That seems a lot nicer than the rental wetsuit I remember from my one and only windsurfing course when I was a kid. Windsurfing while snow is falling around you - one of the perks of a North Sea vacation.
I pee in my wetsuit, so I doubt that any other human-oid would want my used wetsuit. But it’s a good idea, in theory.
Buy your kid a used [item of sporting gear], save some money. Up here in the Great White North, skate exchanges are a way of life. I don’t think my kids had new skates or cross-country ski gear the whole time they were growing up, but they had some pretty nice lightly-used equipment. When they outgrew it, it went back to the exchange for the next cohort.
The only downside is that the smell of a store full of used skates never really leaves your nostrils. I suspect that peed-in wetsuits are easier to clean.
The Dive shop is getting a premium. I’ve gotten my kids wetsuits at the Goodwill in a sporting town for $10.
Okay, I’ve read the article, watched the video, and my key question still hasn’t been answered: how the hell are these people not going into hypothermia?
Something called snowshoe grog, perhaps?
On the one hand I am irrationally jealous of the fact Jason lives on the coast surrounded by national parkland…
But in the other hand I only know how jealous I should be since I have had the pleasure of living on the coast surrounded by national parkland (in Japan, but you know).
It’s nice to hear that there are still brick and mortar places with decent selections of goods, but craigslist and ebay probably have more options.
I think I’ll pass.
I was surprised by this as well, we PADI-peeps pee our selves… frequently - esp in cold water.
It’s like that scene from dumb & dumber:
- just do it
- mmmmm, warm.
Wet suit? Hell, I’d pee in my regular suit, if I was surrounded by tons of cold and shifting waters while wearing it.
Christ I hate being pedantic but this is a personal pet peeve:
WRONG: "You want a wetsuit that fits snuggly"
RIGHT: “You want a wetsuit that fits snugly”
are you stressed? snuggly hugs can help : P
Probably not going to work for something that has to fit a growing kid, but in general the time to buy used sporting gear is at the end of the season…
I’ve successfully cleaned some pretty nasty wetsuits with MiraZyme, an enzyme based deodorizing solution for wetsuits (works great for nasty smelling shoes too). I usually just keep a tub outside with MiraZyme and give all my gear a soak after each use before letting it air dry.
wet suits, as opposed to dry suits, let water flush through them. so pee isn’t an issue. it just gets flushed out.
wet suits stink if they aren’t dried (after being rinsed with fresh water).
it’s been a very warm autumn here – water temp in sydney is still 20c/70f. probably another week or two of board shorts.
three foot (aussie scale, six foot seppo scale) and glassy this morning – woo hoo!!!
Every 2-3 uses I wear the wet suit into the shower, take it off under the water and then rub it down with Head and Shoulders. I have am bald, the Head and Shoulders is kept around only for wet suit washing.
I am pretty sure I’ve peed in every wet suit I’ve ever worn. Resisting the temptation in my dry suit is hard.
