I like to surf. I have a standing appointment with the Pacific Ocean every Saturday from 8 AM to 10 AM. It’s why I moved to San Diego from the East Coast. Unfortunately, my East Coast blood is beginning to thin, and I’m finding that a 3/2 mm full wetsuit no longer cuts it in the chilly winter months. So, back in Second Hand September, I went looking to buy a used wetsuit.

Why Used

In the water today, I overheard two guys talking about the kelp growth around Catalina. “Have you seen it this year? Dismal. If we keep having warm winters like this, there isn’t going to be any kelp out there. Maybe up north it’s growing better…”

Do you follow kelp growth? It’s not a conversation you hear in most places. But surfers are collectively more in tune with the ocean environment than other groups of people. Therefore, we care when the things we do as humans have an impact on our water temperatures and our natural shark nets (kelp).

The catch 22 is that most of the equipment involved in surfing is not so great for the environment. For example, the epoxy resin used to make many surfboards gives off volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) as it hardens. Wetsuits are also particularly vexing. The neoprene used in most wetsuits is derived either from petroleum or from limestone. Both sources are non-renewable and involve a lot of drilling. The real kicker is that almost all surf-related equipment is non-recyclable. It goes straight to a landfill when it’s useful life has come to an end, usually after having sat unused for years in someone’s garage. To quote Wavelength Mag, “most suits last around two years and with half a million surfers buying a new suit each year, an estimated 380 tonnes of neoprene waste is created.”

Adventures in Wetsuit Repair

Buying a used wetsuit initially turned out to be a bit of a misadventure for me, but it has turned me on to the wonders of wetsuit repair. My plan was to buy a used wetsuit cheap and have it restored to its former glory. I went looking on Facebook’s Marketplace, and found someone selling a used O’Neill 4/3 for $40. The next day he showed up at my door to make the sale (it was definitely a little awkward trying the suit on in front of this stranger, but it had to be done). The suit had a bunch of holes in it around the collar, a tear in the left leg, and all the seam tape was coming undone. I bought it anyway, thinking I would have it repaired.

In San Diego, the place to get a wetsuit repair is Swell Stuff in Leucadia. They are EXPERTS and all their reviews are five-stars. I called them and got a quote (about $100 for the repairs, and in total, still way cheaper than buying a new wetsuit). I also got a quote from Express Wetsuit Repair in Oceanside. It’s a woman-owned business, and you can mail her a suit for repair from anywhere in the country. She beat the quote from Swell Stuff by $20, so I went with Express.

Turns out, I kinda bought a lemon. Express took a look at the repairs and told me there were no guarantees that it would be “good as new”. I appreciated the honesty. Lesson learned. Don’t buy too cheap. (Weeks later I did sell the suit again on Facebook for $40 to an out-of-towner who was desperate for a short-term suit. Cheaper for him than renting one. Glad someone got some use out of it).

The takeaway is that there are high quality wetsuit repair places in San Diego. I highly encourage people to buy a used wetsuit (but not too used, as I did), or simply fix up an old suit before buying new.

What Did I End Up Doing?

I did eventually buy another used wetsuit. Some kid who moved away to college in the Mid West (questionable choice, if you ask a surfer) no longer needed it. Men’s medium O’Neill 4/3 for $100. Basically brand new, and it’s super stretchy. No need for any repairs at all. Got it for about 1/3 the price I would have paid new. Took it out for a test surf the first weekend in November and boy is it warm. It may be another couple months before I actually need it.

If You’re Gonna Buy New . . .

If you really feel like spending $400 for a brand new suit, consider Patagonia’s Yulex wetsuits, or Hyperflex’s Greeprene suits. Both are more sustainable non-neoprene materials. For surfboards, look for an Ecoboard Project-certified board.

But seriously, you’re not a surfer if you can’t use Suncure and sandpaper. Buy used. Protect our oceans. And wear your reef safe sunscreen.

Good, better, best,

Mike

P.S. For those of you with shady underground connections: I recently heard there exists a mysto character known only as “The Asian Lady” who fixes suits in SD. DM me if you have the hookup.