We all go a little stir crazy couped up at home for days or weeks on end, the darker mornings, too much time screen time and family can become claustrophobic after a while and leave us needing some quality time on the water.
Winter Wind Great offer inside.
If you are not fortunate enough to Kitesurf in a warmer climate during the winter months, then the trick is to up your personal body warmth so you can fully enjoy the epic winter conditions at your regular spot. That means wearing a decent winter wetsuit. If it is time for you to invest in a winter wetsuit or your old suit needs upgrading, take a good look at the cosiest wetsuits on the market today. Seek advice from others who Kitesurf during the winter months and most importantly go for the best suit you can afford to save making an expensive mistake with a badly fitting suit. Thankfully advances in neoprene technology mean that even the thickest suits have multiway stretch enabling a better fit and ease of movement and minimise cold water entry. While getting a wetsuit flushed through in the summer might be refreshing, the opposite is true in winter and keeping water out is key.
Most good winter suits need a bit more wiggle on entry, so have patience when trying on and allow plenty of time to gently ease the suit on and choose. Winter suits are generally black or very dark coloured to retain heat, so that cuts out decision making about what colour to buy.
Most of the neck entry suits with chest/ front zips need a bit of coaxing especially over hips and the second shoulder is a bit like trying to squeeze toothpaste back in the tube , then with the over the head seal in place and the zip done up, the sensation starts, your own heat production fully retained.
Leave it there if you are a kitesurfer who can only squeeze in a short winter session on the water or you only want to go out late autumn or early spring. Using this type of suit with a balaclava in the winter months will save you losing heat from your head and your ears from the biting wind which all helps elongate your time on the water. But eventually somewhere after a crash or two there will be a leak somewhere and the cold water will begin to trickle in and the session ends as muscles start to cramp or you start losing sensation somewhere.
For a real hardcore proper full Kitesurf sessions in winter, we are talking a hooded wetsuit.
Maybe it is not the most flattering look, but if a hooded wetsuit is the difference between cowering from the wind on the shoreline, while your mates are out there shredding the waves, you could tolerate looking like Batman or Catwoman ? There are fantastically warm hooded wetsuits to take you right through the epic winds that winter offers in the UK, so come on down to the shop and take a look, try a couple on and extend your kitesurfing in to December and beyond.
Don’t forget accessories too, gloves and warmer surf boots make fantastic Christmas wish list additions at this time of year. Dropping huge hints or forwarding this article might just get you the Christmas present you REALLY want this year.