Surfing in winter is not only hard but it also comes with a new set of challenges when compared with surfing in summer.
The colder temperatures and water mean wearing thicker wetsuits, thermal layers, booties, gloves.
However, after having a winter surf, the most common question that comes to mind is the following: What is the fastest way to dry a wetsuit in winter?
You have to hang out your wetsuit since no wetsuits can be tumble dried. Ideally, hang it indoors in a room or area where it can drip dry. Be sure to turn it inside out after a few hours (or in the morning). From there, there are a few more things you can do to help, as we’ll cover below.
UPDATE: Since writing this post, the C-Monsta wetsuit, boot and glove hanger has come out and it’s brilliant, I have to say. Hats off to Mark, who designed it – it’s a great bit of kit and now my recommended wetsuit hanger. I bought one for myself, my wife and my brother and we all use it all the time.
My C-Monsta wetsuit hanger – really does the job!
Hang out over the waistline
After surfing, whether you choose to wash out your wetsuit or not (I’d say always wash to avoid smells!), you will first need to hang up your wetsuit.
Although you might be thinking of skipping this step, just remember that how you hang your suit is crucial for making your suit last longer and dry more quickly.
So, be sure to hang your wetsuit out on something smooth and fold it over at the waist line.
This means that the water can drain out that much faster as the fold at the waistline means that the water will drip out of it more quickly than if it was all hanging on a coat hanger.
This is because the water near the top of the suit needs to run through the entire length of the suit before dripping out near the bottom, which takes longer and slows the drying process.
Why not use a coat hanger for your wetsuit?
I’d say to avoid these since coat hangers mean that all the weight is on the shoulders of the suit. When I used to hang out my suits like this, I found that after a year or so my suit developed a tear in and around the armpit, which made it very cold!
However, since changing to hanging on the waistline, ideally with a few lines or bars to hang it on, I’ve not had this same issue so have never looked back.
Use an Accessories Hanger
Along with your suit, your wetsuit booties and gloves and hood need to be dried, too, and they are notoriously hard to get dry.
If you don’t get these dry as well you likely will feel cold before getting in the surf and have that chill before even paddling out!
To help speed up this process, get yourself an accessories hanger as it will help to keep all the items hanging and in one place, without breaking them.
You can dry these by giving them some shape while also allowing airflow. For instance, cutting the ends off a small plastic bottle and inserting it into the top of the wetsuit boot means you can keep the boot open and allow air to get in to dry it; see video below for more!
One thing I would say on top of the video is that these will last about a month or two so you will still need to make these again. You’ll also want to avoid any sharp edges so think about that, too.
Avoid direct sunlight
When choosing where to hang your suit, although dry sunlight will help speed up the process, it will damage your wetsuit in the long term.
In fact, just about every wetsuit has the main points of its warranty stamped on the inside where this is stated, aiming to stop anyone from doing it before its too late.
The best option for drying a wetsuit is to hang in a place with airflow and warmth that also has some shade.
Although such a place may be hard to find, it will mean that your wetsuit lasts longer and still dries pretty well.
Use a clothes drying rack
After a winter surf, my wife and I put our wetsuits on a humble clothes rack as this has been really useful for us.
This works perfectly for drying our cold-water surf gear since it is strong and holds two sets of surf gear in full, including our thermal underlayers, too.
It’s strange but there is not currently a dedicated wetsuit drying rack on the market but hopefully soon there will be!
The current laundry rack we use for drying all of our surf gear, including booties, gloves and hoods through winter. Here it is snugly slotted into our bath. Pretty handy!
Related Question: What is the best wetsuit drying rack?
The second one is particularly handy because you can also use it for laundry on days when you aren’t surfing, although don’t try mixing the two!
Leave hanging wetsuits in bath or outdoors (shaded area)
Any rack that fits in your bath is ideal since this can be left to drip dry overnight without fear of it getting wet from rain!
This is again what my wife and I do with our wetsuits as it is the most convenient.
It’s handy since you can take the rack out of the bath quickly and easily (although it does weigh a fair amount!) when it’s time to shower.
If you have the space, you can also leave the same rack outdoors to dry. These kinds of clothing racks work really well since you can hang lots of your accessories off them, too. But again, remember to keep it out of direct sunlight to get the most use and value out of your wetsuit.
Where to hang your wetsuit without a bath or outdoor space?
If you don’t have either of the above, you can simply find a place to hang your wetsuit on a strong coat hanger over one of these extremely handy waterproof tubtrugs from Amazon or a large bucket.
You can also try out a HangAir wetsuit hanger with built in in fan from Amazon, but I’ve not tried one or used one so can’t say whether they are worth the investment, although they do look to have quite a few good reviews.
Turn the suit over!
So, once you’ve had your wetsuit hanging for a few hours, the next step is then to turn it over after a few hours of drying on a rack.
This allows the other side of the wetsuit that was touching the rack to get a bit more exposure to the air and wind, helping that side to dry, too.
If you want to get really specific and have limited time to your next surf, you can try turning this over quarter of the way (in time) until your next surf.
This would then allow for you to do the same at each point for the next steps, giving your suit the best possible drying in the little time you have to get it dry!
Turn your suit inside out!
From there, after another few hours, then you will want to turn your suit inside out.
It will still be wet on the outside of your suit at this point so you’ll need to give it more time to dry.
When you take a wetsuit off, it will naturally come off inside-out so you will always be drying it inside-out to start off then reversing it halfway through, with the outside of the suit being the last part to dry.
This is fine since you really want a dry inside of your suit when you put it on to help fight off the cold, so spend more time drying the inside if you have to choose.
Finish off with a quick blast in the sun, if you like!
For the last bit of rapid-wetsuit drying, if you have the chance, you can put it in the sun for an hour or so to dry it off.
Note that this is optional and should only be for a short time given the points mentioned elsewhere in this article about sun damage to wetsuits, but a bit of sun will be fine in winter.
And with that, your wetsuit will be dry in the fastest time possible. Job done – time for a surf!
Related Questions
How long does it take a wetsuit to dry? Thicker winter wetsuits usually take around 12 hours to dry in the shade whereas a thinner, summer wetsuit in warmer weather can dry in just a few hours. Although it’s fastest to dry your suit in the sun, this will void the warranty, so resist the temptation.
Again, it depends on whether you washed after the surf, the air temperature, wind and air flow in which you are drying the suit, as well as how it is hung. All of these factors will affect the time if takes so don’t expect it to be the same every time.
Where can I dry my wetsuit? Hanging on a clothes rack either outdoors in a shaded area or in a bath. These are the best two options as they allow the wetsuit to dry without the chance of rain, although leaving it outdoors is fastest since the wind will help to speed up the drying process.
A drying rack is better than a coat hanger for reasons stated elsewhere in this article.
Can you spin dry a wetsuit? No, you definitely cannot spin dry a wetsuit as it will break the suit within a few cycles. The glue will likely break and the spinning motion will damage the seams. A wetsuit is heavy so all the weight that will be moving around will mean that it is pulling the suit in many different directions.
Spin drying your wetsuit might seem tempting on cold days but you will need to buy a new one soon and the manufacturer will not replace it since it will be obvious what has happened. Instead, follow the tips in this article and take a little longer to dry it.
I'm Steve and run Surf Learner, sharing all the tips I've gained from my 20+ years of surfing to help you learn that much faster. I've traveled and surfed all over the world and love sharing what I've learned along the way.
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