I typically hate wearing winter wetsuits. With both thick full suits and thick skiff suit/top combos my mobility is impaired and my harness is less comfortable. Overall I’m more grumpy, but that’s probably because it’s also a cold day! However, after a friend’s recommendation I gave this Vissla 4/3 wetsuit a shot and so far it’s been great. I’ve learned that a full suit provides equal if not better continuous insulation than a skiff suit/top pair, while cutting the torso thickness in half. This directly results in more mobility and therefore more comfort. The suit is also made of a more flexible layering schedule than most sailing wetsuits as it’s designed specifically for surfing. I chose the front zip model as it’s warmer and creates a better seal than back zips. Front zips are slightly more difficult to get into than back zips.
One drawback of a surfing wetsuit is that it typically has less reinforcement than its sailing specific counterpart. This can lead to slightly less durability when sailing cats, but is generally negligible if you have abrasive grip tape that will wear through gear anyways. I trimmed the ankles up and sleeves back to the elbows to better fit me and the wetsuit has still held up very well. With thick wetsuits I like to cut the sleeves up to the elbows for better arm mobility. Cutting the sleeves has only minimally decreased the warmth of the suit.
I ordered this suit directly from Vissla and had it delivered in Auckland NZ during the 2019 Nacra 17 Worlds. They do ship worldwide. I wear a size MS.
