Hi guys. I'm the dude in the video. Based on the large number of views and comments, managing the cold is a big deal for many windsurfers who want to keep windsurfing year round. From what I gather in the comments, the windsurfers who have tried modern drysuits have good opinions of them. Some said that they forgot to zip up and water got in, but so far there are no comments from anyone who has actually ripped open a drysuit and suffered a scary return to the beach. I'm not saying it can't happen, just that it doesn't happen frequently. In ten years of use, maybe 200 sessions in flat water and big waves, my drysuit has never leaked more than a couple of drops coming in at the wrist seals from a hard crash landing (and I crash hard as you see in the video) and I have never forgot to zip it up (maybe because the zipper is in the front). Almost all of the comments from windsurfers who only use wetsuits mention that their hands are the thing that goes first and you need to wear some sort of glove, sailing vest and thin boom combination to endure it. No problem with that, I do the same once in a while (including the sailing vest over the wetsuit). Here in northern Spain temps do drop to freezing and below, with snow on the beaches for short moments. One of the reasons for trying a drysuit in the first place was sailing a winter day in -2C in a wetsuit and no booties, I completely tore my achilles tendon landing a jump flat. I was by myself and it was very difficult to get to the beach and then to the hospital for surgery (I have a 26cm scar running up my leg to remember it). After that, I bought the Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit and have loved using it ever since knowing that my body core is warm/hot depending on the layers underneath, my hands stay much warmer and I won't be breaking my other achilles due to the cold. I'm 54 years old and don't want to suffer if I don't have to, especially when the northern winters offer the most consistent wind and waves, and some of the most exciting windsurfing conditions of the year. Send it!
The killer for me in sub 10 degrees temperature is my hands. I tried palmless gloves but i still can't grip the boom comfortably. My body doesn't get that cold...
Hi Ben. Appropriate topic given the time of year- at least for those of us living in the north! Thanks to you and your friend for covering it. My friends and I windsurf all year in Comox, British Columbia, Canada. Temps are sometimes minus single digits with windchill. All of us are using 5/4 mm wetsuits. Most are wearing gloves but some of us are barehanded. I bring a cooler filled with warm water that is used for reheating my hands (and sometimes feet). Usually 3 hand dunks over the first hour is enough to climatize them for the rest of the session. It’s been pretty windy since Christmas Eve, so this season has been good. Keep up the good work and enjoy your trip to South Africa. Kevin
Great video, we surf all year in Lynæs Denmark, but stay around low water depths mostly. I use wet suit, and then 7mm boots! Keeping feet hot is essential
Top video Ben 😃 I’ve (Dejan) been sailing on Lake Geneva for a very long long time in winter (when I'm not on the snow at the top of the mountains 😂) and I've already done it in Leucate... I've never had a Drysuit, I'm in a Wetsuit and I always have a helmet and an impact vest that cuts the wind, but why not try a Drysuit once... Well, OK, I warm myself up with hot tea regularly... 😉 Aloha from Swiss Alps ❄️🥶🤙🏼
Windsurfing on lakes in central Ireland. Best winds are from Sept to March. Used to use a 2ml shortie under my normal 5/4 wetsuit. Bulky, a bit restrictive, but you last longer on the water. Open handed mits are a must. Tried washing/rubber gloves under them last week. And cramped up within 1 min. Just the mits are fine. 5ml hood also a must. This year have started sailing with a waterproof smock (about €30) - GAMECHANGER. I'm able to sail without the shortie and stay as warm or warmer. I also still with a life jacket over this. I can be a bit awkward with the harness but also helps with the cold and when you fall in I find I'm able to pop back onto the board quicker. Safe sailing everyone.
The modern wetsuits are super flexible and warm, no need for a dry-suit. I use a C-skins wired+ 6:5 (hooded) down to -3°C (in the air). No problems with the body temperature, it is the hands that is the difficult part. Either warm and cramp in the arms, or cold with a good grip... ;)
He mentioned that. The advantage of his drysuit is he doesn't get cold hands and an stay of the water for longer in winter. So for him, it's better. For any sailor who doesn^t want cold hands after a short while too.
I just think that he needs to try a modern winter wetsuit (preferably hooded too), before he tries to make any comparisons between the two. It doesn't even look to be very cold in that movie either, there is no snow or ice anywhere? The issues with the hands begin when you have ice building up on the boom... @@Team33Team33
haha I recognize that face. I've been going back and forth between drysuits and wetsuits here in Michigan for 40 years and have been sticking with the wetsuits lately however after watching this video I may get my drysuit repaired for some of the flat water sessions in the cold but I feel safer in the waves in my wetsuit....
Hello from "the polar bear windsurfing" from Finland. I think what's not covered here is the impact of your body temperature to your hand temperature. When I changed from wetsuit to drysuit (Ion Fuse with 4/3 neoprene) I discovered that my hands were not that numb anymore. My theory is that's down to warmer core, and warmer bloadstream to the hands. We sail here everything to zero temperatures. I never (wave)sail below zero as ice rapidly makes your gear heavy, and all plastic material (broke a boom clamp once I did) is in danger. Other issue is the "what if"-situation. Once I broke a mast at the worst place. Out gybe outside of the bay. It was air +3 and water temp +2. 4,2 weather, and I had to ditch the rig, and paddle the 1,5 km downwind to shore while it was almost a whiteout with sleeting. Did I have a wetsuit, not sure if I had managed. Right now it's the icebreakers that are the main vechiles on our seas....
I have a drysuit... it started leaking.. i almost drowned.. was out on my 74litre speedboard here in sweden it was impossible to waterstart with all the water in the legs of my suit. Had to swim a km with 40l of freezing water in my suit. I got a new 6/4 wetsuit that is really soft stretchy.. Put plastic 2l bottles in the arms of your wetsuit when not using it and it will not give you cramps.
Hello Ben , for catamaran sailing i used a helly hansen dry suit. But after 1 hour the body gets cold because condisation occours. You can use fleece under neath but also after a period of time it gets wet underneath. Now days i go for the neoprene 5/4 en until 7 degrees with bare hands. Good luck Ben and keep up the good work
In Northen Lake Michigan some days in November and April are possible with 5mm three finger Patigonia mittens and 8mm boots. With the possibility of swimming to shore 45 minutes you will need full body coverage. The icy water will take you down, painfully. Get into the water and back float to test warmth before stepping on the board and sailing away from shore. Hopefully some April snow coverage and reasonable spring temperatures will keep us off the 35 degree water this year.
