Winter Heat

As the Northern Hemisphere enters the depths of winter, it is the time of the year when snow accumulates on remote northern coastlines that are exposed to the full force of the Arctic winter storms. When the air temperatures drops to around minus 15°C, and the water temperatures hover around freezing point, it's an ideal environment for us to put our latest designs to their truest test. As our crew plans another trip to the northern reaches to test wetsuits, we reflect on some cold-water expeditions that took place over the last 12 months.

Torren Martyn - 'It'd been while since I'd been up in higher latitudes and had worn a full 6mm of rubber from head to toe - it felt nice to be back in a warm suit and exciting to be exploring a new zone.'

'We experienced massive 15ft+ tides which had a huge effect on the wave we were chasing and made the surfable window pretty small. It was pretty spectacular how much water was moving through these small channels and inlets leaving some of the routes we'd taken to reach the wave almost unrecognisable on the return opposing tide. It was okay on the powerboat, but made me feel a little uneasy imagining us on a little old sail boat battling against an incoming or outgoing flow.'

'The Pacific Northwest is rugged and beautiful, with so much potential for finding new waves. The opportunity to check out that zone was exciting as many waves are only accessible by boat or seaplane and the landscape itself is fascinating and wild, with its giant conifer trees, elk, bald eagles, wolves and bears'

Johanna Brebner - 'Growing up in New Zealand, I’ve always been drawn to cooler climates, so stepping off the plane into the crisp Victorian air was a comforting and familiar sensation. After an unseasonably hot stretch on the East Coast, it was a treat to soak in the refreshing temperatures of the Southern coastline before the spring heat sets in back home.'

The raw power and size of the swell on Friday and Saturday had me trudging laps up the stairs, tail between my legs, after multiple failed paddle-out attempts. I was immensely humbled, but that’s the beauty of the dance, right? The long-period swell and deep ocean energy stood in stark contrast to surfing on the East Coast, leaving me eager to spend more time down here and become accustomed to the energy in the water

Spring in the southern states began with a series of low-pressure systems passing through, pushing constant swell up into the reef breaks of Victoria. needessentials designer and product developer Laurie Towner travelled down to check in and enjoy some southern juice.

Laurie tested out our updated cold water wetsuit designs in exceptional longer period wave energy that pushed in over a week-long window. With water temperatures at 12 degrees and a much colder wind chill, Laurie wore a liquid sealed 4/3 wetsuit and 2mm liquid sealed boots, moving to a hooded 4/3 in the early hours on the colder, windier mornings. 

This year Torren Martyn and Laurie Towner also packed up the camping gear and hiked into the remote wilderness of southern Tasmania to meet one of the first swells of the season. 

This break has featured in the limelight over the previous decades, but it is more recently that the focus has moved towards paddling this twisting beast of a wave instead of being jet ski assisted.

This day was special with perfect conditions from dawn through to dusk and allowed a focused group of surfers to paddle into many memorable waves.

Laurie Towner finds the right line around a heavy section. Laurie describes this wave in The Notes In Between - a short film where friends Laurie and Torren share stories over a day fishing for a meal.