Wetsuit

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend me a good wet suit for middle east winter? It is about 9-19 C (49-65 F) usually in the winter.
Should I aim for long suit or 3/4?
How thick it should be (in mm)?
Should I look for pre-bent suit?
Is it better to use separate top and bottom or whole suit?

Thanks in advance.

I can only recommend Excel , the best , warmest and most flexible suit I ever had, in every thickness

I paddle year round 5-6 days a week in SW Australia. In the morning when we paddle the air temp is usually between 2 and 22 deg C. The water temp is between 20 and 23 deg C. The only difference in attire is on cold days I wear 2 rash vests. I have a thicker cold gear compression rashie from Under Armour, that I don't think is ever going to wear out. I sometimes wear a wetsuit vest if I'm feeling fragile, but only when we paddle in the dark in Winter. I think you'll be too hot in a full wetsuit. Unless the water's really cold where you paddle, a decent cold water rash vest or a couple of rash vests should do it.

Thank you guys!

Holland is different from Australia,
My range of suits from 2 mm shorty without sleeves to 5 mm suit with 6 mm shoos and 2 mm gloves, and everything in between. I own 7 suits therefore and paddle about two monts a year without neoprene.
I don't trust drysuits, so flexibility is a big issue, that's why a choose excel, after trying out ohter brands the last 34 years. Damn I'm getting old

Paddling in France, year-round, with air temp -4 to 14C and water temperature at about 9C in the winter. I went for the most flexible shoulders, and after trying a few: Quicksilver.

I chose 2/3 (2mm around the shoulder areas, with amazing flex) - however, keep in mind that it really depends on you, your body type, how quickly you get cold, how quickly you can get back onshore in an emergency, and how little/much you will be exerting yourself.

For instance, if you paddle at 60% power, you may want to go to a much thicker suit.

One option is to go with a thinner wetsuit, and on really cold days, put a water repellant top (with or without sleeves, depending on temperature). The advantage there is that you can easily remove warmth with the above setup.

Or… get a 5mm suit and remove the top portion when it gets cold on your SUP board (not an option I find useful on a surfski).

Surfskijunky,
I recommend neoprene pants, gloves, and booties. Then multiple layers of synthetics as needed for the torso. And top it off with a neoprene pull over flotation vest. Get fancy and add neoprene pouches to your vest for hydration bladder and convenience and safety items. Although, what your describing doesn't sound like very cold conditions.
Just got back from paddling alpine lake with snow on the ground. Had very thin surf booties and feet got a bit cold walking around in snow after paddle, seemed to work ok while paddling. Had 3 mill pants that worked fine. Wore rashguard, long sleeve synchilla type rashguard, nylon wind breaker, flotation vest, bucket hat with neoprene ear flaps and had just bought some neoprene/rubber hunting gloves locally. (only paddle up there once a year)
So over all I was a little uncomfortable but perfectly warm, maybe too warm but, my fingers were freezing.
I personally can not recommend a one piece wetsuit. I find them very uncomfortable and restrictive when paddling, but,
everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. Also, all wetsuit manufactures suits fit differently for different body types. I have been surfing for 50 years and find Quicksilvers work very good for me. Excel wetsuiits are probably one of the best but my local discount dealer does not carry them so obviously haven't tried one.

Have you ever thought of using a triathlon type wetsuit? In the UK winter I use an old Quintana Roo triathlon wetsuit 5mm chest,legs for warmth but only 1-1.5mm shoulder panels & arms. super flexible as it is designed for open water swimming, might be a bit warm in some climes but perfect for a british winter!

I recently bought my first wet suit which is a Quicksilver Syncro 3/2 and it's great. Very flexible and with the glue bonded stitching, it keeps me quite warm. I paddle most flat water and the temps are around the upper 40F mark right now.

I tested it the other week. When I was done paddling, I got back in the water and swam around a bit. Minus my hands a feet, the rest of me was fine after having been in the water for probably 5 minutes. The GBS stitching really lets in a minimal amount of water.

topswimmer wrote: Have you ever thought of using a triathlon type wetsuit? In the UK winter I use an old Quintana Roo triathlon wetsuit 5mm chest,legs for warmth but only 1-1.5mm shoulder panels & arms. super flexible as it is designed for open water swimming, might be a bit warm in some climes but perfect for a british winter!

Problem with these super suits is durability , being in the water a lot, is to much to handle for these Expensive suits (at least for mine)

That's the greatest thing I forgot to mention. I got my Syncro on closeout from REI for $78. I think the new color scheme is only about $150. Heck, that's the same or less than you pay for some separate pant and shirt combos. The sizing was spot on as well.