There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Ben Gravy has spent the last decade or so on a mission. A few missions, really, but they can all be lumped into one larger mission: to have as much fun as possible while pushing his limits. In his travels, he’s surfed many waves, some warm, some cold. Some colder than others. He’s used to cold water — New Jersey surfers come from hardy stock — so he’s got thoughts on how to make frigid conditions a little more bearable.
I’m from Vancouver Island, a place where the water is cold all year around. I live on the southern end, a four-hour drive from the most well-known Canadian surf zone of Tofino. It’s flat in the summer when the water warms a tad, and most of the waves on the south end of the island involve river mouths with meltwater from the mountains. It’s cold. And although I grew up surfing here, I hate it. Not the actual wave-riding part, but the wetsuit part. You’re either too cold or too hot. You’ve got brain freeze. Your finger tips are numb but your body is overheating. I love surfing more than anything, but after I moved back to Canada from California, I’ve become a little more of a warm-water surfer, traveling for waves, instead of the everyday surfer I used to be.
Oh sure, I’ve got wetsuits. Good ones, bad ones, and everything in between. Over the years, I’d wager I’ve had a suit made by most of the major brands and some of the smaller ones. They all keep me warm, but here’s the problem: it’s not the cold that I hate, it’s the wetsuit itself. A 5mm is not my jam. I’ll suffer through it for a few waves, but give me the option to go somewhere trunkable and I’m taking it every time. Anyway, Ben’s got tips. Tips that will make your time in the cold water a little less torturous.
“Over the past 10 years,” he wrote, “I’ve spent time surfing a few of the coldest places on earth. I thought it’d be fun to create a guide on how to survive surfing in winter conditions, whether you’re at home or on the road.”
