How to not freeze your butt off surfing

When the mercury begins to drop, preparing ways to keep your core temperature stable is key to being able to stay in the water and enjoying the powerful waves that winter months provide. 

Your first line of defense against the cold is your wetsuit, check out my wetsuit series here to make sure you’re wearing the right amount of rubber for your conditions. Once you’ve got your neoprene situation sorted, you can work on increasing the amount of heat it can provide before you even get wet, Here’s 4 quick hacks to keep you feeling toasty in the line up:

1. Bring a sealed hot water bladder​- You can leave this in your wetsuit bag to heat up your wetsuit before putting it on. After your surf, you can dump this into your wetsuit to get a little jolt of warmth as well.
   
   
2. Put your wetsuit on somewhere warm​- I like changing into my wetsuit in the front seat of my car instead of outside in the wind on freezing concrete.
   
   
3. Crank the heat -​ If you change outside and your core is already cold, it’s only going to go downhill. So I crank the heat while I’m changing in my car, and the aim here is to almost be sweating before I open the door.
   
   
4. Change out of your wetsuit in a DryRobe - This has been one of my best purchases ever. Changing out of a wetsuit when it’s snowing and the wind is howling is always the worst part, and a Dryrobe makes a world of difference - it’s like changing in a sleeping bag.

These tips will help you get the most out of your wetsuit and keep you in the water for longer when the days get shorter.