Most people think of surfing only as a summer sport. Nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, the best surf sessions happen during the winter. That is, winter brings some of the biggest swells and most powerful waves of the entire year. You might not get much of a tan on your surfboard during the winter like you would in summer, but winter is even going to bring you more frequent surfable waves. This means you can not only have more fun while surfing during winter, but you can also surf more often.

Wetsuits, Rash Guards, and Booties

But it’s cold! Yes, it is very cold during the winter. The air is cold, the wind makes it even colder, and the water is frigid. That’s why we have wet suits. Wet suits are like extra thick swim suits that cover your whole body. They are designed to keep you warm while you surf, and they’re made to be very elastic so that you’re able to pop up on your surfboard easily.

Wet Suits & Rash Guards

Wet suits are so tight they are really difficult to put on and take off, but the effort is worth the amazing surf sessions you’re sure to get.  Most surfers ease into their wet suits through the winter season. They don’t go from wearing some board shorts to suddenly squeezing into their wet suit. When it starts getting chilly outside, surfers start wearing their board shorts and a rash guard. This is a thin shirt that helps avoid rashes causes by wax on your surfboard; it can also help keep you warm.

Short Wet Suits

When it gets a bit colder, surfers might still wear their board shorts but instead of a rash guard (or rashie) they’ll start wearing a short sleeved wet suit top. As its name implies, this is the top part of a wet suit that has short sleeves. Around this time surfers may also start wearing some short wet suits. These are wet suits that have short bottoms and short sleeves.

As winter progresses, surfers begin wearing wet suit bottoms, which means the full length bottom half of a wet suit. They may or may not wear a top, and their top may be a rash guard or even a short sleeved wet suit top.

Booties

Eventually, you’ll end up wearing a full wet suit. If the water where you surf is cold enough (or if you simply prefer), you’ll want to get some booties. These are basically shoes for your wet suit. They’re really thick and designed to keep your feet warm. The problem with booties is that they’re very prone to having water get in them. They fill up with water, which makes them heavy. This makes it a bit more difficult to pop up on your surfboard. Wet suits also tend to get a bit of water in them. Most of this water seeps in through the top of the wet suit, by your neck. You might want to get out of the water every 45 minutes or so just to drain the water out of your wet suit and booties.

Summer is a very relaxing time to go surfing and you get a nice tan to go with it. But if you’re serious about surfing, you can’t miss out on winter surf sessions; they’re bigger, more powerful, and more fun than any summer surfing you’re likely to find.

Peeing Inside a Wet Suit

Yes, peeing inside your wet suit really does warm you up.

But whatever you do, don’t fart inside your wetsuit!