13 October 2007

Wetsuit Woes



The wetsuit saga I blogged about months ago is not quite over. I did find a thin 3/2 today for $99. Since I don't take good care of my suits, I decided I didn't deserve a better suit than the one pictured above. My last 3/2 cost me almost $300 and it fell apart after a little over a year. I'll admit that some of that is my fault. I'm not fastidious in the care of my wetsuits. I'd rather completely dry them in the sun than put on a damp wetsuit the next time I surf. But would that cause the suit to split at the seams where the arms meet the torso? It's not like I've gained weight or anything. I think that suit should have held up a little better than that. Even though the company repaired the seams, water is now rushing in at other seams. In other words, my current 3/2 is not keeping me warm. I almost bought another Body Glove Vapor for a little over $200 online—I got a 4/3 Vapor a few months ago for that price—before deciding against that. I didn't want to spend the money. Then I happened upon an eBay wetsuit seller. What intrigued me about these wetuits was that there were colors other than black. I, for one, am sick of the all-black wetsuit. However, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to rock a blue wetsuit or a brown one. I was seriously toying with the idea of buying one of them. Then I happened upon the one I found today. It won't keep me warm throughout the winter. I'm certain of that. I don't really care. The lack of warmth will force me into that 4/3. As much as I hate thick wetsuits like that, I can't fight the fact that I also hate being cold. See? There's a method to my madness.

I did surf Friday at the pier on the shorter board. My progression on that board isn't coming as quickly as I'd like. I can't complain though. I do catch waves every time I'm on that thing. I even found the elusive shoulder that the board and I have been chasing for weeks. Somehow, my pop-up finally got me to the sweet spot on the board. For once, I wasn't perched on the tail of the board; I was right in the middle. I saw that little bit of open face and managed a few pumps. It was nothing spectacular, but it was enough to prevent me from getting discouraged.

6 Comments:

At 10/14/07, 9:24 PM, Blogger dgm said...

A friend of mine who used to work at the Trestles Surf Outlet (RipCurl) swears the RipCurl F-Bomb in a 3/2 is just as warm as a 4/3 Core. Not as thick, but just as warm. If you want one, definitely check the outlet first (or I can if you send me your size, etc). Probably much cheaper.

 
At 10/15/07, 6:59 AM, Blogger Surfsister said...

dgm, thanks for the suggestion. I knew about the outlet, I just can't get down there. If you don't mind looking for me, I'm a size 8.

 
At 10/15/07, 7:30 PM, Blogger dgm said...

I'll probably stop in this week, then I'll get back to you.

 
At 10/15/07, 9:01 PM, Blogger Surfsister said...

Thanks, dgm!

 
At 10/17/07, 5:37 AM, Blogger dgm said...

'K, checked it out. Currently they have only one f-bomb in a size 8, and it's a 4:3 for $229. I don't really understand this, but there were other fbomb 4:3s in other sizes (somehow different style) that were $160. In any event, with the 4:3 you might want to go up one size because it is suuuuuuuper tight. Unfortunately, the pickings in size 10 were very slim--no f-bombs in any thickness, no 4:3s in any style.

If you don't want that one for $229, I'll check back again. They seem to get new stock fairly often.

 
At 10/17/07, 5:53 AM, Blogger Surfsister said...

Thanks for checking!!! I'm appreciative. I already have a brand new 4/3 Body Glove Vapor that I scored for a little over $200. It's the 3/2s that are giving me a fit. Hotline has last year's on clearance for $199 and Sierra Trading Post has the Vapor 3/2 for $215. I will probably end up with one of them. Thank you again for looking!

 

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