Frostbiting clothing

Merrily

Administrator
I sailed in November with a dry suit and polyester long underwear; both the air and water were around 55 F, or 12 C. I figure this is not true frostbiting. I was a little too hot, but not sweaty because of the breathable fabrics while sailing. I was cold when I capsized, but not too cold to get the boat back upright. I was absolutely freezing when my boat was towed back (lost rudder), because of the breathability of the fabrics. The solution for that would be to have a windbreaker on the tow boat.

Are you more comfortable when it's colder in and out of the water (as long as you have more layers)?

How are you frostbiters staying comfortable while sailing and the occasional dip?

Merrily
 
Multiple light layers under the drysuit work well for me. I prefer to sweat from being to hot during racing and stay warm in between races, other prefer to be comfortable during racing and cold in between racing.

Keeping the head covered/warm is important for me too. Since you can't easily remove layers or vent the heat out of the drysuit while racing, the hat is what I use to regulate my comfort. If I'm too hot, I'll either remove it or wear it as a neck gaitor.

Cold hands are a bother, and can affect the fun of sailing, but I don't find them having a big effect on the rest of your body being cold (in other words your hands can be freezing and useless, while the rest of you feels warm)

IMHO, I don't think a windbreaker is going to increase warmth. A drysuit, wether it's breathable or not is a very good windblocker, I 'm guessing you feeling the cold was more a function of no physical activity to generate body heat while being towed. That's where I find a hat (or multiple hats) work well. If you hair was wet after capsizing, and you didn't have a hat on, that alone would most likely make you feel extremely cold....

If you haven't searched the archives here and the NA email archives, give those a shot as well.
 
I have never participated in frostbite racing, but would like to. I have heard that a wetsuit under foul weather pants and a spry smock top is one option. But I am not sure. I used to surf all year here in VA in a 3/2 or a 4/3 wetsuit with boots, gloves and a hood. I don't have a dry suit. I do have wetsuits and foulies. I'm just wondering if this is a real possibility or if the only way to do it is in a dry suit (water stays abve 45 around here in the winter; the air temp is anybody's guess).
-Jack
 
I'm still training, and the temperature here is around 0 degrees Celsius, sometimes it's freezing. I wear a drysuit (which is not breathable), under the drysuit a fleece bace layer. For my feet I have warm socks. It's important to keep your head warm, and I have a special scarve. At the moment I'm using the normal sailing gloves, without fingers, but it's better to use waterproof sailing gloves. If it's still too cold you can wear a base layer of breathable material under the fleece bace layer.

Emile
 
I find the hands are the biggest issue in frostbiting. Drysuits do the job otherwise. I agree that the key to staying warm is the hat. you loose 1/3 of your body heat through your head, so hats are critical. I always wear a wool hat, becuase wool doesn't loose its insulating properties when wet. I just haven't found a way to make sure it dosen't get knocked off in a wild jibe.
 
Jack said:
I have never participated in frostbite racing, but would like to. I have heard that a wetsuit under foul weather pants and a spry smock top is one option. But I am not sure. I used to surf all year here in VA in a 3/2 or a 4/3 wetsuit with boots, gloves and a hood. I don't have a dry suit. I do have wetsuits and foulies. I'm just wondering if this is a real possibility or if the only way to do it is in a dry suit (water stays abve 45 around here in the winter; the air temp is anybody's guess).
-Jack

Best advice is to try the wetsuit and find out. Spray top is ok, foul weather pants on top of the wetsuit is not something I've seen (most people go with the wetsuit because it's less "bulky" and gives them a better feel of being connected to the deck)

At Cedar Point and Newport (the two most active frostbite fleets in the NE) there are people wearing wetsuits in 40 degree water temps and air temps into the 30's. They say it's not bad unless you go for a swim and then continue sailing. They do try to get at least one light layer (or two) under the wetsuit), all the rest of the std advice (warm hat/feet etc) applies. Guys in Newport have been know to hang out on shore with coats on staying warm and then jump in and hit the starting line as the gun goes off for the first race.
 
49208 said:
At Cedar Point and Newport (the two most active frostbite fleets in the NE) there are people wearing wetsuits in 40 degree water temps and air temps into the 30's.

There are wetsuits and there are wetsuits. Mine is only 3 mm, but they make them twice as thick or more. Do you know how heavy their wetsuits are?

Janet
 
Merrily said:
There are wetsuits and there are wetsuits. Mine is only 3 mm, but they make them twice as thick or more. Do you know how heavy their wetsuits are?

Janet

3mm-4mm in the legs is what is in use. The heavier (all 6-7) dive suits restrict movement too much. Even wearing hiking pants on top of 3 or 4mm legs really cuts down on the flexibility... There are some steamers out there that have varying thickness (thick chest/back panels compared to legs/arms)

A couple of people have the hybrid wetsuits, which combine the wetsuit bottom with a drysuit loose fitting top. They like them.

examples of Hybrids
 
49208 said:
A couple of people have the hybrid wetsuits, which combine the wetsuit bottom with a drysuit loose fitting top. They like them.

Examples of Hybrids

Interesting link, I was totally unaware of the hybrid drysuits! Would anyone like to chime in on any personal experiences you've had with them? In particular, the 2005 O'Neill Fluid drysuit looks interesting.

Also, why are the drysuit prices on shuswapsnb.com so much cheaper than the ones over at APS? Are the ones over at APS *that* much better?

--
Jeremy
 
alienzero said:
Also, why are the drysuit prices on shuswapsnb.com so much cheaper than the ones over at APS? Are the ones over at APS *that* much better?

--
Jeremy

When you look at drysuits, you need to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Breathable fabric vs non breathable. Seat/knee reinforcements ? Ankle seal vs full booty. # of rows of stitching in the seams.... Even the latex seals are available in various thicknesses...

For example, here's a really inexpensive drysuit, but note the warranty... This might be great for kayaking and wear out in the seat or knees for Laser sailing. Then again, for the price, it might just work out dollar and sense.

Overton's drysuit
 

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