Hi Messup

It would depend on the air temp where you are and the number of times you take a dive. You will most likely be more comfortable in then out when you are surfing and if you get hot just dive in. If you are doing flat water paddling and don't think you will get wet I would not wear one.

As for wetsuits just ensure that it is not tight in the shoulder. I personally only surf in a short john but then again I am on the sunshine coast that only gets a week of winter and the water temp never get to cold. (plus I carry a few extra pounds of internal warmth)

I think you need a good range of wetties.You might wear a steamer in the cool moring,but your next surf might just need a short sleeve springy.Tell ya mrs you need one of each,as well as the GOPRO,cause you need to look your best in the footage!!!And I said so,lol,ppffftt narr dont tell her that,
Robbo

I've got a long john, not so great in the surf, cause when you fall in water tends to collect around your ankles. Long John is fine for flat water though I find when you are paddling you warm up pretty fast. However this winter I'm going to get myself some booties.

Hey Tom, I've been through one Sydney winter now on a SUP. I didn't really get out of my 2/2 unsealed short-arm steamer the whole time - a few days I wore a 3/2 sealed full steamer and pretty much smoked myself.

If I was in the market now, I'd just get 2/2 sealed short-arm steamer to cover me for the up-coming chilly months (in Sydney).

Sorry guy's I managed last winter prone surfing, just wearing a longsleeved 2mil jacket
I also have a 2mil shortleeve steamer,but hate wearing it
It depends on where you live

Casso said...


If I was in the market now, I'd just get 2/2 sealed short-arm steamer to cover me for the up-coming chilly months (in Sydney).

Exactly what I have-used all through last winter-I just put a 1mm radiator under it if it's particularly chilly air.

4 x 3 Ripcurl Ultimate steamer for winter and 3 x2 long sleave springy for spring/autum...

For SUP surfing on a sunny winter day I wear my 3/2 Rip Curl E-bomb. It's fine because there's no wind and dunkings only last a few seconds.

For kiteboarding in bad winter weather, or if I'm going to fall in a lot, I use a Rip Curl Fireskin 4/3. It's super warm all year round. Booties are essential because you can tuck in the legs of the wettie and stop water flushing in to the suit and it keeps your toes warmer.

For flat water paddling boardies and a rashie are fine.

SHQ in Melbourne have a number of 40% off sales and I expect most other surf shops do the same so you can get a top of the range wetsuit for about $400 including the warranty.

RipCurl suits come with a lifetime warranty on the seams and they give great product support. It's both bad and good that every RipCurl suit I have owned has had a warranty claim, but come back better than new. (In one case they replaced the whole top half of the suit with the latest fabric.)

You can easily get 10 years out of a wetsuit if you're reasonably careful with it. Rinse it in fresh water, dry it well in the shade.

Never hang a wet wettie on a coat hanger. Even the wide plastic ones. You end up with the tips of the hanger supporting the entire weight on the shoulders and it chews out the rubber. It's best to hang it over the waist over a railing or make a hanging rack out of 50mm plastic pipe.

In recent years I have noticed that the smooth skin fabric perishes and splits at tension points (Billabong, O'Neill and RipCurl suits). It's better to have the nylon covered fabric on the shoulders and arms. The wind-shedding attributes of smooth-skin are exaggerated and not really necessary for SUP.

hey guys.

girlie here, so not sure how much help y'all can be, considering different body shapes etc.

but I am also thinking of getting myself a full body wettie (i've already got a short sleeved spring thing) or at least a long sleeved vest, i've seen a nice o'neill 1.5mm one, but after reading all the posts, i'm wondering if that's just a waste of money, since I'm a flat water paddler :-) so i've no intentions on falling in the water, unless i get a dizzy spell . and like casso mentioned, am wondering if i'd just cook myself silly if i had a full body thingy on.... mind you, i'm originally from the tropics, and i absolutely hate cold water. would a long sleeved rashie be enough perhaps?

also, can anyone explain to me what the whole "2/2", "3/2" thing means? is that the thickness of the suit? sorry, but i'm a complete novice when it comes to this stuff

The numbers are the thickness of the rubber. The larger number is on the torso and the smaller number is on the arms and legs.

Diving wetsuits go up to 7mm on the body but most surf suits go up to 4mm. A 3/2 is a spring suit and a 4/3 is a winter suit.

1-1.5mm rashie tops are ok but you will get very hot and sweaty if you are paddling and not falling in.

You can get all sorts of seams but in general sealed seams are much warmer and last longer. Taped/welded seams are really good and there is a newer type called liquid welded where they run a bead of rubber along the seams (a bit like silicone on a window frame).

Almost all wetsuits are lined with nylon. Top of the range wetsuits have nylon fleece linings which is really nice and warm.

A double-lined wetsuit has nylon on the inside and the outside. It is much stronger and much more resistant to cuts and tears. The nylon on the outside is supposed to hold water and cause wind-chill problems but that is not an issue with new wetsuits.

Many moderns suits are super stretchy material so they are easy to get on and off and super comfortable. The stretch material can be damaged easily and you have to be a little careful. Things like finger-nail cuts from pulling it off or the ends of coat hangers can put holes in it.

If you are paddling on flat water with no wind then you don't need any wetsuit (unless you are falling in a lot). Even if you fall in you can usually dry off in a few minutes of paddling if you are wearing quick drying synthetic clothes. If it's windy AND you are wet then things get difficult and it can be life-threathening if you don't get shelter fairly quick.

Gorgo said...

A 3/2 is a spring suit and a 4/3 is a winter suit.

Depends where you live! In WA 3/2 is a winter suit for Perth, south-west would be 3/2 for spring & winter (or 4/3; may depend on body fat!), 4/3 probaby needed for winter in Albany, 2/2's probably a winter suit for Carnarvon/Exmouth.
My nephew spent a year in France & bought himself a 5/3!!

Unlike Tans, I still fall in :)

So I decided to invest some of our Rudd bonus in a wetsuit and so thanks to everyone for the tips above, they've really helped me work out what I needed.

One thing I found was that after much deliberations about thickness, long arms, short arms, long legs, short legs and finally picking the right suit for me, the store was then more than happy to offer me a really sweet deal on a spring suit which meant that I walked out with all my bases covered.

I guess they're keen to shift the summer gear so if you find yourself going the wetsuit route it'd be worth seeing if the store would be doing a nice bundle price to give you options through winter.