People arrive from Southern California or Australia with a 3/2 and last about twenty minutes. The water here sits between 10 and 14°C, year round, and the summer fog means the air is often colder than the sea.
The answer for most people
A 4/3 sealed suit with a chest zip, plus 3mm boots. That combination is comfortable from roughly May to October and survivable the rest of the year. If you are only going to own one suit and you surf here, that is the one.
Winter
December through March, add a hood, or move to a 5/4 hooded suit. Most of your heat leaves through your head, and a hood is the single highest-value cold-water purchase you can make. It feels strange for two sessions and then you stop noticing it.
Chest zip versus back zip
Chest zip, if you can manage getting into it. Back zips flush water down your spine every time you duck under a wave, and the difference over a two-hour session is large. Back zips are easier to put on, which is the only argument for them.
Fit
A wetsuit works by trapping a thin layer of water against your skin and letting your body warm it. If the suit is loose, that water is constantly replaced with cold ocean and the suit does nothing.
- It should be genuinely difficult to put on. That is correct.
- No gaps or folds behind the knees, in the small of the back, or under the arms.
- You should be able to breathe fully and raise your arms overhead without the suit pulling you down.
- Try it on before buying if you possibly can. Sizing varies enormously between brands.
Rinse it
Fresh water, inside and out, after every session. Hang it in the shade on a wide hanger, folded at the waist. Salt and sun are what kill wetsuits, not surfing.
