Surfing in winter would often not be a problem thanks to warm wetsuits - if it weren't for the problem of cold hands. Woife Strasser is one of the toughest winter surfers in Germany and has sent us his ideas. His motto is: Two is better than one!
Here is Woife's weapon against cold fingers:
"Hi everyone, in the winter season I have about 30 winter surfing days in Bavaria, with air temperatures between -2° and +5° and water at 2-5°C, which results in a wind chill of -20°C or more, depending on the wind strength.
That's why my motto is: double is better! I use thin, closed finger gloves (2 mm thick in my case) and cut them out on the palm for a better grip. Ideally, they should fit snugly and be one size smaller.
The fingers are completely protected by neoprene, the mitten on top keeps the wind and water out and you still have a good grip on the boom. I can windsurf for up to two or three hours in the snow and cold.
A few more winter tips from me:
- If my fingers are no longer warm when I'm surfing, I immediately go ashore and warm them up, otherwise the pain will get so bad at some point and the day's surfing will quickly come to an end. So warm up your fingers properly with arm circles and then get back out on the water!
- When travelling to the spot, don't turn the heating up fully in the car. This makes me feel less cold and helps me acclimatise more easily.
- I wear a good 5/4 wetsuit and pimp it up with a dry top (spray top). This costs from 60 euros, lasts a long time and gives me good freedom of movement.
Greetings from Lake Chiemsee, your Woife