I’m using 5/4+ O’Neil Psycho Tech, with 1mm O’Neil hooded body shirt and Race/Weight vest. On really cold days (5°C and below, feeling like -5°C or lower) I use a 9Bft 3mm non-hooded hoody on top of that. Preferably bare handed (takes a cup of tea after the first few runs to acclimatize) but I always take the open palm mittens in the race vest. Also used Marigold cleaning gloves (just let the water run in- and out), but they were a tad too small and arms still got sore (have to try bigger ones). Dry suit is on my list to test. Just didn’t find the right brands yet, so I might test the one in the video ✅ Thanks for great content 🙏🏻
I often suffer from Wind chill and have also thought about a drysuit but the other day I met someone who wear a spray top over his wetsuit and it works quite ok against wind chill. A spray top is also widely used by sailors.
Hi Ben, here in the Netherlands I use a 3- layer system. Driving off at home I already wear my ION 2mm Neotop, this prevents getting cold already when putting my wetsuit on... a 6mm ION Seek. On top of that, a neo hood and open palm gloves. Normally this does the trick, if not I use an ION 2mm Neo Cruise jacket on top, one size smaller than my wetsuit to get a snug fit over the wetsuit. The ION neotop and Cruise jacket are a real good investment because it allows you to adjust rapidly to the weather conditions no matter the thickness of wetsuit.
I use similar dry suite - OR Soul for 8 years already. It is great. It has integrated cloth dry socks, so I can wear thick wool socks underneath and my feet are dry. For hands I wear dry mittens - membrane mittens with wrist gaskets, and I wear separate thermo-mittens inside them. I can be on water for 2-3 hours non stop. I wing foil in Toronto Ontario till T is above 0C.
I have a kokotat …awesome . No issues with durability. And for those that think water will rush in and drown you …it doesn’t happen or didn’t happen to me. I hit the water once and forgot to zip all the way closed. Had a 2 inch gap. When I was in the water I felt my shoulder getting cold. But still pressed on. Didn’t realize til the end of the sesh that I didn’t zip all the way up. Only my fleece got damp. Now if I was swimming for awhile in water..it would have filled up more…but I would have realized then the zipper was down. 😮
Have an Ocean rodeo convertible drysuit that I use for windsurfing, but also as foul weather gear on my sailboat. Simply amazing suits - HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
great advice, i have a thick steamer . But my kitesurfing friends, when they arent trying to tell me how superor they are , have said the same. i usually dont trust them, , as they tell me i can never jump as high as them, and i figure they are brain damaged from the repeated impacts. BUT one was a former windsurfer so his opinion holds more weight even though hes basically a traitor.
Remember when snowboarding killed skiing, then it fizzled out and people realised they were allowed to like skiing again? I think that's where we're at with kite surfing...
11 місяців тому+1
Good fitting 6/5 hooded wetsuit goes a long way. Comfortable down to 5C, with 0C water. Putting another 0.5 or 1mm neoprene vest or shirt under and impact west on top of your wetsuit helps as well. Mittens are the biggest problem still, curved thicker neoprene on top and thin strong nonslip material in palm works really well, but only as long as you can find good fit. Prolimit makes it and Ion does but If XL is not enough there's nothing else out there. In freezing water and strong winds open palm is not much of an option. 7 to 9 mm round toe boots work perfect. But again another story is getting them foot straps wide and big enough, not to get stuck in it. Once geared up it's really good to have a proper warmup before going in or the initial cold in fingers may get hard to overcome.
My hands become an issue way before the body. Keeping warm before sailing, dunking hands in warm water and palmless mitts as wind shields seem to be the workarounds, but there's still no solve. I also use an O'Neill thermo-x vest - it's thin and toasty. You can also use it to wear a thinner suit when it's a bit milder. Great video, love all the content!
Hi Ben, It is nice to see this video as probably many people suffers from cold weather problems. I live in Mallorca, the Balearic Islands, even this place is supposed to be warm, compared with northern Europe...🙂 sometimes I sailed in the north of the island even in snowy days, (yes, it snows here as weel from time to time) and outside temperature are lower than 5º. First of all I saild with a Thermalution heated lycra and it was nice, using as well a gloves system from Ianovated which blows hot air from your lungs into the gloves and makes fingertips to heat. But finally I discovered an Hybrid drysuit, whic is lower part of neoprene 5mm, which is most time in contact with water and your body can heat that water, but the top part is a dry suit, it really gives you more flexibility, as I practice freestyle that's nice, and because it stops wind it does not cool the water fro the upper part of the suit as a wetuit does. At the same time it has sense because the upper part is just sometimes in the water when you fall of, not as much time as the lower part. Yesterday I sailed with my heated lycra on and I has to switch it off as I was too warm. So I recommend this hybrid suit 100%. Never will go back again to wetsuits... WIP FORWARD brand!!! I love your channel!! Regards from Balearic Islands!
I wind foil all year round on the South coast of the UK. I’m fortunate to have a wardrobe of winter wetsuits I’ve collected over the years, to suit the conditions, from Yulex fleece lined hooded, to the more stretchier suit, I’ve used Goretex breathable one piece drysuits in the past (mainly high end dinghy suits), and have upgraded to a Neoprene Drysuit some years back (ION FUSE) to add to the winter wetsuit wardrobe which is ballistic, durable against foil tips and edges . They’re not for everyone though, as they certainly have their Pros and Cons. The main cons are weight (7kg as opposed to a normal 3 kg suit), windage from the slight bagginess not being a contoured fit, and water resistance as the bag out slightly in the water, so wading into 1.4 m depth in waves with the foil board is a challenge. The Ocean Rodeo, NP Furnace 2-piece snow board look alike are a good option too, like the ION with latex or glide skin ankle seals, so you can wear your regular boots. Ion have discontinued the Neoprene (3mm) FUSE, and have gone breathable fabric. The big Pro of the drysuit is the heat retention of the FUSE is insane, only the skinniest of polypro underneath, it has to be really really cold and gnarly to be worth it, as you just get heat exhaustion . The other like the video, is ease of wearing it to and from the beach in some shitty stormy rain and cold you can laugh off. I’ve gone drysuit gloves with a latex wrist seal (Oceania ORCA), again crazy hot and no wrist/arm cramping
I used to use a drysuit 30-35 years ago - simply because it allowed me to stay on the water far longer than had I only used my wetsuit - and this was on a lake in the south of England! With overmitts when it was cold... Less macho but I was there to sail, not pose. Absolutely essential for year-round windsurfing!
