Is it water? Or sweat? Wetsuits for winter have never been as good as they are today: extremely flexible materials and high-quality linings now ensure that you can still move freely despite six millimetres of neoprene on your body and that a delicate film of sweat can spread even at temperatures below eight degrees. Theoretically, with additional thermal underwear and thick shoes, there would no longer be a temperature limit for winter surfing - if it weren't for your hands.
Because the pain of thawing fingers brings tears to the eyes of even the toughest winter surfers, we have tested twelve models to combat winter pain:
Fundamental question: Open or closed?
You can see how different the products are in direct comparison if you put on two different models on your left and right hand - as we did during the test. Which model really warms, where the forearms quickly become thick from gripping and how comfortable they are to wear quickly becomes "tangible", to stay with the image.
In general, you have to ask yourself the basic question "open or closed?". Gloves that are open on the inside make it easier to grip and prevent your forearms from swelling after a short time. It's obvious that such models can't be nearly as warm as closed gloves - but for temperatures up to six degrees, you can usually still surf comfortably with them. If you want to get out on the water at even lower temperatures, you either have to be able to suffer or switch to closed models - and here in particular, the differences are huge! From thick rinsing gloves to pre-curved finger gloves with a claw look, everything is available.
Note: The temperature ranges given should be seen as a rough guide, as the individual sensation of cold depends on many other factors (e.g. fitness level, gender, type of neoprene used, wind-chill effect as a result of wind strength, etc.).
We have tested these models:
The complete test of all individual products with strengths, weaknesses and recommended temperature ranges can be found in the following PDF - for surf subscribers the download is free after one-time registration.
Downloads:
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
