Wetsuit or Drysuit

i have only ever worn a wetsuit when at topper squad training. At the last week end i tryed my dads dry suit on as it was so cold my mast gate wouldnt move and the puddle in my boat had a thick layer of ice over it. so i tryed this drysuit, as every one in youth squad seems to have one, and it was rely warm and not as restricting as i had been led to belive. i loved it and now want one.

they were only 20 quid when i got them, its still really annoying though. i expected 20 quid of glove to last more than a season.

i found they were really grippy and not too tight. generally good apart from how qquickly they wore away.

I like to wear a wetysuit because of the restrictions of a drysuit but have a couple of times chickened out and put the drysuit on

I agree bring on the summer

I sail in hiking shorts and spray llongjohns and spray top, never get that cold even doing frosbite,  although i think im going to buy my first wetsuit for 6 years to do the bloody mary in.  Ocorse when you have more blubber then a whale like me you dont get cold.

Originally posted by bert drysuits will keep you dry BUT not warm by themshelves -- wetsuits will because of the way they work.

Certainly true but that's why you wear a wooly bear underneath.

To some extent the wetsuit/drysuit choice is driven by the boat you sail and how active you are in the boat. A lot of cat sailors will wear drysuits because you are not tacking on every little shift - thus cat races are about getting out on the wire and working for the best boat speed. There is abosultely no shelter on a cat and so a drysuit often works best. Laser sailors will wear hikers all year round with a aquafleeces in the cold months under spray tops because they need minimal bulk under a low boom and sailing a Laser is quite physical. 49er sailors seem to go for the full 3mm wetsuit with rash vest.

It's an undisputed fact that our club has the best showers in Ireland. And that's handy because the Laser sailors often need to stand under them for 15 minutes or so to warm up after an event. With my drysuit/wooly bear combo, I am showering to rinse off perspiration not get warm.