Anyone ride a steamer suit instead of a dry or wet suit?
 

Got any reviews on them?

The reviews I've read online are all from divers or surfers who probably spend a lot more time in the water than we do.

Anyone have one? There is an O' Neil suit locally that is cheap and would fit. Anyone ride one or have experience?

Thanks

The definition of a steamer suit is basically a full length wetsuit (long arms & legs). So I'm not really sure what you are referring to. Tons of people use them, they work great.

steamer is basically slang for a full wet suit. the aussies that post on wakeskating.com call them steamers, but ive never heard someone over here call them that

prob made up
 

In my mind there are full wet suits, and then there are top end, high quality full wet suits where you barely get wet other than at the seals, and it is so tight and warm. I could call that a steamer.

Full Wet suit = older ones, cheaper brands, etc

"Steamer" = 3/2 or 4/3 high end newer wet suits

The suit I'm referring to zips up horizontally like a dry suit and exchanges a lot less water than a normal wet suit. They have seals but breathe water.

i almsot bought a wetsuit like 2 years ago for abalone diving. and it was called a semi dry suit. it was neopreme and breathed water, but had seals. im not sure about the zipper though. is that what your talking about?

I'm a diver and i've owned my fair share of wetsuits over the years, but i'm a bit confused abut what you are talking about. Could you find a picture that you could post to clarify? But from what you are describing, it sounds like it would be a 2 piece suit, and those are usually 5+ mm and at that thickness, wakeboarding is really awkward.

No idea what you are actually talking about but I use an O'neill Pycho II 4/3 hooded suit. It works well and has good flex and is definitely warmer than my 3/2 O'neill Epic and lets in less water. But once you're in the water for more than a minute it doesn't really matter. I use my Pycho for surfing when I'm in the water for a couple hours. If you're just taking 30 min sets and are only in the water for a couple minutes when you fall. I'd say save your extra $200 and just get one of the cheaper 3/2s or 4/3s if you're really cold.

Jeff, I wear what we call a steamer, which is a thick wetsuit but with rubber seals and straps at the wrists, ankles, and neck, and is rubberized on the outside of the neoprene. The one I wear is made by a windsurfing company called Neilpryde, but it is pretty bad for wakeboarding. There is very limited flexibility, to the point where I miss grabs. A lot. If I had a one piece wetsuit I would wear it over the steamer for sure. I am never in the water long enough for it to be a big deal, and the added mobility would be 100% worth it.

Jeff just post the link already, I saw the craigslist ad too. Looks like a good deal, but I dont think it's a real drysuit, and the short leg seals would look SO kewl. :) $50 though, good deal

Yeah this is what it is/was.

It's a 4/3 with seals at the neck wrists and ankles like a dry suit but it still seeps water like a wet suit. It's got a waterproof zipper runnnig horizontally across the shoulders like a dry suit has rather than vertical like your typical 3/2 neoprene wet suit.

I wasn't under the impression that this was a dry suit - just a "warmer" wet suit than your typical 3/2 with no seals.

I'm going to pass and just pick up a dry suit when one comes along.

My steamer has a vertical zipper, but it only seeps water through the rip in the crotch.

gotta air it out! ;)