Boots and gloves a must?

[Inletsurfer]

Well....

water still pretty cold about 45 degrees and im planning on surfing this storm so

do you think i can get away with not wearing boots or gloves?

[nz girl]

i reckon a hoodie is more important. its coming into winter where i live - ie dunedin new zealand.( this is the coldest april anyone can remember too...) and i went out today for the 1st time in at least a week and the temperature of the water had dropped something wicked in those short few days...i was getting a massive ice cream head ache everytime i went through a wave.. i cought my first real clean wave though so was stoaked anyway. but i digress.... if you simply must get booties, make sure they fit real well cos one of my mates has boots that are just a tad too tight and he always gets cramp whenever he wears them! on the flip side if they're too big you're just gonna slip all round your board so you don't want that either! maybe you should see if you can borrow a mates pair and see how much of a difference it makes. otherwise you could go for the ultra classy dishwashing glove and duck tape look. girls love it.

[surf patrol]

If you think you may need extra warmth then wear it. If you find you are too warm when surfing you can always paddle in and take off boots / gloves / hood and leave them in your car / on the beach. You want to maximise your time in the water - there is nothing more annoying than having to finish an epic session due to hypothermia!