g'day,

wondering whats a good wetsuit for winter waters (melb in particular). in summer i use a 3/2mm Quicksilver wettie (2004 one), and now i need somthin for winter maybe a 4/3 or one of those thin 2/1 tops to put under the 3/2. as you's know, movement is very important, so i dont want a uber thick wettie that i cant move in.

thanks for any recomendations,

Sheppo..

Hey Sheppo,

I use the new West suit with all the high tech elasto rubbery stuff and it rocks. The sealed seams and super stretch keep the water out and the warmth in. My old 3/2 Steamer (12 years old) was cold in comparison, the water would leak in immediately through the seams and the rubber was not stretchy restricting movement a lot more than I realised until I tried the new one.

Save your money up, and go to a shop that sells quality wetties and get a sealed seam elasto type in a 3/2, you'll probably find you wont need the radiator underneath it. The expensive top-of-the-line wetties are the go, never thought I'd say that!

Buy the best you can afford and enjoy winter.

Good winds

quote:

---

Originally posted by coreyb

Elasto wetties are definatly the go for comfort, but be warned they wont last as long as the cheapies. I hate to name names but all mine are RipCurl and they wont be much chop after a few seasons. I keep telling myself they have worked it out now with the new ones but they havent. I do keep buying them tho becuase they are by far the most comfy wetties you can get.

---

Yeh, but do you think they want to work something like that out... like you said a few seasons and they're worn, but you still buy a new one as they are the most comfy... so why would they want to sell you one wettie every 10 years when they can sell you three...

The elasto type wetties are definatly the ones to go for as far as comfort and movement go, they really are a bit special... as for the price tag, look for ones that are a season old, on special as run out stock, you can get some good deals like that.

^^ thats the problem I have with my west wetsuit. Has the elastic type ankle seals but they are useless for kitesurfing because the spray from your back leg just rockets up there. End up with water upto your knee.

Or check out Biarms at www.biarms.com
I've already written a review in the reviews section, but they are taking more orders atm. Custom made wetties from Japan, up to 5mm. Thats warm.

you could always just move further away from the antarctic and your problem will dissapear . i only own a thin spring suit and a very thin vest. somtimes in the middle of winter i only wear the vest to keep the wind chill off me . just gotta love central queensland .

I`ve got a glued 3/4 and a radiator and booties/gloves/helmet.
that outfit does me for Europe and Japan in the middle of winter, but come back to Queensland and I`m so happy to not be wearing one.

Buy the best one you can get and it will probably last you for the next 5 years at least.

Rip Curl had a few issues with their elastos for the first couple of years but I think they lost enough customers that they really got off their butts to fix the probs.

i like the gaastra kitesurfing specific wettie

thanks for that link

quote:

---

Originally posted by mr bagus


I used to use surfing wetties but am converted to these specialty types."www.gaastrawetsuits.com" has got info.

---

These suit's look great, and the range appears to be available in Aus.

In Sydney a short armed steamer should be ideal if the suit is designed properly. Unfortunately the major Aussie brands appear to be fashion lables first and wetsuits designers second.

I also had a Gul Wesuit a number of years ago, a different league to anything generally available in Aus.

i found that when i do that water collects in the legs and it stretches.
greg.