Ok so i realllly wanna stay on the water over winter, does anyone know any good drysuits or wetsuits that don't cost as much as a good kite? I have head/gloves/booties, undecided about the drysuit/wetsuit debate still.... staying dry does sound rather appealing!

i would say go wetsuit.... if you damage your dry suit you are more at risk for Hypothermia than with a wetsuit... and you still need to use booties and gloves. a wetsuit can help to get warmer water down into your feet and fingers where a dry suit is depending on warm blood alone.

i use an Oneil Psycho Zen wet-suit 6/4 surfing suit. it has an integrated hoodie with visor.

get some good SCUBA diving gloves and booties with long cinch straps or you can Duct Tape your feet/hand seams.

take a Gallon of Hot Water with you and dump it in your suit, hands, feet before you hit the water.

a thermos of hot cocoa is always nice too before hand, during a break, or after !

A wetsuit is much more limited in water/air temps you can handle. I think a rule of thumb I heard was a wetsuit is ok if the water and air add up to 100 d Fahrenheit. Colder than that and you want to stay dry. For the leak and hypothermia issue, I use a neoprene drysuit instead of the baggy suits. You don't have that much room for water in the suit if you have a hole and are submerged. the wetsuit is less restrictive but so is 40 degree water on a 45 degree day.

yeah i think the water temp goes down to like 35 degrees here in new york and the air temperature just as bad so i'm gonna need to battle up! I really like the idea of kitesurfing in snow though!

Still need to think more about wetsuits and drysuits! I just don't know what to do, thinking about an ocean rodeo wetsuit or one of the mystic kiteboarding ones.... but then, maybe a wetsuit? i just don't know!!! eek...
well the waters still quite warm for the time being, at least! air temp has gone down a lot though! BRRR!

I only have a 3/2 at the moment i'm gonna die this weekend!!!

I've been doing quite nicely up here in cold water with a 5/4 Global Pro Limit Steamer.

We ride in Glacial run off all summer, average air temp is only 15-20 deg as well. Normally it's just wetsuit and 5mm booties, I find I have to drop into the water from time to time to cool off a bit.

In the winter it's ocean water up here in Vancouver BC, quite cold and maybe 5 deg and rainy and I'm still fine with the wetsuit and booties. Most guys use a 5/4, the older crowd seems to like the drysuits with fleece stuff underneath.

Pablo, you're the man to wear a wetsuit in those temps. I would be in a drysuit way before it was that cold. Maybe you Canuks have thicker blood or something.

Remember, our temps are in Celcius, shoulda probably clarified that in the post. But the glacial run off is still bloody cold no matter how you cut it. I've spent a solid 20 min in it body dragging trying to get back to my board, current takes stuff straight upwind. The Inlet near the river is a bit warmer, but still cold all summer

I use the Kiteboard specific dry suit. So Pab's thinks I'm a O.G..

http://www.oceanrodeo.com/
Note the new Surf specific suit they have come up with :!:

I like it because you can adjust how much you wear underneath to the air temp. I don't like it because of the neck seal. Almost choking me and still a bit of water sometimes sneaks in on a wipe out. You end up pretty wet inside after a good session due to condensation anyway .

I went snorkeling in Alaska with a 5/4 steamer last year in October and it was just fine ! It's your choice. I agree that older folks tend to like the drysuit and younger wetsuit. I'm not sure why ? I think if we had a place to change, with a warm shower I'ld go with the wet suit. Changing in the parking lot ( sometimes in the snow ) is a bit easier with a dry suit. + THE WORST part of winter kitesurfing here.

I knew you had to be talking Celsius, but I didn't convert. After conversion you are hitting 100 to 120 F total, and that is ok for a wet suit, especially with your hot water primer. I've water skied before in 34F air and 40F water. I wore a drysuit and could just float in the water feeling only the pressure of the water and a coolness but it was offsetting heat held in by the sweat shorts and t shirt I was wearing underneath. Pull off the drysuit and then slip into another layer of dry clothes and you are done. Like magic. If the air is much over 65F with sunshine then the drysuit can become too much if you spend long periods out of the water.

The real dilemma solver is to have both a full wetsuit, a shorty, and a drysuit. Then you can handle any day of the year that offers liquid water.

34 air and 40 f water is a pretty typical winter weather condition here. Just add rain falling sideways and you are closer though.
Did I mention, only windsurfers get hot showers :flaming:
And people wonder why I turned away ( evolved ) from the water :?:

Where's that pic of Jerico beach with guys snowkiting on the beach and a couple guys still out kitesurfing on the water when you need it.

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