Surfing Wetsuits

"Forget saving a few bucks for a surfing wetsuit that doesn't give you the best fit! "

Surfing Wetsuits are getting better and better.

Back when I bodyboarded the frigid waters of Ocean Beach, CA, I used a thick old two-piece farmer john and jacket. It looked like something Jacques Cousteau used when sailing the world on the Calypso. This thing was cumbersome. My next wetsuit was a SeaQuest that I bought for scuba diving but started using for surfing. It worked well for diving but sucked for surfing. Though it was warmer and less cumbersome than the Jacques Cousteau suit, it still wasn’t flexible enough. I felt like I was always stuck slow motion. After that I actually bought wetsuits intended for surfing and things got better.

I’ve had many surfing wetsuits since then, some better than others. Today I buy top of the line. You can get a good wetsuit for about $200, but I spend more for the flexibility. I bought Rip Curl Ultimates for years, and they were fine, but my favorite is now an O’Neill Psycho II. It keeps me about as warm as the Rip Curls but fits better. It’s hard to go wrong with the major brands as long as the wetsuit fits you right. When choosing a surfing wetsuit, forget saving a few bucks for something that doesn’t give you the perfect fit. Try several different ones and move around a lot. Too loose and water flows into the spaces. Too tight and you feel like your wearing a scuba suit. Since this is northern California, the wetsuit thickness I look for is always 3mm/4mm. Some days I wish I had a 2mm/3mm but those are rare and not worth buying a second suit.

My surfing wetsuits last me about a year to a year and a half. When I feel one start to break down, I trade it in for about $60-$80 and get a new one. After a surf session, they’re supposed to be rinsed in fresh water and hung up to dry in the shade. I’m usually good about this but confess to skipping this step now and then. Otherwise my suits might last me longer. Just remember, it’s best not to fling the salty mass in the back of your Honda Element/VW van/beat up piece of junk for the next day. This thing is as important as your surfboard.

I highly recommend using a wetsuit hanger. These hangers have very wide shoulders and really spread the wetsuit out. These simple devices reduce drying time by hours. I use the Ventilator which cost me around twenty bucks. There are more expensive models out there that have a built in motor to move air through the wetsuit, but that is probably overkill for most of us. I also don't feel like changing batteries or running a chord to the darned thing.

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