anybody ride with a 5mm wetsuit
 

I hate being cold and wet and there is a dive shop close by thats got some 5mm wetsuits for 100 bucks. They got them from a fire department barely used and didn't need them anymore. Is 5mm to thick to move in?

Depends on the wetsuit. What temp is the water you'll be in. I have a 4-3 xcel drylick and have used it in 48 degree water. Didn't feel a thing. Check out whiskeymilitia.com they have them on sale now through their private stash. You'll have to sign up; it's well worth it.

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Well I ride most of colder months in 5/3 O'neill Epic and it's working just fine.
As far as I know, in diving wetsuit you might not have the same range of motion as you have in all watersport specific wetsuits. I think they're not so elastic because of different type of neopren that they are made of.

definitely check out the sale that whiskeymilitia.com is having right now. a 4/3 or 5/3 zipperless with taped seems would be better for you. Beyond that, the limiting factor is more likely to be your exposed hands and head, than the rest of your body.

If money wasnt an issue, id go with the O'Neil psycho freak 4.5/3.5 its light and feels more like a 3/2

I do. It's super thick. The O'Neil is a better option, but you'll get used to riding 5mm. It will fatigue you at first.

You wear a 5mm down here in FL?? I thought my 3/2 was ample enough and I thought i had thin blood lol

Hahaha

Ya man I friggen hate cold water!

Well I ride in NC and only a handful of times when a wetsuit is needed, plus its usually on a heated lake thats pretty close. Thats why I don't want to spend a ton of money on it. But man I hate jumping in and getting cold water running straight up your back. I guess I got thin blood too.

Just bought the XCEL Hawaii 4/3 Infiniti Full Zip for 139.00 shipped off whiskeymilitia.com so I guess we'll see how this one works. Its got to be better than the old 2/1 O'Neil I've been wearing and on real cold days a heater top plus the 2/1 which is so tight you can bearly breath.

I just bought an Oneil (Gooru I think) 5/3 and it definitely does the trick. Air temp in UK is about 6-8 degrees so can only guess what water temp is like. After a cable session entering the water 4or 5 times you come out pretty much dry and feel fine when in the water. The only problem are the bits that aren't covered i.e hands and feet.

Another helpful keep warm hint is to wear a neo beenie or hood. Keeping your head warm in cold water will go a long way to keeping you warm!

There's also no shock/panic effect after your head gets dunked on a spill!

The 5/4 Xcel Drylock I use for surfing is much more comfortable than the 3/2 I used for wakeboarding

Honestly, if you are going that thick, why not go with a drysuit? The range of motion is really good compared to a thicker wetsuit. Plus u can wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt underneath and stay toasty. I pretty much go from my long armed spring suit straight into my oneill boost drysuit.

for wakeboarding I agree. The person above mentioned he uses it for surfing (I assume Ocean). In that case, a dry suit can be really dangerous due to fins of the board or bottom of the ocean ripping the suit. If that happens and the suit fills with water, you're ****ed and will probably drown.

Drown because of the cold water?

no because the suit is full of water and it's nearly impossible to swim in a dry suit full of water.

All you have to do is float... surf boards float, so do vests :)

With rip tides and strong currents you need to be at full capacity. Unless the waves are tiny. But in most cases they're not.

A heated lake??

There's a power plant on the lake that takes in water to cool its turbines. So were the water discharges the water is always warmer by a lot . In the summer it can get above 100. It's like a hot tub at night but sucks if you want to cool off in the middle of the day

Can I get a few names of the so called heated lakes. Trying ti find a place to board over XMAS.

In NC I think the only ones are Hyco and Belews Creek. I only ride Belews and the water in the hot spot should stay in the 60's all winter.

I have a Henderson 7mm wetsuit (really stretchy and soft) you pay for what you get. I used it last weekend with 37 air and 49 degree air...

I also routinely when scuba diving in the great lakes (Tobermory) get water in the low 40's and I am down for 30 mins.

Dry Suit is nice but def more bulk.

Well just alittle update I used my new XCEL Hawaii 4/3 Infiniti Full Zip today at the cable. Air air was warm at 65 and I think the water was around 45 maybe colder. At no time was I cold today which was great. When I got done riding after two hours of falling a lot my bathing suit was barely wet. Water never felt like it was rushing in like my old suit I highly recommend this suit for the price.