OK so I’m not talking GreenLand but still thinking about how to make my 4/3 warmer. I’m fine in the LA area all winter with my 4/3, booties, sun hat, and gloves, but baja and big sur are both colder than LA.
so what do people think about fleece under a 4/3?
thick fleece or just fleece lined rash guards?
thinking about a fleece shirt, options are:
vest or long sleeve
with or without a hood
one issue is I can’t get in and out of my 4/3 suit unless I ware a long sleeve rash guard. It is one of those climb through the neck suits and with out the rash guard and can’t get enough slippage of the suit to get out without help. So that means with a fleece vest I’d still need to where a long sleeve rash guard. Will the long sleeve fleece shirt provide enough slippage?
what are peoples thoughts about fleece hoods without a neo hood over it?
Wouldnt fleece feel nasty when it gets wet?I’ve never heard of that, but anwyays , here in jersey the water gets to be about 33degrees and with negative windchill factors and snow falling i wear a hooded 5/3 with 7 mil boots and 5 mil gloves. I dont think cali gets near that cold so i would just go with the 4/3 and maybe thicker boots and gloves.
My first suggestion is, buy a squid lid. Just a neoprene hat with a strap, no buckles, velcro, etc. Here’s an example:
You lose a LOT of body heat through your head. First things first, cover your head. Plus, this will help avoid surfer’s ear. Unless you look forward to having a Black & Decker 1/4" bit stuck in the side of your head when you’re my age.
You can also get combo rash guard/hood setups, but I find those to be too tight around the neck. If your wetsuit leaks water around the neck (it shouldn’t) something like this might be worth trying.
If that doesn’t keep you warm enough, you could think about a thick rash guard. The fleece is warm, but hard to get into the suit without it bunching up. If you have to wear a regular rash guard just to get in & out of your suit, my guess is you won’t be able to make a fleece one work.
Where I am it gets as cold as Jersey, and the same winds, so mebbe I can throw in something useful.
I kinda like what’s called Expedition Weight long underwear under a winter suit, usually made of polypropylene or similar. Shop around, they are cheaper than surf stuff, which is generally second rate, badly designed ripoff gear. Unless you have a truly dry suit, thicker stuff underneath is just gonna get wet and heavy. I use a 6/5/4 with the cross-front zipper and built on hood, so I stay fairly dry inside, but it’s still not totally dry.
What I find the thermals do best is keep that little trickle coming in from immediately finding its way south of my waist. It cuts down on the screams.
Hoods without rubber completely over 'em are probably not a good idea at all. Nor is any part of the undergarment sticking out past the cuffs of the suit. Water will wick into the wetsuit like nobody’s business. And then the screams start, getting ever higher in pitch as water moves downwards.
Besides which, the water in the hood ( or anything exposed ) will evaporate, cooling you off further. This is also why you actually feel colder in white or other light-colored rash guards in the tropics than you would without 'em. Which is why a dark rashie is maybe the best idea unless it’s flat calm.
I have seen ( but haven’t tried) some fleece skullcaps designed to be worn under a hood for extra insulation. The principle is probably sound, but I dunno about the actual good of it in use.
Totally right…you lose all your heat through your head. Before buying, I could last about 1h15 before I was too cold to move. Afterwards, I was out there with the 5/4/3 wearing crowd with little issue, and that’s in the PNW.
I’ve since JOINED the 5/4/3 gloved/bootied crowd, but that sweater/hood combo was a lifesaver; very comfy and the hood saved a ton of heat. Highly recommended.
I can reccomend the “mysterioso” rash guard, it’s a fleece rashie, really warm I wear it under my 5/4/3. Cool thing is they last forever, I work at a local surf camp during the summer standing in 48-50 degree water, and I mean standing (you’ve got to teach the the lineup somehow in closeouts). If I don’t wear it I notice a big difference, and the thing has been around the block (you should smell it) and still going strong.
I had a ripcurl hood like that, but with a full flapped neck that went under the collar. It felt a bit weird around the chin because it was designed a bit like a diving hood, but it kept me warm. And it was smooth skin which I think helps too.
Coupled that with good boots and gloves and I was still warm when I got out, even after a couple of hours.
I’ve heard there’s a thin (0.5mm?) neoprene/lycra rash vest available, a sun skin in summer and a warm layer in winter.
Are you talking about your Hotline wetsuit? If so, I remember how tight it was on you and I may have a solution. My Hotline is a Large 4/3 same year as yours, and may fit you better than your Medium Tall. You see, I’ve lost a bit of weight fighting off pneumonia last month and now the suit is too big for me. Wanna trade suits? It’s in great condition and would allow you to wear a vest or fleece under it.
By the way, I wear a fleece rash guard under my suit when conditions get too chilly. It keeps me very warm and does not make me feel noticeably heavier. Plus it does a great job of preventing hypothermia when I have to strip the suit off to get to the key pocket.