Doing the same here on the Alpine lakes in Switzerland. Getting some Sailing in and not bothering about the "posing" in a nice wet suit bit that so many seem to go for. Essential piece of kit for cold weather with a fleece suit underneath. Of course; if you are out in gnarly conditions like some of those crazy semi-pro sailors it's not possible because of the risk of bursting it open, but for 99% of the time it's an absolute best over a wetsuit. I only use it if the temperature goes below 2°C. I may try and start using it sooner now I've watched this.
I windsurf in the Netherlands year-round, even in temperatures as low as 2°C. I started windsurfing three years ago, right before winter, with a 5/4 wetsuit (you can find it in Ep 102 - Send it Sunday, where I accidentally ripped it on a nail). At the time of purchase, I thought it would be my only wetsuit forever. However, I now own four wetsuits, all from O'Neill. It's worth noting that I use all of them very very very extensively. Ben, as you pointed out in 'Best Windsurfing Brand?', you are absolutely right - it's worth investing in the best option, even if it is more expensive. In my case, all my wetsuits are from the Psychotech series. I made the mistake of opting for the basic series once for a summer wetsuit, trying to save 100 euros, and I still regret not going for the Psychotech series. I'd like to try a dry wetsuit at some point, especially now that I rarely fall into the water compared to three years ago. Nevertheless, the 6/4 Psychotech wetsuit is excellent for cold conditions, just a game changer for me personally.
Went out last Sunday. 40 minutes in Minus 3,5 degrees with my 6-5 Mystic Gem. Fantastic warm. Only problem was the gear could not be packed. The equipment were full off ice😊.
A pal Brian here in Shetland uses a dry suit and belly insulation to stay warm. I still use a 10 year old and holey 5 4 O'Neil wetsuit. Did end up sailing with a Fladen survival suit over on top of the wetsuit once (only for logistics)
In the last 8 years I've used a ION Fuse drysuit when the air temperature is below 10C°; under I wear a techinal underwear and with this combo I've sailed in several days with air temperature around -1 C°, sea temp 5C° and gusts over 40 knots without any problem except for the hands.
0 degrees and windsurfing? I can't imagine. I was an addicted and committed happy windsurfer in the 80's and 90's. I'd sail the San Francisco Bay in the Winter storms and then drive and ride the early snowboards in deep powder the next day in the Sierras. I remember the dry suits then were very basic but worked okay. But our hands would get very cold. We could sail for maybe 15-20 minutes before we couldn't feel our fingers. How do you keep your hands from getting too cold to sail in 0 degrees?
I've had one but it didn't last as much as your buddy's drysuit. I really appreciated it but it lost its waterproofing eventually, mainly where the harness was compressing and scratching it.
@@tantricsurfer That's exactly what the guy said. He wouldn't sail in the open in a dry suit but for icy cold conditions in an inner bay for those extra strong but cold days it's actually better than a wet suit.
I had a suit that was fantastic back in the 90s, windsurfing here on cold Lake Superior. It was a wetsuit bottom / farmer suit with a rubber skirt around the midsection. The top was a drysuit that, once on, rolled together with the bottom sealing the whole suit. The top was nice and loose, so you could wear a sweat shirt underneath. It's so nice not to have the arms restricted. I wish I could find another like it! If anyone out there knows? Still had the flotation with the neoprene bottom negating concerns about sinking if cut. Best suit ever, soooo warm in our 50 deg water! I have searched to no avail to find one like it! 😢
Get a spray top for dinghy sailing and ask your local wetsuit repair shop to match it like the one you had to your current wetsuit. They still exist made like that. More for dinghy sailing - look up dinghy gear.
I've used a drysuit for winter water skiing which was way better than a wetsuit. The concerns about ripping it and losing bouyancy not so muych an issue as there was always a ski boat nearby
In my experience, cold hands are the real limiting factor. But gloves and the breath system from Ianovated work really well to keep the hands toasty for most sailing
Great video, just moved to France after some years in the Caribbeans and have a hard time adapting to the winter.. Never thought of dry suits! Any brand recommendations or features/specs to look for when buying a dry suit ?
Oneill and Ocean Rodeo are the main drysuits for windsurfing, kiting and SUP. Both are very good. Oneill are full drysuits without the exterior jacket or rain hood and are excellent quality. OR look more stylish but are more expensive. OR seems to have just sold their drysuit business to Mustang Survival. Not sure whats up with that.
Just a 5 or 6 mm wetsuit in the north of holland will sustain you pretty much all winter. It's just the hands which are the problem. Below 6 degrees, the hands get painful.
Hy. Defenetly wetsuit even in cold conditions. Some years ago we (me and my colegs) used too surf also in 0 or -3 C with strong Bora, the only problems were always gloves and cold hands. One of friends had allso drysuit and he was complaining a lot because of bouncy. he felt like ballon when fall in water.
My only suit is a full 3/2 and I sail in high 40s F (7 to 10 C) by using a dry paddle jacket. I wear fleece under the jacket and my core stays toasty. My hands are the problem when they turn white and stop working (Raynaud's syndrome).
North off the Netherlands in winter a 6/4 hooded will do the job from 6 degrees. With Boots 6mm and glove's. I hate boots and gloves but without no Option
If you don´t even have to use gloves a Drysuit is probably even too warm, never tried one though. But in my opinion a proper wetsuit with hood boots and gloves goes with any temperature
Hey Buddies, could you recommend we what you put on your hands during winter in Denmark or Sweden? I think that north of Spain is still warm comparing to conditions in Baltic and North and Norwegian sea. What suits to you use there? I am using 5mm wetsuit when temperature is above -5 C.
