[CESAR]

So been surfing my whole life and now at a crossroads in terms of winter rubber.  Got my old, crusty Oneill mutant 5/3 which did the job solid for many many years.....but year number 8/9......crusty at best unless wet.  Still better than the Rip Curl and Henderson suits I had prior but I ask in position of striking insane deal on what looks like a sick Quik Cypher 4/3.  Should I drop the dough and hope the tweak with layered rash guard will do the trick dead of winter.  Past few winters have been so subpar....and with new wetsuit technology I'm thinking maybe a top of the line 4/3 could do it....with maybe tweak here and there.  Which brings me to what I wonder most.  Do 'most' major labelled winter suits rock a 3mm arm and leg or not?  Is this a pipe dream for me?  Maybe few more years till a legit 4/3 can represent NY waters thru winter?  Only difference in many suits I find bw 4/3 and 5/3 is in the chest.....which never gets cold.....and if so usually last.

[nydubstar]

4/3 won't cut it for me...I did that 18 years ago in new england with a hooded rash guard, but only as a second session warm-day option now

[thanks_table]

I wear a 5/4/3 suit in the winter, and the 3mm in the arms is totally fine. Probably the only part that never feels cold. I'd maybe be worried about my legs in nothing but 3mm rubber in February though...


That said, the Cypher is a pretty solid suit. Fully taped out with a chest zip, so the water flow should be pretty minimal. I'd say the deciding factor is really the accuracy of the fit on you. If you know your size in Quik suits matches up nicely with your body, then you should probably be able to manage. Worse case scenario, you could beef up the thickness of your hood and booties to compensate the difference for a little extra toast.

[Looseness]

Everybody is different. If you looked back through {numerous  } similar threads you'll see the whole gamut of responses...."I surf all Winter in a 4/3 no problem" to my opposite end of the spectrum of using a 5/4 Excel {drylock or infinity} for about 2 years {max} before replacing it because it gets stretched out and doesn't function as well {I get cold}. I wear 7mil Mittens and round toe boots in the worst of the Winter. I however like to surf for as long as I can if I'm going to suit up like that, like 3 good hours. I don't like surfing for an hour and getting cold just when the conditions decide to get better. This is a cold Winter, the water is 41 degrees right now and still dropping.
I also have NO problem with being warm in a wetsuit. People complain about roasting in wetsuits during transition seasons, my muscles work better when warm, not cold and crampy. I buy almost all my suits from whiskey so i save a bit.

[Kdropin]

I wear a 5/4/3 suit in the winter, and the 3mm in the arms is totally fine. Probably the only part that never feels cold. I'd maybe be worried about my legs in nothing but 3mm rubber in February though...


That said, the Cypher is a pretty solid suit. Fully taped out with a chest zip, so the water flow should be pretty minimal. I'd say the deciding factor is really the accuracy of the fit on you. If you know your size in Quik suits matches up nicely with your body, then you should probably be able to manage. Worse case scenario, you could beef up the thickness of your hood and booties to compensate the difference for a little extra toast.

I could b wrong but the 3mm is the hood. 4mm in arms and legs 5mm in chest area us how a 54/3 works

[Kdropin]

I had a 5/3 a ways back with 3 in the arms and hated it