FOAK: Wetsuit Gurus

Any advice please on a suitable wetsuit for surfing at Cromer all year
round?
I have been looking online generally for prices and just stumbling across a
few. I thing I need to opt for 5mm to get any decent warmth for all round
use.

http://www.surfing-waves.com/shop/itemSHone2221m.htm

Then I found this outlet - looks really competitive
http://www.wetsuitoutlet.co.uk/index.php?referer=google
This site looks cheap too
http://www.watersportswarehouse.co.uk/ishop/893/shopscr27.html

I think I'll have to stop with those for the moment, as I am being
constantly nagged at about spending so long on the computer looking at stuff
that have yet to prove I am going to buy.

 

http://www.dui-online.com/dry_hot.htm ?

 

Antoine fumbled, fiddled and fingered:

For the colder months would'nt a dry suit be better?

--
Steve Parry
K100RS SE & F650
and a 520i SE Touring for comfort

(not forgetting the SK90PY)

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

Dry suits limit mobility and look very gay.

 

So does hypothermia[1]...

 

A decent _winter_ wetsuit and a bit of common sense and I think it's
impossible to get hypothermia in British waters, except maybe right up in
the top of the country, in January.

 

Cheap and seem OK Procella, always seem to be flogging suits on Ebay.

 

I'd say you're wrong, all a wetsuit will do is extend the time. If the
water temperature is below ~20C then eventually hypothermia will get
you.

 

A plain black one like the "technical" divers favour does'nt look gay at
all.

A cordura (or that type) one has lots of room in, or a neoprene one if
you're "into" figure hugging.

With a wet suit your best look is going to be shivering like a twat on
the beach with a blueish tinge, whislt snot dribbles out of your hooter,
at worst you're running the risk of hypothermia.

Admittedly, the sea temperature does'nt alter that much around the UK
between summer and winter but the wind chill varies enormously.

I'm no fan of dry suits and use my two piece wetsuit for most of my
diving in the UK so long as it's going to be a shortish summer dive and
its in the ocean. For the cooler months and quarries I would'nt
entertain the wetsuit.

The dive guides in the Red Sea were all complaining how cold it was last
February. My brother and I were basking in the warmth and comfort of it!

--
Steve Parry
K100RS SE & F650
and a 520i SE Touring for comfort


(not forgetting the SK90PY)

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

**** that for a game of soldiers, I use a drysuit in the UK. I did
consider using my wetsuit one hot summer day, water temp was ~20C but
the thought of 45 minutes on a Rib at >20 knots in a wet wetsuit
stopped that.

heh

IIRC the information that's available on exposure and hypothermia in
water is derived from nazi experiments on concentration camp victims.

 

I did my open water at Baltimore (County Cork, Ireland) in March,
back in 1998.
The water temp was 10 degrees centigrade and I was using the only
wet suit I own, a 2mm Tri suit made by Snugg, designed for swimming.
By ****, I've never been so cold in my entire life... well except
maybe when I was 13 and a member of a cross channel relay team when
the water temp was a positively balmy 11 degrees C but I was only
wearing sheep fat. )

--
Alex
BMW R1150GS
DIAABTCOD#3 MSWF#4 UKRMFBC#6 Ibw#35 BOB#8
http://www.team-ukrm.co.uk
Windy's "little soldier"

 

Different strokes et al. Last 3 trips to the Red Sea for me, I used a 3mm
shorty for 3-5 dives per day over 6 days. Once guy just dived in shorts
on my last trip.

The OP was talking about surfing, not diving. It's completely different
as you're mostly out of the water when surfing. I use a 5/3 over the
winter months and limit exposure to about an hour. Once though I was only
in for 30 minutes and got out when it started snowing, coz I was beginning
to shiver.

I've never tried surfing in my 7mm semi-dry. I'm not sure I'd get enough
motion in it.

 

Provided the "bit of common sense" part entails not going anywhere near
open water, I agree.

 

5/3 in spring and autumn, with long sleeved 2mm under it when it's
really cold in the winter, with boots and gloves. Summer 3/2mm
shorty. I'd try on a variety of wetsuits to get the best fit, and buy
that one.

Oh, the 5/3 Quiksilver wetsuit I have doesn't have a key pocket, just
a loop in it, so check that. I prefer to keep the car key in the
wetsuit rather than in a leash pocket.

As an aside, after 5 years of taking the same car key into the water,
I think the salt corroded the door lock, causing them to seize, so
you ham fistedly snap the key off in the door lock after getting out
of the water in a deserted car park in the winter and end up lobbing
a rock through the window in desperation. Fortunately, a separate
ignition key was in the boot. Unfortunately, the petrol filler cap
was the locking type. Needing the snapped key. But there we go.

 

I actually, um, well, suck the key before using it to get the salt off. It
seems to have worked so far.

 

When the wind is up and cold, then the worst thing is the head, so a
balaclava is essential. The body doesn't suffer than much through
evaporation because it's not evaporating.

 

Forgot to add: abso-fucking-lutely. I don't surf through winter any more.
It's too cold. I ain't 21 anymore.

 

"Common sense".

 

Ah ha, noted. Mind you, it is an L plate ZX. Any thoughts on how to get
a filler cap lock barrel out of the petrol tank?

 

Angle grinder.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`