Top 12 Ways to Stay Warm in the Water this Winter

The water’s cold; so here are some tips for keeping warm this winter:

1.  Wear the right thickness suit.  Yeah we know, obvious, but I’ve been wearing a 3/2 so far this winter and am dying.  I should be wearing a 4/3.

2.  Wear Booties or Gloves.  You lose most of your body heat through your feet, hands and head, because these are the regions that have the highest surface-area-to-volume ratio.  Booties are the most common, and the Hyperflex Surf Booties seem to get the best reviews from what we’ve seen, but if you can handle the looks from other surfers, you could also grab a pair of insulated surf gloves.

3.  Wear a liner.  This is my solution in the short run, I’ve been wearing a 1 mil wetsuit top under my 3/2.

4.  Drink coffee / tea / warm water en route.  Keep you core temperature up in prep.

5.  Use a longer board.  This keeps you out of the water (but only works when the wind isn’t wicked).

6.  Put a coat of Vaseline on your face – this will act as an insulator…sounds weird, but from what I hear all the New York City winter warriors do it.  There’s an article on The Runner’s Cool Down about it and Wikipedia notes that it is a “useful moisture insulator for local skin conditions characterized by tissue dehydration“.

7.  Wear as many layers as you can until you put on your suit, including a hat.  Again, this is to keep your core temperature up until you actually hit the water.  For example, the Surf Hoodie from Avaiator Nation.

8.  Do warm ups.  Run to the beach from your car, do jumping jacks, whatever you want.

9.  Keep moving when you’re in the water.  Don’t sit around waiting for the waves, paddle for them and keep moving.

10.  Bring a towel poncho for you walk from the beach to the car. For example, the FCS Changing Towel Poncho, or other things from Surf Ponchos and Other Options for Getting Nekked on the Beach.

11.  Stay out of the wind.  Windy weather removes more moisture from your skin and makes you colder.

12.  Dry your stuff the night before.  Make sure you pull the legs all the way out, and use driers (for example, the DRYGUY Sweet 16 Boot, Shoe, and Glove Dryer).