Anyone have a recommendation for a good wetsuit for the 35-40 degree F water temp range?

I've had good success with my Spartan cold water skin suit, but the skin is showing its age and the whole suit should now be replaced.

Thanks
Mike

I use NP skins 5/3 and 3/3 with additional layers usually . Skins is superb for the windchill but as you know it's easily damaged and very expensive

Mike,

For me i found i needed a integrated hood to stay warmest. Checkout Sierra trading post; i got a fantastic deal on a 6/5/4 hyperflex skull suit, and only paid $179 on a closeout, late last summer. I checked and they still have the suit ($249) , but you should see if you can find a 20 or 30% off coupon online like i did.....

Lots of windskin is important for us windsurfers and supsurfer,s as we are exposed to the wind with our hobby.

BTW. third coast surfshop in st jo has a lot of cold water suits in stock that you can try on and see if the fit is right. They are on sale right now too. Let me know (text me) if you want to head out sometime soon, and i'll join you for the ride as I want to check out their longboard surfboard selection.

Ady, you're right. The skins are expensive but they do make a difference. I will buy another skin suit when I have more money or they have a sale. It has nice features. I wonder about the Iannovated and the ION semi-drysuits, as well.

I have sailed in a full (baggy) drysuit and the kiters seem to like the lucifer dry suit, but for me these are a big challenge to wear windsurfing.

Alan, I am glad you still recommend the suit you purchased. At that price it's worth a try.

Hi , Make sure the forearm of the suit is not too tight and flexible otherwise it can fatigue your arms. I bought a an O,Neill 5/4mm 2014 suit and the arms are 4mm but ultra flexible, it has made a difference to my time on the water.

Yup- its all about the fit. Every body is different, and manufacturers have different sizing, so trying on as many as possible is the best bet to finding a good fit.

If ordering online, consider buying two sizes and returning one or both.

Regarding forearm fatigue, PROMOTION wetsuits (wetsuit.com) have suits catered to windsurfers with generous forearm cuts on some of their suits.

Am I missing something?! I did some research yesterday and it seems that the surf stores in Europe have a huge choice of high end skin type wetsuits from many brands. I even saw a ONeil skin wetsuit Ive never heard about here in the U.S. ! What's going on-is there some kind of monopoly by NP over the U.S. market?! The only skin IONs I've found here-2014 Element are sold by Gorge Surf Shop:
www.gorgesurfshop.com/wetsuit/ion-2014-m...lement-semidry-sk-55
There are other ION dealers in US -like Inlandsea and its worth checking with them what they actually have in stock and what they can deliver by request. They delivered me an ION mast/board protector /an excellent product/ by request .
My problem with the NP wetsuits is that they are way overpriced /the most expensive in EU aswell/ on top of that the older 3000 like mine 5/3 are glued together with a cheap glue and the seams start coming apart after just a few sessions. Thank god for McNetts Aquaseal! The E3 closure is not very good also, but by puting a tiny west on top it gets much better.
The regular wetsuits don't do it for me because I get cold easily. The windchill just kills me:( I had the same Hyperflex like Alan's with a hood and a chest zipper and was always cold even though it was 6mm thick !! Getting in and out of it by myself was a torture Some guys have dry suits, but I don't see them on the lake when it drops to 40. You definitely need layers underneath though.

Yea , I always buy my wetsuits in the UK , (Cornwall) usually as there,s great choice.

I don't get to Cornwall (ever), so I bought my Spartan suit online at the Spartan website. It was fine, but Brian has a better system.

The best part of my Spartan suit was the loose arms -for the exact reason Brian and Alan mentioned. Maybe Brian's O'neill suit would work. What is the low end water temp for that one, Brian?

The skull suit is the cheapest of anything I've seen. But, like Ady points out, there is limited skin on it. The measurements are spot on for me, tho. Most reviews I located say it is quite warm. Ady, was your problem just from too much evaporation, or was it flushing a lot, as well?

Thanks everyone.

The evaporation, that's what makes me cold:(. The flushing comes and goes, but evaporation is constant. You can decrease it if you put something on top-a thin layer of skin type neoprene or windbreaker top and/or bottom. That's what I used before buying the NPs.
Next time when I shop for a wetsuit I'll get a 4/3 like the NP Nexus here:
www.isthmussailboards.com/2015-Pryde-Nex...info/NW14WD658/050M/
I find layering over and/or under makes it warmer by creating air pockets. I think I've told you that I even had a 2pairs of booties on when we were sailing Wolf on 12.25 . A size 12 summer NPs over the size 11 high Atans and it was nice and toasty much warmer then the 7mm Hyperflex booties which I don't use anymore.

Thanks for reminding me, Ady. We ended December STRONG with a full day at Wolf. What a gift.

Soon Mike, soon ! My first sessions have been on the last week of March when the ice has melted and the temperature is ~40F . I don't see a reason this year to be any different