I use 6-5 Mystic Gem and O'Neil Hyperfreak with intergrated hood. On the hands 3 mm open Palm mittens. Last Sunday I tried with 3 mm gloves with rubber gloves inside. I did cut a hole on the Palm, just like the mittens. It works really good. I did have the grips on the boom and still keep the fingers dry. And try to stay off the water.😂. Minus 3,5 dregrees last Sunday 😊
The real problem is not the body per se, it’s always the hands. Open palm mittens are not enough, when it gets really cold, or you’re just particularly sensible in the hands when the temperature drops, holding the boom becomes impossible . I’ve purchased the Duotone extra slim carbon wave boom as it is the boom with the slimmest section on the market, and it does the job in allowing to have a better grip up until a certain point when it get so cold that it’s not enough. I have Raynaud’s syndrom (look it up), a fairly common problem with the blood flow that stops irrigating the fingers under cold weather, much faster than the common people, and it gets worse with aging. I’m over fifty now , sail in typical Atlantic euro conditions, and see myself goint out less and less in the winter because of it. I wish there was on the market dry gloves with a warm layer on top and very thin yet durable palms to have the most direct dry contact with the boom tubes.
Not an option. If it splits and takes on water you're done. But that's just my personal evaluation; everyone has their own comfort zone on safety issues. The real issue in cold sailing is hands for myself. I've never found gloves or mitts that work even after making my own. Sailing in 50-ish degree water (that's 10C), I've never been body cold in a 5-4-3 wetsuit with 5ml booties and a separate hood. So I keep to sailing in minimum 50 F air temperature. I just don't get that care free fun feeling when it's colder.
For sailing drysuit are best, but windsurfing it seems dangerous. I go to -1C air and 1C water (was just windsurfing in MN on Dec 26th) using hooded 5/6 (with 2mm under) with kitchen gloves. The trick with the hands is to wave them around to get the circulation back once they are cold.
No offense. But back here in Switzerland we don’t consider north of Spain anywhere close to cold and wondering if we should go out 😂. When there’s ice on the side of water with -2 north wind and 4 degree water, that’s pretty cold. I have 5/6mm gunsail semi dry. I honestly almost don’t feel any cold on my body or head. Only the hands are the limit with open mittens and the pain in forearms. For the rest, I feels like playing in the snow with a ski suit, really not a problem. And it cost only 300€ while dry suit are usually triple the price I think.
I'm in sunny Brisbane Queensland. I wear a 2/3mm wetsuit in winter and on some stormy cold days in the rest of the year. Right now wearing a wetsuit would be the height of masochism. I cant be naked enough for comfort. Someone aught to invent a cool suit.
Wetsuit 6/5 with integrated cap for me down to 5C. Is dry at the inside unless I crash at high speed. Limitation is cold hands, not found a satisfactory glovish 😂 solution yet.
Love it. I use a titanium undershirt with cap and a 5/4 wetsuit. Last time 3 degrees easter wind ... Not like Portugal-pussy 😂 😉😉🤙 Dry suit is nice if you wanne get changed to go home. Less colder.
I had a drysuit at one time, it was warm and nice to not have the main issue wetsuits have: heavy/restricting. Also forearms and legs compressed which lead to colder hands and fatigue = shorter sessions and less happy sailing. However, with the drysuit I once forgot to zip up back and the first water dip I had water fill into suit. My legs were like balloons with water; which instantly made me much heavier-once back on board to get back to shore. It scared me enough I ditched the drysuit. Yeah it was my mistake and same could happened with a wetsuit- the cold water would been issue also; but not water weighing me down at least. I sometimes consider trying drysuit again to extend sailing days, especially as get older I can't handle the cold as well. I don't like heavy wetsuits and as pointing out in video the before/after session chills, so thus I no longer sail in water temps < 55F and air < 60F.
The OR drysuit is kind of 2 in one. Drysuit with a jacket. Dry land mode you unzip the front dryzipper, but close the jacket. Having a front zipper kind of makes it easier to remember to zip it. Anyway - once I did forget that I were in dry land mode, when windsurfing - but actually no water entered behind the closed jacket. The OR has a quite good design.
How about agility ? I guess most of the warmth coming from the cloth, fleece etc. underneath this suit, no ? So you might feel a bit restricted on top of the risk that it suddenly tears apart....a cheaper invest is a simple spray top that you wear on top of your normal wetsuit. Helps a lot to reduce windchill but makes you slower ;-)
A dry suit restrics your movements much less than a wetsuit, even a good one with top notch stretchy neoprene. It may have other drawbacks but not this one.
😂Good point though. In fact, my drysuit came with the option of a pee zipper for an extra $100 (more or less) bringing the total to about $550. It would have been a good investment in the long run. Instead I need to get out of the water and strip down, or just hold it. Either way, the little guy is always dry and warm.
Hi guys. I'm the dude in the video. Based on the large number of views and comments, managing the cold is a big deal for many windsurfers who want to keep windsurfing year round. From what I gather in the comments, the windsurfers who have tried modern drysuits have good opinions of them. Some said that they forgot to zip up and water got in, but so far there are no comments from anyone who has actually ripped open a drysuit and suffered a scary return to the beach. I'm not saying it can't happen, just that it doesn't happen frequently. In ten years of use, maybe 200 sessions in flat water and big waves, my drysuit has never leaked more than a couple of drops coming in at the wrist seals from a hard crash landing (and I crash hard as you see in the video) and I have never forgot to zip it up (maybe because the zipper is in the front). Almost all of the comments from windsurfers who only use wetsuits mention that their hands are the thing that goes first and you need to wear some sort of glove, sailing vest and thin boom combination to endure it. No problem with that, I do the same once in a while (including the sailing vest over the wetsuit). Here in northern Spain temps do drop to freezing and below, with snow on the beaches for short moments. One of the reasons for trying a drysuit in the first place was sailing a winter day in -2C in a wetsuit and no booties, I completely tore my achilles tendon landing a jump flat. I was by myself and it was very difficult to get to the beach and then to the hospital for surgery (I have a 26cm scar running up my leg to remember it). After that, I bought the Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit and have loved using it ever since knowing that my body core is warm/hot depending on the layers underneath, my hands stay much warmer and I won't be breaking my other achilles due to the cold. I'm 54 years old and don't want to suffer if I don't have to, especially when the northern winters offer the most consistent wind and waves, and some of the most exciting windsurfing conditions of the year. Send it!
