Yeah, I’m going to wear gloves. What’s it to ya?

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

Everyone is different I know but I like to train my mind and body as I get older (next month 51) to with stand and continue thinking booties come in around Santa Cruz everything South currently wear 3/3 but during youth always 3/2

I like to be warm.

That being said my hooded 4/3 Isurus suit is ridiculous. Wore it on a very cold offshore morning recently and got over heated.

 

[santacruzin]

I have a hooded 5/4/3 I wear sometimes. I have gloves and hoods because fuck being cold . I would rather surf longer and not be the cool guy shivering.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

No gloves south of teh 907, unless you're a pvssy

 

[surfysurfy1476]

No gloves south of teh 907, unless you're a pvssy

And no booties south of conception unless your a booty boi.

 

[flyinraptr]

I can totally empathize with you guys thinking about wearing gloves. With the offshores blowing hard - a bit nippy around here ... i actually broke down and put on a 2mm top today .... brrrrrr

Todays surf report ....

 

[sdsrfr]

i surf up north a lot. Last couple weeks I had trouble getting my key out and wetsuit off

I worry about my thumbs tearing off when in such a situation.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

And no booties south of conception unless your a booty boi.

Here’s the deal, the worst part about wearing booties is the first session or two wearing them after going barefoot.

Sometimes I surf in SB/Ventura where you don’t really “need” them (although having them on at the rocky spots is nice for entry/exit), but about half of the time I’m surfing farther north where you kind of need them if you don’t want numb feet.

So I’m not going to go switching back and forth all winter just to appease the surfing fashion nazis. Booties go on and stay on for the winter.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

I worry about my thumbs tearing off when in such a situation.

Tearing would imply that there’s some bit of flexibility involved. I worry about my thumbs breaking off.

 

[jkb]

When I lived in Cambria, every once in a while the water temp and wind chill warranted some gloves.

Couldn't stand the 3mm options. So bulky and way overkill.

I found a couple of 1.5mm options and those were tolerable.

 

[sh3]

ok. so if you're gonna wear gloves, shouldn't they have the webbed fingers? I'm serious.

Serious question, serious answer.

Nope.

It's crazy but if you wear gloves they increase the surface area of your hands. I thought I'd have water slipping through my fingers and lose traction, but it was the opposite. Paddled faster with gloves.

For the record, it was at Mavs & the water was cold.

 

[Kento]

So weird - I used to have the worst of purple crab claws when I was much younger (teens - 20s) surfing up in GWS hood. Couldn't even grip a key when I got out of the water. And now, up here, I've had a couple days when it was cold enough that my hands got chilly in the water but am otherwise fine getting out post-sesh; no major issues. But a lot of paddling is involved so that might have something to do with it. However, if the gloves do make you paddle faster, that is worth considering. I seem to do a LOT of paddling (and can't forget the duckdiving) these days.

You don't need booties south of Zuma; maybe if there is a freak upwelling event. I have some old O'Neill ones that are at least 15 years old and hadn't been used in almost that long until moved north. Thickness of the booties? 3? 5? 1.8? No idea - I am as lost to that metric as board volume (liters). Glue starting to erode around the soles so may not have much life left in them. I fully expect them to disintegrate at the worst possible moment. I am impressed by their longevity but I will eventually have to get a new pair so I have something when they eventually fail.

 

[GWS_2]

Up in the Monterey area, I have had my hands so cold I couldn't get in the car. One time my keys were stashed under the rear bumper. I couldn't grab them. So I was jumping up and down on the back of the truck until they fell out. Then I couldn't pick them up off the ground. I was putting my hands together in like a clapping position because that was the only thing they would do. I finally managed to get them in the lock and I couldn't turn the key. I eventually started sweet talking this chick. Got her to turn the key, put it in the ignition and then unzip my wetsuit. She was cracking up about unzipping a guy. Role reversal. I asked her out. We got married. But I digress.

I'm having a pair of webbed MMA gloves made out of neoprene. Crowd control.

J/K. The hand thing gets worse as you get older. Geezers.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

Serious question, serious answer.

Nope.

It's crazy but if you wear gloves they increase the surface area of your hands. I thought I'd have water slipping through my fingers and lose traction, but it was the opposite. Paddled faster with gloves.

For the record, it was at Mavs & the water was cold.

Open fingers actually provides more paddle power than closed fingers (cupped hand being worse than flat hand).

It’s all about surface area and surface tension. With open fingers you have more overall surface area in contact with the water therefore more water “grabbing” the fingers providing more propulsion.

With gloves (non-webbed) you have simply increase the surface area of your hand.

With webbed gloves (I’ve used them) fatigue becomes a factor as does unnecessary strain on the rotator cuff to the point where the increase in paddle power just isn’t worth it.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

The hand thing gets worse as you get older. Geezers.

It’s that whole paper thin skin thing...

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

When I lived in Cambria, every once in a while the water temp and wind chill warranted some gloves.

Couldn't stand the 3mm options. So bulky and way overkill.

I found a couple of 1.5mm options and those were tolerable.

I had some 1.5 but they actually made my hands feel colder.

They were Patagonia gloves so maybe that’s the problem.

 

[GWS_2]

It’s that whole paper thin skin thing...

lol.

I think it has more to do with decades of hitting various things and breaking fingers. At one point I had my thumb pointing back at my elbow. For a lot of years that wasn't too bad post break. Now it sucks. The thumb is over a half inch shorter than it should be. I'll never play the violin again.

 

[ZZ Soft Top]

 

[ZZ Soft Top]

The thumb is over a half inch shorter than it should be. I'll never play the violin again.

 

[Clayster]

Open fingers actually provides more paddle power than closed fingers (cupped hand being worse than flat hand).

It’s all about surface area and surface tension. With open fingers you have more overall surface area in contact with the water therefore more water “grabbing” the fingers providing more propulsion.

With gloves (non-webbed) you have simply increase the surface area of your hand.

With webbed gloves (I’ve used them) fatigue becomes a factor as does unnecessary strain on the rotator cuff to the point where the increase in paddle power just isn’t worth it.

This is correct. Competitive swimmers are taught to keep their fingers separated, as air bubbles get trapped between then during the stroke, and create more power from the stroke.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

This is correct. Competitive swimmers are taught to keep their fingers separated, as air bubbles get trapped between then during the stroke, and create more power from the stroke.

Wall adhesion. Surface tension of water sticks to the fingers almost all the way around.

Also, open loose relaxed fingers results in less fatigue.

Air bubbles? No. Air bubbles are bad for speed.