From all my windsurfequipment, my clothing has been always very bad… I just took the cheapest Wetsuit/Shoes/Boots/etc. Because lack of money, I did spended >150,- euro for an fin with no problems. But for windsurf clothing I never wanted to invest. And that was quite stupid!!!
Wetsuit
The difference between my worst and my best wetsuit (both 5mm) is very big!! My worst wetsuit(s) ever were prolimit wetsuits, I needed to buy every year a new one. And every year prolimit told that the new wetsuit was good, and old problem were gone…
So I was thinking, maybe I am just a pussy, and other windsurfer Die-Hards. But a few months ago my granny gave me the best wetsuit there was in the shop. The Neilpryde 5000-series! And I have to admit, this wetsuits makes my day over and over again!!! It is worth every eurocent!
In 2007 I had 65 surfdays, I expect this year a lot more days… The first day the wetsuit way very tight, my arms felt not right, but after 1 hour the wetsuit was transformed to my body!!! Tip: Don’t let bigger people use your wetsuit!
Boots
After the very good experience with the NP wetsuit, I bought NP 3000 series Boots. And they are also 10 times better than all my previous Pro-limitssss. No cold feet anymore, yesssss.
How to get right boots??? This is hard, because speedsurfing causes a lot pressure on the feet… I used for a while shoes size 41… And my feet are size 46. Take smaller boots, this will prevent that the shoes will wrap. My NP 3000 boots are size 45, and perfect.
Cap
The cap saves a lot of energy/warmth, I use it from 10 degrees (celsius) to lower tempratures. My cap is still prolimit, it works, but I am looking for an better one…
Gloves
Only gloves that ever worked with me are open palm gloves. I don’t got any gloves at the moment.
Rescues vest
Till this point I used an rescues vest almost every session, only light days in summer I don’t use one. The rescues vest helps to keep you warm, and keeps you above the watersurface. I really hate people that don’t use an rescues vest, especially less skilled speedsurfers with weightvest. In the summer of 2006 I got my Survival at Sea papers. Those people showed what happens when it goes wrong… And studies told that drowning is one of the worst deaths. And it doesn’t take that long before you drown.
I have experienced crashes at speeds against 40 knots, and that gives big impact on your body! So please record-hunter always have plan-B. Study the weatherpredictions, and know your windsurfequipment and yourself!!