Awesome comments. Thanks. Shred’em brah.
The killer for me in sub 10 degrees temperature is my hands. I tried palmless gloves but i still can't grip the boom comfortably. My body doesn't get that cold...
-6°C wave sailing ten days ago was fine warmth wise with hooded 5/4, 6mm boots and closed neoprene mittens. Icing is another level up in challenge!
Hi Ben. Appropriate topic given the time of year- at least for those of us living in the north! Thanks to you and your friend for covering it. My friends and I windsurf all year in Comox, British Columbia, Canada. Temps are sometimes minus single digits with windchill. All of us are using 5/4 mm wetsuits. Most are wearing gloves but some of us are barehanded. I bring a cooler filled with warm water that is used for reheating my hands (and sometimes feet). Usually 3 hand dunks over the first hour is enough to climatize them for the rest of the session. It’s been pretty windy since Christmas Eve, so this season has been good. Keep up the good work and enjoy your trip to South Africa. Kevin
Great video, we surf all year in Lynæs Denmark, but stay around low water depths mostly. I use wet suit, and then 7mm boots! Keeping feet hot is essential
Lynæs is super cool place ❤
Top video Ben 😃 I’ve (Dejan) been sailing on Lake Geneva for a very long long time in winter (when I'm not on the snow at the top of the mountains 😂) and I've already done it in Leucate... I've never had a Drysuit, I'm in a Wetsuit and I always have a helmet and an impact vest that cuts the wind, but why not try a Drysuit once... Well, OK, I warm myself up with hot tea regularly... 😉 Aloha from Swiss Alps ❄️🥶🤙🏼
Windsurfing on lakes in central Ireland. Best winds are from Sept to March. Used to use a 2ml shortie under my normal 5/4 wetsuit. Bulky, a bit restrictive, but you last longer on the water. Open handed mits are a must. Tried washing/rubber gloves under them last week. And cramped up within 1 min. Just the mits are fine. 5ml hood also a must. This year have started sailing with a waterproof smock (about €30) - GAMECHANGER. I'm able to sail without the shortie and stay as warm or warmer. I also still with a life jacket over this. I can be a bit awkward with the harness but also helps with the cold and when you fall in I find I'm able to pop back onto the board quicker. Safe sailing everyone.
The modern wetsuits are super flexible and warm, no need for a dry-suit. I use a C-skins wired+ 6:5 (hooded) down to -3°C (in the air). No problems with the body temperature, it is the hands that is the difficult part. Either warm and cramp in the arms, or cold with a good grip... ;)
He mentioned that. The advantage of his drysuit is he doesn't get cold hands and an stay of the water for longer in winter. So for him, it's better. For any sailor who doesn^t want cold hands after a short while too.
I just think that he needs to try a modern winter wetsuit (preferably hooded too), before he tries to make any comparisons between the two.
It doesn't even look to be very cold in that movie either, there is no snow or ice anywhere? The issues with the hands begin when you have ice building up on the boom...
@@Team33Team33
haha I recognize that face. I've been going back and forth between drysuits and wetsuits here in Michigan for 40 years and have been sticking with the wetsuits lately however after watching this video I may get my drysuit repaired for some of the flat water sessions in the cold but I feel safer in the waves in my wetsuit....
Where is that spot? Looks fun!
Hello from "the polar bear windsurfing" from Finland. I think what's not covered here is the impact of your body temperature to your hand temperature. When I changed from wetsuit to drysuit (Ion Fuse with 4/3 neoprene) I discovered that my hands were not that numb anymore. My theory is that's down to warmer core, and warmer bloadstream to the hands. We sail here everything to zero temperatures. I never (wave)sail below zero as ice rapidly makes your gear heavy, and all plastic material (broke a boom clamp once I did) is in danger. Other issue is the "what if"-situation. Once I broke a mast at the worst place. Out gybe outside of the bay. It was air +3 and water temp +2. 4,2 weather, and I had to ditch the rig, and paddle the 1,5 km downwind to shore while it was almost a whiteout with sleeting. Did I have a wetsuit, not sure if I had managed.
Right now it's the icebreakers that are the main vechiles on our seas....
Sailing in Canada in the winter, we were out for some great sessions this week. 6/5 wetsuit with hood, boots, gloves.
I have a drysuit... it started leaking.. i almost drowned.. was out on my 74litre speedboard here in sweden it was impossible to waterstart with all the water in the legs of my suit. Had to swim a km with 40l of freezing water in my suit. I got a new 6/4 wetsuit that is really soft stretchy..
Put plastic 2l bottles in the arms of your wetsuit when not using it and it will not give you cramps.
Hello Ben , for catamaran sailing i used a helly hansen dry suit. But after 1 hour the body gets cold because condisation occours. You can use fleece under neath but also after a period of time it gets wet underneath. Now days i go for the neoprene 5/4 en until 7 degrees with bare hands. Good luck Ben and keep up the good work
Great video! Would love to see more of these sailors!
In Northen Lake Michigan some days in November and April are possible with 5mm three finger Patigonia mittens and 8mm boots. With the possibility of swimming to shore 45 minutes you will need full body coverage. The icy water will take you down, painfully. Get into the water and back float to test warmth before stepping on the board and sailing away from shore. Hopefully some April snow coverage and reasonable spring temperatures will keep us off the 35 degree water this year.
I’m using 5/4+ O’Neil Psycho Tech, with 1mm O’Neil hooded body shirt and Race/Weight vest.
On really cold days (5°C and below, feeling like -5°C or lower) I use a 9Bft 3mm non-hooded hoody on top of that.
Preferably bare handed (takes a cup of tea after the first few runs to acclimatize) but I always take the open palm mittens in the race vest.
Also used Marigold cleaning gloves (just let the water run in- and out), but they were a tad too small and arms still got sore (have to try bigger ones).
Dry suit is on my list to test.
Just didn’t find the right brands yet, so I might test the one in the video ✅
Thanks for great content 🙏🏻
I often suffer from Wind chill and have also thought about a drysuit but the other day I met someone who wear a spray top over his wetsuit and it works quite ok against wind chill. A spray top is also widely used by sailors.
