Hood River?

[TheJoe]

Headed to the Gorge in 3 weeks what size suit should I bring? I'm from Houston and I hate the cold so take that into account.

[bnthere]

3/2 for the river is plenty, and your warmest plus boots (maybe gloves hood) for the coast.

locals will ride the river in tops and boardies, but you're not gonna think its that warm coming from Htown

[Windstoked]

Dress for the swim, not the kiting. It can be pleasant enough to kite without a wetsuit there in summer, but the river can still be fairly cold. I remember helping rescue a young woman wearing a bikini from the channel up towards the White Salmon bridge, and by the time we got her to shore she was hypothermic. Even if you're a good kiter and almost never fall or have to body drag, stuff happens. I prefer a full 4/3 and stopping occasionally to fill it with water to having to end a session early because I'm getting cold.

[knotwindy]

well, right now it is 102 air temp and the river is 71
so a 3/2 shorty is more than enough even for the swim
in most places the river is 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile across so you are never really far from shore

[Eurus]

Unless you have zero body fat wearing a wet suit is going to roast you. Hood will be perfect the time you are going. I kite there each summer (near end of July) and have never worn a wetsuit. Just board shorts and a rash guard to stop sun burn. Every 30 minutes or so I actually stop and sink down into the water to cool off. The water is not warm but it's not anywhere cold enough for a wetsuit. Someone above said 4/3 which is crazy. You would overheat in 10 minutes in the heat in Hood.

[pmaggie]

I usually kite in Como Lake and I totally agree with Windstoked, dress for the swim. We had several cases of hypothermia here in my home spot during the past years, also in very hot summer day. The water is never really "warm", if for any reason you're going to remain in the water a long time it's a real problem if you don't wear a wetsuit. Imagine you can't reach the coast swimming because you get hurt or something like that, If you're windsurfing, in the worst case you can just sit on the board and wait. If you're kiteboarding you have to wait IN the water and after one hour or two it's very easy to risk your life by hypothermia.

[foam-n-fibre]

The advice for right now might not be the advice for the Gorge generally. The water temp now is at a record high and the weather is very hot. Back in the good old years I probably windsurfed 300 days there, and can count the number of days I went without a wetsuit on one hand. Also, I should add that I'm about average, in terms of what I wear and what others were. Some dress warmer, others dress lighter.

Some days in summer it can stay pretty cool and I remember one summer, not like this year though, where I was in a full suit almost the whole summer. Even for this year though, if they hit a spell of cooler weather it could be cool. Keep in mind that with super low humidity, water evaporates off you fast, so that makes it feel much cooler when wet. Very different from Texas humidity. As for the Oregon coast, which often blows when heat shuts down the Gorge, a full wetsuit is a necessity, but I never wore a hood or gloves there.

Peter

[TheJoe]

Thanks everyone so I need to bring a full 3/2, spring, and a heater top. Just to be on the safe side. I'll be wearing boots so my feet will be warm as I mainly do wakestyle riding. I personally don't ride with hood and gloves unless it's in the 50's here so Im sure if I hit the coast I wont need those.

[pixelpedro]

Dress for the swim, not the kiting.

Although very true, I was just up there a week ago, and my spring-suit was perfect (I'm from Florida, so Cold weather isn't my friend) but I did see some dudes (guessing locals or Canadians) in board shorts and tees, not even a top. But I though about heading to Manzanitas for a coastal sesh but the air being a bit nippy, water temp @ 52 degrees and only have brought my spring-suit I decided to take a locals advice and pass.

Sick place to kite though. Great people.

[artemis_clyde_frog]

It's been warm in hood river, no need for a wetsuit as long as the air is warm.

http://www.iwasphotographed.com/Wind/Ev ... -nX75MNk/A