New rubber for the winter

When it comes to wetsuits and neoprene I have one principle. No sponsors. I want to buy the best. And that is not easy. The last 3 years I have used wetsuits from Mystic, Pro Limit, NPX, Tiki, and Neil Pryde. But none is perfect.

I need wetsuits for the spring when it is cold in the water but warm in the air, the summer when it´s warmer in the water, in the autumn when its quite warm in the water but cold in the air, and in the winter, when its just very cold. After 30 years with windsurfing I have ended up with using 3 to 4 wetsuits. With about 70-90 days of windsurfing a year, they usually last for about 2 years before they are worn out.

The first problem is that the suit should keep the right temperature. For example the Mystic Cure 6/5/3, an expensive winter suit. Looked good, but was not warmer than my Neil Pryde 4/3. The Neil Pryde Elite, fits perfectly, but I can tell you that a tube of Aquaseal doesn’t last a long time. So most double lined suits are too cold, most of them are too small around the lower arms. And the single lined are always leaking after only a few weeks…

But. Last week when I went to the German Championship, I borrowed a Simmer 3/2 with long arms. I thought it would be too cold for the season. But it was so good compared to i.e. e my 4/3 TIKI, thinner and more flexible but much warmer. And a lot of place for the muscles!
I decided to try to keep it, and when I went to meet the owner Johan, who works in a surf shop Surfers.se, I ended up buying the whole range. One for every season, I thought it is best to grab the opportunity when all suits where in stock in my size.

I cannot say that Simmer has the best suits, because I have not tried more than the 3/2 for a week, but I like it a lot. The only downside, so far is that it takes a while to dry it. I will be back with more on this subject. 
1. Edit one. The 5/4/3 was warm but OK around 12-14 C in the air and water.
2. Edit two. The 5/4/3 works OK around 8-10 C in the air and water, with polypro underwear.
2. Edit three. At longer sessions (more than about 90 minutes) the 5/4/3 can be cold even with polypro. Then the TIKI-heatpads are marvelloes.

3 comments:

  1. Hello,

    What is your requirements to spring and autumn wetsuits and what is difference between them?

    Mantas

    ReplyDelete
  2. In spring in Sweden it is cold in the water, but can be warm in the air. In the autumn it is the opposite. A spring wetsuit has to be thicker/warmer in water like a 5/3, and the authumn-suit can be a 3/2 with polypro underwear. //ABQ

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.