Hi Ben, here in the Netherlands I use a 3- layer system. Driving off at home I already wear my ION 2mm Neotop, this prevents getting cold already when putting my wetsuit on... a 6mm ION Seek. On top of that, a neo hood and open palm gloves. Normally this does the trick, if not I use an ION 2mm Neo Cruise jacket on top, one size smaller than my wetsuit to get a snug fit over the wetsuit.
The ION neotop and Cruise jacket are a real good investment because it allows you to adjust rapidly to the weather conditions no matter the thickness of wetsuit.
I use similar dry suite - OR Soul for 8 years already. It is great. It has integrated cloth dry socks, so I can wear thick wool socks underneath and my feet are dry.
For hands I wear dry mittens - membrane mittens with wrist gaskets, and I wear separate thermo-mittens inside them. I can be on water for 2-3 hours non stop.
I wing foil in Toronto Ontario till T is above 0C.
I have a kokotat …awesome .
No issues with durability. And for those that think water will rush in and drown you …it doesn’t happen or didn’t happen to me. I hit the water once and forgot to zip all the way closed. Had a 2 inch gap. When I was in the water I felt my shoulder getting cold. But still pressed on. Didn’t realize til the end of the sesh that I didn’t zip all the way up. Only my fleece got damp. Now if I was swimming for awhile in water..it would have filled up more…but I would have realized then the zipper was down. 😮
Have an Ocean rodeo convertible drysuit that I use for windsurfing, but also as foul weather gear on my sailboat. Simply amazing suits - HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
great advice, i have a thick steamer . But my kitesurfing friends, when they arent trying to tell me how superor they are , have said the same. i usually dont trust them, , as they tell me i can never jump as high as them, and i figure they are brain damaged from the repeated impacts. BUT one was a former windsurfer so his opinion holds more weight even though hes basically a traitor.
Remember when snowboarding killed skiing, then it fizzled out and people realised they were allowed to like skiing again? I think that's where we're at with kite surfing...
Good fitting 6/5 hooded wetsuit goes a long way. Comfortable down to 5C, with 0C water. Putting another 0.5 or 1mm neoprene vest or shirt under and impact west on top of your wetsuit helps as well.
Mittens are the biggest problem still, curved thicker neoprene on top and thin strong nonslip material in palm works really well, but only as long as you can find good fit. Prolimit makes it and Ion does but If XL is not enough there's nothing else out there. In freezing water and strong winds open palm is not much of an option.
7 to 9 mm round toe boots work perfect. But again another story is getting them foot straps wide and big enough, not to get stuck in it.
Once geared up it's really good to have a proper warmup before going in or the initial cold in fingers may get hard to overcome.
My hands become an issue way before the body. Keeping warm before sailing, dunking hands in warm water and palmless mitts as wind shields seem to be the workarounds, but there's still no solve. I also use an O'Neill thermo-x vest - it's thin and toasty. You can also use it to wear a thinner suit when it's a bit milder. Great video, love all the content!
1:16 OMG!!!
Great video, a dry suit is definitely an option if it’s cold enough 👍
Hi Ben, It is nice to see this video as probably many people suffers from cold weather problems. I live in Mallorca, the Balearic Islands, even this place is supposed to be warm, compared with northern Europe...🙂 sometimes I sailed in the north of the island even in snowy days, (yes, it snows here as weel from time to time) and outside temperature are lower than 5º. First of all I saild with a Thermalution heated lycra and it was nice, using as well a gloves system from Ianovated which blows hot air from your lungs into the gloves and makes fingertips to heat. But finally I discovered an Hybrid drysuit, whic is lower part of neoprene 5mm, which is most time in contact with water and your body can heat that water, but the top part is a dry suit, it really gives you more flexibility, as I practice freestyle that's nice, and because it stops wind it does not cool the water fro the upper part of the suit as a wetuit does. At the same time it has sense because the upper part is just sometimes in the water when you fall of, not as much time as the lower part. Yesterday I sailed with my heated lycra on and I has to switch it off as I was too warm. So I recommend this hybrid suit 100%. Never will go back again to wetsuits... WIP FORWARD brand!!! I love your channel!! Regards from Balearic Islands!
I wind foil all year round on the South coast of the UK. I’m fortunate to have a wardrobe of winter wetsuits I’ve collected over the years, to suit the conditions, from Yulex fleece lined hooded, to the more stretchier suit,
I’ve used Goretex breathable one piece drysuits in the past (mainly high end dinghy suits), and have upgraded to a Neoprene Drysuit some years back (ION FUSE) to add to the winter wetsuit wardrobe which is ballistic, durable against foil tips and edges . They’re not for everyone though, as they certainly have their Pros and Cons. The main cons are weight (7kg as opposed to a normal 3 kg suit), windage from the slight bagginess not being a contoured fit, and water resistance as the bag out slightly in the water, so wading into 1.4 m depth in waves with the foil board is a challenge.
The Ocean Rodeo, NP Furnace 2-piece snow board look alike are a good option too, like the ION with latex or glide skin ankle seals, so you can wear your regular boots. Ion have discontinued the Neoprene (3mm) FUSE, and have gone breathable fabric. The big Pro of the drysuit is the heat retention of the FUSE is insane, only the skinniest of polypro underneath, it has to be really really cold and gnarly to be worth it, as you just get heat exhaustion . The other like the video, is ease of wearing it to and from the beach in some shitty stormy rain and cold you can laugh off. I’ve gone drysuit gloves with a latex wrist seal (Oceania ORCA), again crazy hot and no wrist/arm cramping
I used to use a drysuit 30-35 years ago - simply because it allowed me to stay on the water far longer than had I only used my wetsuit - and this was on a lake in the south of England! With overmitts when it was cold... Less macho but I was there to sail, not pose.
Absolutely essential for year-round windsurfing!
Doing the same here on the Alpine lakes in Switzerland.
Getting some Sailing in and not bothering about the "posing" in a nice wet suit bit that so many seem to go for.
Essential piece of kit for cold weather with a fleece suit underneath. Of course; if you are out in gnarly conditions like some of those crazy semi-pro sailors it's not possible because of the risk of bursting it open, but for 99% of the time it's an absolute best over a wetsuit.
