session #2: 4-5ft surf, Eaglehawk Neck (Tassie) Offshore wind
Got fair pummelled by the waves reckon its been over 6 months since i paddled so thats no surprise. My mate was in a 5/4/3 boots hood and said he was fine, while I was toasty in the 10deg we had. Duck dived well, had a little extra bouyancy in the chest/shoulders kinda like wearing a 5or6mm wettie, got hell machine washed and came up fine every time. Neck was tight around the traps for me so I trimmed one ring off at the end of the session, feels great now. No water inleakage at all.

Session #3: Glassy calm 12deg, superfast jetski and 4 hours of fun
I charged it all day and still wanted more. From 0-100 in 2.7 sec, towing behind on all kinds of kiteboards/wakeboards/directional boards, and driving about all day with the windchill associated with 100+km/h winds ;)
Smacked down hard on occasion and still no water leaking in.
Also, my mate was wearing the Pyro Pro (designed for kitesurfing) and smacked down so hard we heard it from 200m away, and came out dry but with a sore neck. He had been doing 110km/h on a board behind the ski before then.

Still waiting for the wind to try kiting in...

Had a session two weeks back where everyone was huddled and shivering behind a kite to stop the wind in their 4/3's and I was only just starting to feel the chill, but it still hardly noticeable. I honestly don't think I could go back to a wetty after this.

I'm not sure what you're all talking about??? The water's still warm - around the 24 degree mark!! We're all still in boardies..

Oh hang on.... that's only up here in North QLD

I'm feeling for you all!!

At what water temp would u start thinking about waring a drysuit, maybe around 16c?

I'll probably ride them any time its too cold for a spring suit. You don't get too hot in them on the water and you can always adjust the clothing layers to fit the circumstances. I.e. less clothing for warmer days.

bennie> I don't reckon the water temp really hits above 15/16deg here in summer and during the peak we're wearing boardies and wettie tops. Lack of solar heating from the sun and windchill can really hurt here tho...

I'll still use my 3/2 during summer, 4/3 for the end of summer (read 13-15deg water days) but getting close to easter is when i reckon the drysuit would really come into play. There's a few shallow water bays that are awesome for flatwater that fire up with the seabreezes that i wouldn't be happy wearing a drysuit for due to the oyster farms - i'll keep slashing my leg/hands/arms/feet on rogue oysters before ripping up an expensive drysuit on them. One good reason for wearing sacrificial boardies over your wetties there.

I can't even fathom riding in 10c water,where I live just nth of Sydney I think its freezing in the water now at about 19c, but If I lived down there I would definatly invest in a drysuit. Being uncomfortable during a session wrecks the whole experience. I will never complain about our winters again.

UPDATE

the gear works SWEET on a kite.

15-25knots (gusty) in 3ft waves, onshore

allowed the harness to spin freely slightly to the side when switching to toeside, felt comfortable throughout the whole session (4hrs+). Very easy range of movement, took a couple hard smackdowns and crunching by waves.

Stopped once for a bit to have a yarn and a piddle (super easy, just unzip, take one arm out and pull down to waist - pee hole in undergarment worked a treat was toasty as the whole time). Will leave it on next time when going home in the car cos I got cold waiting for the heater to come on in just my jeans and hoodie.