I will be moving to the Bay Area from Los Angeles in late November and I was curious as to what wetsuit thickness I'll need up there. I plan on surfing at various places from Santa Cruz to Marin. Any suggestions? Booties too. I was looking at a hooded 5/4/3 Rip Curl F-Bomb and wasn't sure if that was more suit than I needed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Los Angeles
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Re: Wetsuit question
Fri, November 3, 2006 - 12:29 PMWhen I was in santa Cruz last winter I wore a 4mm and I was fine. I am up North in Canada (vancouver Island) and I wear a 5/6 which is great for this climate. I think it would be too thick down there. Some people I know even where 4's but I notice they do get cold quicker than I do. In the summer here I have to take the hoodie off and leave the front slighlty unzipped otherwise I get too hot.
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Re: Wetsuit question
Fri, November 3, 2006 - 12:53 PMI wear a 4/3 O'Neill Psycho Zen Zip. Awesome suit. Booties are a must. I prefer spit toe. Hoods are good in the winter but not necessary in spring/summer. I also have a bunch of rash guards in different weights/thicknesses and those help augment the suit as necessary and keep me warm. You may want gloves too, depending on how cold your extremities get. You'd only need them in winter and probably not even then. It's a personal choice.
Oh, and I have 3/2 suit I use during the summer. -
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Re: Wetsuit question
Fri, November 3, 2006 - 10:39 PMSplit toes ROCK. When I was down there I wore booties but no gloves and I was fine. I think it depends on how long you want your sessions to be and how much paddling you are doing.
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Re: Wetsuit question
Sat, November 4, 2006 - 10:07 AMI also moved from LA two years ago and surf the Sonoma coast now. It is amazing how quickly I actually got used to the colder water (in fact, I now belong to the Cold Water Surf Club!). I've been fine with a 4.3 up here, booties (or fin socks for me as I'm a BB'r), gloves and hood only if it's under 54 degrees. But something you might not actually think of as equipment....is ear plugs! If you want to avoid ear surgery surfing cold water often accompanied by wind, get them and wear them! -
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Re: Wetsuit question
Sat, November 4, 2006 - 11:50 PMYes!!!!
I totally forgot to mention this and Jamie is spot on.
Try Doc's Pro plugs. www.proplugs.com/ -
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Re: Wetsuit question
Mon, November 13, 2006 - 4:34 PMAh yes, ear plugs. That's something I hadn't thought about...I'll have to get some of those, though I would imagine they would be less necessary when wearing a hood. I was in my local surf shop the other day and tried on a 4/3 and realized that the 5/4/3 would probably be overkill - I was sweating my ass of in the 4/3. I am considering the new 4/3 O'neill Mutant, with the detachable hood and crew neck. Looks like a great suit, and I have had good luck with my O'neill 3/2 so far.
Thanks for the input everyone, I appreciate it! -
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Re: Wetsuit question
Wed, November 22, 2006 - 5:53 PMthe ocean is MUCH colder than the store though. i have never tried a wetsuit on in a store without sweating....
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