I only use it if the temperature goes below 2°C. I may try and start using it sooner now I've watched this.
I windsurf in the Netherlands year-round, even in temperatures as low as 2°C. I started windsurfing three years ago, right before winter, with a 5/4 wetsuit (you can find it in Ep 102 - Send it Sunday, where I accidentally ripped it on a nail). At the time of purchase, I thought it would be my only wetsuit forever. However, I now own four wetsuits, all from O'Neill. It's worth noting that I use all of them very very very extensively. Ben, as you pointed out in 'Best Windsurfing Brand?', you are absolutely right - it's worth investing in the best option, even if it is more expensive.
In my case, all my wetsuits are from the Psychotech series. I made the mistake of opting for the basic series once for a summer wetsuit, trying to save 100 euros, and I still regret not going for the Psychotech series.
I'd like to try a dry wetsuit at some point, especially now that I rarely fall into the water compared to three years ago. Nevertheless, the 6/4 Psychotech wetsuit is excellent for cold conditions, just a game changer for me personally.
Went out last Sunday. 40 minutes in Minus 3,5 degrees with my 6-5 Mystic Gem. Fantastic warm. Only problem was the gear could not be packed. The equipment were full off ice😊.
A pal Brian here in Shetland uses a dry suit and belly insulation to stay warm. I still use a 10 year old and holey 5 4 O'Neil wetsuit. Did end up sailing with a Fladen survival suit over on top of the wetsuit once (only for logistics)
I do have a OceanRodeo drysuit. Really nice, much easier on the body, than a 6m/5 wetsuit. Work is smaller waves as well.🎉😊
In the last 8 years I've used a ION Fuse drysuit when the air temperature is below 10C°; under I wear a techinal underwear and with this combo I've sailed in several days with air temperature around -1 C°, sea temp 5C° and gusts over 40 knots without any problem except for the hands.
0 degrees and windsurfing? I can't imagine. I was an addicted and committed happy windsurfer in the 80's and 90's. I'd sail the San Francisco Bay in the Winter storms and then drive and ride the early snowboards in deep powder the next day in the Sierras. I remember the dry suits then were very basic but worked okay. But our hands would get very cold. We could sail for maybe 15-20 minutes before we couldn't feel our fingers. How do you keep your hands from getting too cold to sail in 0 degrees?
Thomas Traversa's weather.....😉😉😉
I've had one but it didn't last as much as your buddy's drysuit. I really appreciated it but it lost its waterproofing eventually, mainly where the harness was compressing and scratching it.
Bad idea to wear that dry suit in rough conditions. If water starts to enter, you're screwed up.
@@tantricsurfer That's exactly what the guy said. He wouldn't sail in the open in a dry suit but for icy cold conditions in an inner bay for those extra strong but cold days it's actually better than a wet suit.
I had a suit that was fantastic back in the 90s, windsurfing here on cold Lake Superior. It was a wetsuit bottom / farmer suit with a rubber skirt around the midsection. The top was a drysuit that, once on, rolled together with the bottom sealing the whole suit. The top was nice and loose, so you could wear a sweat shirt underneath. It's so nice not to have the arms restricted. I wish I could find another like it! If anyone out there knows? Still had the flotation with the neoprene bottom negating concerns about sinking if cut. Best suit ever, soooo warm in our 50 deg water! I have searched to no avail to find one like it! 😢
Get a spray top for dinghy sailing and ask your local wetsuit repair shop to match it like the one you had to your current wetsuit.
They still exist made like that. More for dinghy sailing - look up dinghy gear.
I've used a drysuit for winter water skiing which was way better than a wetsuit. The concerns about ripping it and losing bouyancy not so muych an issue as there was always a ski boat nearby
In my experience, cold hands are the real limiting factor. But gloves and the breath system from Ianovated work really well to keep the hands toasty for most sailing
I use open palm. It helps a lot. 😊
With a dry suit you also have warm blood flowing through your hands and fingers which helps to keep them warmer for longer.
Great video, just moved to France after some years in the Caribbeans and have a hard time adapting to the winter.. Never thought of dry suits! Any brand recommendations or features/specs to look for when buying a dry suit ?
Oneill and Ocean Rodeo are the main drysuits for windsurfing, kiting and SUP. Both are very good. Oneill are full drysuits without the exterior jacket or rain hood and are excellent quality. OR look more stylish but are more expensive. OR seems to have just sold their drysuit business to Mustang Survival. Not sure whats up with that.
Billabong 7/6 hooded is the best,
Just a 5 or 6 mm wetsuit in the north of holland will sustain you pretty much all winter. It's just the hands which are the problem. Below 6 degrees, the hands get painful.
For cold days in Bavaria i do have a drysuit..
Freezing hands are the biggest issue. Heated booms, please.
Ianovated gloves
Sure it is a good choice. I would use it…
Hy. Defenetly wetsuit even in cold conditions. Some years ago we (me and my colegs) used too surf also in 0 or -3 C with strong Bora, the only problems were always gloves and cold hands. One of friends had allso drysuit and he was complaining a lot because of bouncy. he felt like ballon when fall in water.
Can someone please invent a Faraday-suit? Then we can stay out even with thunderstorms ⚡️ 😂😂😂
My only suit is a full 3/2 and I sail in high 40s F (7 to 10 C) by using a dry paddle jacket. I wear fleece under the jacket and my core stays toasty. My hands are the problem when they turn white and stop working (Raynaud's syndrome).
North off the Netherlands in winter a 6/4 hooded will do the job from 6 degrees. With Boots 6mm and glove's. I hate boots and gloves but without no Option
Nice.. you have flat water as well? This combo would be perfect for me and my wife. Where is it?
And I agree on the dry suit. It was awesome for winter days back when I was boat sailing :)
If you don´t even have to use gloves a Drysuit is probably even too warm, never tried one though. But in my opinion a proper wetsuit with hood boots and gloves goes with any temperature
Hey Buddies, could you recommend we what you put on your hands during winter in Denmark or Sweden? I think that north of Spain is still warm comparing to conditions in Baltic and North and Norwegian sea. What suits to you use there?
I am using 5mm wetsuit when temperature is above -5 C.
