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duzzi said..excav8ter said..
Hi everyone. What are you using when out in colder conditions? Wetsuit or drysuit?
I currently have an excel 4/3 wetsuit that I use when the water goes below 55 degrees Fahrenheit and a 2mm farmerjohn for when it's from 55 degrees Fahrenheit to about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Above that and I am in boardies and a rash guard.
I may be buying an Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit today. Just wondering what everyone else is using and why you prefer it?
I had two dry suits in my life and they both ended up in the garbage din. One was a sailboat dry suit, it worked for catamaran winter sailing in the lakes of northern Italy but it was just too bulky for windsurf. Ocean Rodeo was somewhat better from that point of view. But the main problem is the gaskets. Every, say, 12-18 month at least one of the gaskets will go ... no matter what you do (washing, drying them, put it away covered in talc). You can change them but the process is messy if you do it yourself and very mistake prone (like ... ops why do I have two liters of water in my lower leg), or very expensive if you have a shop doing it. Then there the bulk, the weight, the limited to none mobility in water (try to swim with a dry suit!) and the sweat. My Ocean Rodeo did not breath well and you were soaked in sweat at the end of a session.
This year I restarted winter sailing (thank you foiling) and I bought a O'Neil Psycho tech 5.5 that it is just perfect. Ultra warm, ultra flexible, light, integrated hood, minimal (as in a few drops) to no water entry from the top. And it costs 2/3 of a dry suit.
I have had various versions of dry suits for winter windsurfing in Denmark in sub zero temperatures at times. (no kidding
). The type where you have dry jogging pants or other dry clothing on inside, should not be recommended for board sailing of any kind, where you have no full size lifewest on. Though super comfortable, the rubber cuffs closing your wrists, ankles and neck from the outside are super sensitive. And in case of rupture, such suit is even deadly dangerous in case its stays attached to you and fills up with water...
After trying various systems/models over the years, I ended up spending a minor fortune on the top models from O'Neil. But boy oh boy, they were worth every single penny! Super comfortable, as you can order them truly to your personal size in neck, chest, stomach, height. And also the quality of the sewing, the zippers etc are simply just top notch. But it does take that you care for them, so lubricating them at season end, so the garment is staying fresh and soft-rubberrish without drying out and becoming crispy stiff during the warm summer months in the closet. And same as well with the zippers, so ensure they keep working to perfection and staying dry when closing it up. Now again, such dry-suit is never going to be like 100% dry, but its very near being absolute. You do actually often have body perspiration, so you will become damp anyway as your work hard when out on the water having fun. But you totally avoid those ice cold flushes when crashing out on the deep cold, as your core body stays totally isolated, and its mainly just your face/head and hands/fingers that are most exposed to the cold. (get a great neoprene hoody/facemask on and also some neoprene gloves without individual fingers and you are ready to have fun surfing even in arctic conditions!)
The comfort I experience in these O'Neil drysuits is so great, that I actually use them near year round. Only in the hot summer days with water temp above 15 degrees and sunny weather do i volunteer to take on wetsuits/shorties. Keep yourself and the muscles from the cold just makes you have energy to go on for that much longer, as all your energy is on the surfing fun and not lost just to keep yourself warm.
excav8ter
> 9 months ago, 7 Mar 2020
