Ocean rodeo Soul too KB specific?

[beebad]

I am nearly sold on the OR Soul. They seem to have the popular market on dry suits for KB. It seems to be a pretty KB specific application for this product or SUP, wet sailing and so on. The ION FUSE, looks like a 2nd runner p witht he gumby effect...

Can you surf in the Soul? Looks kooky to be surfing in that get up.......so it is more kite specific...

Any other close contenders for dry suit? when do the 2018 models come out?

[randycasburn]

The flexible panels in the Soul make freedom of movement a priority. I would think that would be a priorty for a surfer (as well as kiter). It _is_ like a snow-ski suit when you have it on - wait, that makes sense in cold weather sports! Standby mode is awesome when you are taking a breather and want to cool down a bit. The outer jacket reduces the cooling affect caused by cold water contact with upperbody panels on the suit and provides pockets to keep cold hands out of the breeze. The material is somewhat breathable and that helps cut down on moisture collection inside the suit (if you’ve considered that). You should buy the Soul - you won’t be dissapointed. That is unless you prioritize the way a “get up” looks vs. functionality.

[matth]

OR suits are great but I think you would be better off with a wetsuit for surfing. With all the crashing and rolling in the waves I think you would get some water in the suit, and DS are not as good at swimming as a WS.

[alunj]

I have a soul and for KS I love it.
I dont think it would be great for surfing there would be quite a bit of drag. They did do a surf suit but stopped some time ago AFAIK.

As for the Ion one i dont think you could move enough in it , its very thick and baggy

[beebad]

Yes thanks you all.....As I thought, the OR Soul is the one....So the last thing I need are booties and gloves for conditions just under 50 degrees in the chesapeake area.....I'll prlly need some kind of lid but never used one surfing or diving....

[randycasburn]

...and DS are not as good at swimming as a WS.

+1

[randycasburn]

Yes thanks you all.....As I thought, the OR Soul is the one....So the last thing I need are booties and gloves for conditions just under 50 degrees in the chesapeake area.....I'll prlly need some kind of lid but never used one surfing or diving....

Ref lid: some local kiters here swear by natural wool knitted beanie. They say even sopping wet their head stays warm.

[beebad]

I guess the water would drain away as would a neoprene lid but wind would go right through a wet wool touk. Well at least i have a few of those .... thanks for the thought...

[juandesooka]

I'd consider a Soul if good deal came along ... for kiting, maybe for sup, but probably not for surfing. I haven't tried, but am told any air in the suit makes it too buoyant to duck dive. I suspect it would get water in it. And then a safety issue: you break a seal, swimming in the waves with this full of water could be a serious problem.

I had an OR SurfDry, the older drysuit version that has a 2mm wetsuit skin over top. Worked fairly well, nice to be dry at the beach waiting for waves, but overall not perfect: paddling hard you sweat, suit can't breathe, so you get damp anyway. With how water tight modern wetsuits are, plus the fuzzy interior material, it really didn't have any dryness advantage. Then the neck seal ripped, and that was that.

Seems to me the driving motivation for drysuits in surf was how stiff the neoprene was in 5mm wetsuits. New neoprene is now so flexible I don't think there is much advantage to a drysuit in surf any more.

[beebad]

Yeah man, I have a 3/2 that I felt good surfing in , but KB there is a lot of wind....First time really doing watersports in REAL cold water condiotions a departure from San Diego and Florida.