I use open palm wet suit lobster style gloves, no loss of grip power and covers the hands
Open palm, short 1 st session. Into shore move arms - get warm blod in the fingers and you are good to go here in Scandinavia in sub 5C 😅
I use 6-5 Mystic Gem and O'Neil Hyperfreak with intergrated hood. On the hands 3 mm open Palm mittens. Last Sunday I tried with 3 mm gloves with rubber gloves inside. I did cut a hole on the Palm, just like the mittens. It works really good. I did have the grips on the boom and still keep the fingers dry. And try to stay off the water.😂. Minus 3,5 dregrees last Sunday 😊
Try to go for Ianovated gloves, heat your finger with air from your lungs. Tested and it works.Regards
What type of Ocean Rodeo suit is it?
私は日本製のSUPERFREAK FSCを愛用してます
The real problem is not the body per se, it’s always the hands. Open palm mittens are not enough, when it gets really cold, or you’re just particularly sensible in the hands when the temperature drops, holding the boom becomes impossible . I’ve purchased the Duotone extra slim carbon wave boom as it is the boom with the slimmest section on the market, and it does the job in allowing to have a better grip up until a certain point when it get so cold that it’s not enough. I have Raynaud’s syndrom (look it up), a fairly common problem with the blood flow that stops irrigating the fingers under cold weather, much faster than the common people, and it gets worse with aging. I’m over fifty now , sail in typical Atlantic euro conditions, and see myself goint out less and less in the winter because of it. I wish there was on the market dry gloves with a warm layer on top and very thin yet durable palms to have the most direct dry contact with the boom tubes.
You should try a drysuit. No need to think more about the cold and problems with hands getting frozen.
My winter in Israel is 17C water temp and around 10 air temp at the coldest 😅
Northern of Holland coldest Sailing whit 2 degrees celcius.. For 30 min Whit a 6.4 wetsuit..
Never have any problems with wetsuit or shoes, It is always palms of my hands that are giving up first.
5 mil oneil with a hood and gloves for British Columbia Canada, drysuit better for standing on the beach . I get cold in a wetsuit
Not an option. If it splits and takes on water you're done. But that's just my personal evaluation; everyone has their own comfort zone on safety issues. The real issue in cold sailing is hands for myself. I've never found gloves or mitts that work even after making my own. Sailing in 50-ish degree water (that's 10C), I've never been body cold in a 5-4-3 wetsuit with 5ml booties and a separate hood. So I keep to sailing in minimum 50 F air temperature. I just don't get that care free fun feeling when it's colder.
Totally agree. A zipper mallfunction or sudden rip and you are toasted ! No way !
For sailing drysuit are best, but windsurfing it seems dangerous. I go to -1C air and 1C water (was just windsurfing in MN on Dec 26th) using hooded 5/6 (with 2mm under) with kitchen gloves. The trick with the hands is to wave them around to get the circulation back once they are cold.
No offense. But back here in Switzerland we don’t consider north of Spain anywhere close to cold and wondering if we should go out 😂. When there’s ice on the side of water with -2 north wind and 4 degree water, that’s pretty cold. I have 5/6mm gunsail semi dry. I honestly almost don’t feel any cold on my body or head. Only the hands are the limit with open mittens and the pain in forearms. For the rest, I feels like playing in the snow with a ski suit, really not a problem. And it cost only 300€ while dry suit are usually triple the price I think.
I'm in sunny Brisbane Queensland. I wear a 2/3mm wetsuit in winter and on some stormy cold days in the rest of the year. Right now wearing a wetsuit would be the height of masochism. I cant be naked enough for comfort. Someone aught to invent a cool suit.
best wetsuit ever "Matuse"
Without gloves it does not look so cold.
Wetsuit 6/5 with integrated cap for me down to 5C. Is dry at the inside unless I crash at high speed. Limitation is cold hands, not found a satisfactory glovish 😂 solution yet.
where did he put the camera????
Love it. I use a titanium undershirt with cap and a 5/4 wetsuit. Last time 3 degrees easter wind ... Not like Portugal-pussy 😂 😉😉🤙
Dry suit is nice if you wanne get changed to go home. Less colder.
If it’s really cold I also put my wetsuit home and drive in it, credit to Nico Prien for the tip.
be carefull not to overheat
6.5 Billabong Furnace + kayak wind breaker is better.
who is this guy?
I used to use dry suits in dinghys years ago.
I had a drysuit at one time, it was warm and nice to not have the main issue wetsuits have: heavy/restricting. Also forearms and legs compressed which lead to colder hands and fatigue = shorter sessions and less happy sailing. However, with the drysuit I once forgot to zip up back and the first water dip I had water fill into suit. My legs were like balloons with water; which instantly made me much heavier-once back on board to get back to shore. It scared me enough I ditched the drysuit. Yeah it was my mistake and same could happened with a wetsuit- the cold water would been issue also; but not water weighing me down at least. I sometimes consider trying drysuit again to extend sailing days, especially as get older I can't handle the cold as well. I don't like heavy wetsuits and as pointing out in video the before/after session chills, so thus I no longer sail in water temps < 55F and air < 60F.
The OR drysuit is kind of 2 in one. Drysuit with a jacket. Dry land mode you unzip the front dryzipper, but close the jacket. Having a front zipper kind of makes it easier to remember to zip it. Anyway - once I did forget that I were in dry land mode, when windsurfing - but actually no water entered behind the closed jacket. The OR has a quite good design.
Why do i get the feeling this guys is a dry suit salesman??
How about agility ? I guess most of the warmth coming from the cloth, fleece etc. underneath this suit, no ? So you might feel a bit restricted on top of the risk that it suddenly tears apart....a cheaper invest is a simple spray top that you wear on top of your normal wetsuit. Helps a lot to reduce windchill but makes you slower ;-)
A dry suit restrics your movements much less than a wetsuit, even a good one with top notch stretchy neoprene. It may have other drawbacks but not this one.
the sloshing sounds are due to pee accumulation 🤷🏽♂️
😂Good point though. In fact, my drysuit came with the option of a pee zipper for an extra $100 (more or less) bringing the total to about $550. It would have been a good investment in the long run. Instead I need to get out of the water and strip down, or just hold it. Either way, the little guy is always dry and warm.
Had same experience this summer with lightning. Not safe.