206 has been hot the last week. Real hot. The ocean could be the culprit. The NW coastal ocean temps are nearing 60°. This doesn’t happen every summer but because of changing whale migratory paths. The important thing here is I just got a new 3/2 and im stoked to see how it works in 60 degree ocean.
Cheggout the Sea Surface Temperature images below (dated June 4th 2009):
It’s pretty crazy how much of a SST swing we get here. A good 20 degrees.
Here’s a link to some realtime SST images: http://www.oceanweather.com/data/
a good 3/2 is as darn good as a 4/3! you kooks! ive been saying it for years. the ultimate PNW wetsuit tandem. 6/4 and 3/2!
i’ve never ran a 6/4 or a 3/2 so i can’t say. i just got a f-bomb 3/2 with the older E2 rubber. it should be plenty toasty.
i have a couple friends with Patagonia suits. one has the R3 3mm and the other has the R4 5/4mm.
hommie in the 5/4 gets hot when i get cold and hommie in the 3mm seems to be okay all the time.
probably gonna invest in some fancy rubber next time i get a suit.
It’s looking toasty, but wheres the F-ing swell? Although we had a little window here of glassy nuggage here on Wed. Whenever those northerly’s stop, so does the upwealing hence warmer water. Its there in the summer, it just gets pushed away.
No 3 mill for me. Never lived south of Santa Cruz and have never owned a 3 mill. A 4 that I’ve had for over 5 years and a 5/4/3 is all I need. 6 mills are like a freaking straight jacket and for the guys on the East Coast who surf mid winter in way colder water and air temps than we ever see. But hey that’s just me.
A couple summers ago it got so warm down here people were tunking it. I busted out my 2 mill shorty I have for travel. We even had waves that summer. Hoping this one shapes up before I hurt myself in the skate parks.
I’m with Dub on this one. Sure you can buy yourself a $800 3/2 Patagonia if you want, but I’ll stick with my Xcel 4/3 & 5/4/3.
I’ve yet to complain about ever being too warm.
Patagoin sutis seem awesome. But also seem quite overpriced. If your buying a 4/3 theres no reason spend over $150-200 a 5/4 or 6/4, $250 or 300.
Dub,
in my opinion there are plenty of winter days in Oregon, Washington and definately vancouver island when a 6/4 (not a 6/5) is needed, that is in terms of being able to stay out a couple or few more hours, or just being toasty, from the minute you suit up, to walking, taking 10 on the head, and sitting with your hood off! on the outside.
The 6/4 i have (promotion) does not feel more or less restricting than the than two 5/4s i have tried. Now that it has been stretched out a bit, going from a 3/2 or 4/3 to the 6/4 is not as painful as you would think. But it also helps to be in good shape and of course a relatively buoyant board. The 6/4 dose slow me down a little bit, but it doesnt really matter because getting out and catching waves as i think we can all agree is mostly technique.
Also, since it is not a 6/5, it seems easier to get away with wearing on days when a 6 or 5 milled wetsuit is not necessarily needed. It was however for the first month difficult to get off. If my hands were numb, i had to get someone to peal the wetsuit down one of my shoulders.
" i had to get someone to peal the wetsuit down one of my shoulders. "
that's hella gay bro
say that a-man, say that, ahmen
all that being said…….if you got the cash…..y not get that patagonia? The wool fleece inside looks very nice and easy to get off and on. If you can get away with wearing less all while still staying comfortably warm, why not? I'll probably never spend that kind of cash for a wetsuit, but if your a baller…or you're surfing more than a couple days a week; might be worth it.
Froze my nuts off surfing funish summer beacheis in my 4 mill on Sat.
Pisswarm water is gondo, at least in the OG OR. I swear we have the coldest water in the PNW.
easily the coldest, water in the PNW… it was really cold up here too. i left one of my 5mm booties home and had to run 3mm's with holes in em. brutal.
it was hilarious.