What brand is your 4/3? I’m suspecting some brands might be warmer than others because I’m on my second Ripcurl Elasto (current one bought last winter and hope to make it through this winter too), and I find it keeps me warm up here in nor cal. I’m 6’ and 150lbs so I don’t have much natural insulation and still I do fine in this suit.
I have an O’Neill rash guard with hood but find it too uncomfortable under the wetsuit in the neck area (as mentioned). So I go hoodless and just move around a lot and try to avoid duck diving!
I use a plastic bag to slip into my suit. Just wrap it around your foot and slid your sleg in, then wrap it around your other foot and do the same. Repeat for hands. Plenty of slippage. Works well when your suit is wet also.
My first suggestion is, buy a squid lid. Just a neoprene hat with a strap, no buckles, velcro, etc. Here’s an example:
You lose a LOT of body heat through your head. First things first, cover your head.
I wear one similar , but find with the THIN neck strap , it does occassionally come off . If you can , pay the extra for a thicker one , with more of a balaclave like thickness to the neck and coming up almost to your bottom lip . Much harder to get ripped off your head . [Plus , you'll look meaner if you put black paint , commando style, under your eyes ...might get more waves that way . ] ben
I live just up the coast from Big Sur. Most guys buy a new 4/3 every 12 to 18 months max. They just don’t insulate that well after that time period up here. Maybe you just need a new 4/3? Get a hood,too. I save an old 4/3 for my trips down south. Mike
Like jerseygrom and doc, I surf the Northeast U.S. coast year round. I bought some of the those fleece products(polypropylene) and I wouldn’t do without them now. I have the top in short sleeve (o’neill) and also have shorts (made by some paddling company) to wear under my suits. They really keep you a lot warmer, and somehow drier.
As for their slipperyness: They’re not as good as a normal rash guard, but of course better than skin. The inside feels like normal fleece - the outside feels more like a cheap 70’s leisure suit. As for the long sleeve. I never tried one as I thought they’d bunch up too much. Let me know if you do go that route - curious about the bunching up.
You can save money like Doc says by buying outside the surf label and it’s the same material and probably made better. Look at kayak / paddling gear.
I don’t know how cold the water gets around Big Sur. Where I surf it gets down to 12C (53 f). If your suit is say, two years old, I’d say get a new one, because the new sealing technology is way better than glue/blind stiched. I got a Pyscho2 4/3 this year and it is increadible - like a dry suit it is so well sealed and it’s really flexible much easier to paddle in. If you don’t want to get a new one, I found there are a couple of things you can do to make an old suit warmer.I managed to get another season out of my previous suit by sealing the inside seams with Sikkaflex 221 (a marine polyurethane sealer) and spraying the outside with silicone waterproofing. The waterproofing really keeps the wind off, although it only lasts for a couple months and the Sikkaflex works well, although not quite flexy enough to use in the shoulder area.
Big Sur, I’d expect upper 40s to low 50’s this time of year.
Yup the bag trick is good done that many times before. I have no trouble getting into my suit it is the getting out. Can’t get the wet suit to slide across the skin to get that first elbow out through the kneck whole. Once the first elbo comes out I’m free.
The suit is a good quality HotLine 4/3 neck entry with the 6" horizontal chest zip. I bought it just before Big Sur last year so it has 1 winter of speratic weekend surf. It was probably and `03/04 design. Don’t do a lot of cold water surfing (LA is not bad, used a bad fitting 3/2 before) so this suit is going to have to go another season at least.
I’ll look at other places like Sport Challet and REI for similar looking fleece products. My local shop will give me 10% off but that is off the marked up price.
Getting new booties but they are just 3mm, they should be much warmer than my loose dive booties that now have a big hole in them.
Probably going to take my suit to the shop and try the long sleeve on with my suit to make sure it works. Will report back on that.
I had a fleece rashgaurd once, seemd to keep me warm in the winter months with my 3/2, don’t know where it went to though. I use a hood only if the water is super cold (57 for me) and I am going to be in the water for three or four hours. I really dont like them though because they muffle sound and feel weird.
i found out what is wrong. your water is too cold.
i surfed in California in winter 03/04 and i was cold. here i am fine in an unsealed 3/2 and i got a sealed 3/2 before i went there. i was still cold. i don’t wear booties, gloves or a hood. actually i recently got a hooded vest but it’s more for a bit of a joke than anything.
surprisingly, when i headed from the south (mainly from San Diego through to LA) up to Big Sur i didn’t really notice a change even though i was surfing with massive elephant seals (that was pretty cool) which i think was because we got such good waves that had size and punch (a found a lot of weak waves in southern Cal, apart from Black’s which i really enjoyed).
anyway, i would think the best idea is to find some warmer water.
The water temp will probably be around 54. If the suit wasn’t used that much you’ll be in good shape. Won’t need all the other stuff. I’d bring a hood and booties. A couple of duck dives and it’s ice cream headache time. Mike