Posts Tagged ‘surfing’

DISCLAIMER: This was low tide.  It doesn’t look that impressive.  But who are you to judge, you flatlander you?

Me and my board.

Actually standing on the tiniest wave ever.

Look, another one!   Just knees though.

Honestly, falling off in new and different (and in this case, totally photoworthy) ways has got to be the second-funnest part.

My first adventure in surfing.

And I didn’t even make it to the water yet.

So I’m supposed to hit the beach this Saturday and get a basic idea of how to surf.  First, let me tell you that this is an expensive hobby.  As expensive as, say, skiing?  No.  Golf?  No.  Biking?  No.  Okay, so it’s not that expensive.  But the surfboard is a few hundred dollars to start, and then one must consider that despite the gorgeous weather here the Pacific is the colder of our two choices in oceans.  Therefore, a wetsuit, which is also a couple hundred dollars.

Here’s where the adventure comes in.

I say to myself, “Surely, a piece of neoprene can’t cost that much.”

True.  Apparently you can get one for lots less.  I found one online for around $50.  But because I do thorough research on things, I went down to the store to check things out.  Boy, we’ve got options.  Long legs/short legs, long sleeves/short sleeves, colors, thicknesses, sizes, etc.  I figure I’ll do the long legs thing.  Sleeves, I could go either way – my arms are a lot more tolerant of cold than my legs, and I’ve got a great farmer’s tan going, so maybe I shouldn’t spoil it.  But the size and thickness thing is really exciting.  The first wetsuit I tried on was a size medium, which was, unfortunately, too small.  So after 10 minutes of wrestling with it, I have seriously worked up a sweat.  I only narrowly avoided my total immobilization because I cleverly put one arm in at a time; if I had done them both I would have had to open the dressing room door with my teeth and get help.  It wasn’t even that small, it’s just that neoprene manages to be stretchy but unforgiving at the same time.

The next one I tried on was a size taller, a different brand, and thinner.  I didn’t realize this last part til I was putting it on, and suddenly I could get the legs on in less than 5 minutes.  Ahh, thinner = less resistance.  Very nice.  Also, I wasn’t sweating nearly as profusely.  It must breathe a bit better, too.  Apparently they come in two main thicknesses, 4/3 and 3/2.  This one was 3/2 which was the thinner of the two, and to me, the nicer.  You probably get less insulation but you get more maneuverability and less work invested in getting dressed, so it could be worth it.

I didn’t buy one today, because it’s $200 and that’s a lot of money.  But I concluded that I really really shouldn’t buy one online unless I trust the sizing, because otherwise it’ll end up too small, but I’ll try to wear it anyway, won’t be able to move my arms because it’s too tight, and drown.  So buy your wetsuits in person on pain of death.