Year on year we see new ideas and wetsuit types being introduced to the market. Companies are developing new materials, cuts and designs to make sure the end user gets a great product. Seeing another new product on the market, officially introduced at NWF ’12 wasn’t of a great surprise to me but Iain Smith’s approach and idea has intrigued me to the point that I had to try it.

Ianovated design is staying away from current, tight fitted, strongly panelled and multi-purpose wetsuits. As a windsurfer I’ve decided to try the classic smooth skin version. Single lined wetsuits are becoming less and less popular with windsurfers, none the less this material is the best for keeping you warm on those cold winter days. And this suit will keep you super warm!

System in use with ION open palm mittens

Many of us hate using gloves while windsurfing, however Iain has found a solution to keep your hands warm,  whilst using open palm gloves. The open palms means you’re not restricted and can still grip the boom well, taking away the problems associated with traditional gloves. The wetsuit is integrated with two pipes, mounted with a mouth piece and running through the suit, exiting before wrists and fitted inside the glove.

Ianovated is made for a purpose – to allow you to get on the water in the coldest possible weather using an integrated with the breath-powered heating system. The cut is well thought through, to allow the pipes to run inside the suit and to give you movement and comfort whilst sailing. The rear horizontal dry zip allows easy entry, and additional bagginess lets you feel comfortable and not even think about pipes inside the suit.

 Sailing experience
The Ianovated suit should be used in temperatures  lower  than 10 degrees. We used it in five, with wind chill of two to three degrees. Result were very positive! The wetsuit fits perfectly, keeps you warm despite the seams being glued and blind stitched, not welded, and the neck and wrist seals are the relaxed “semi dry” spec, water seeps in too slowly to notice when you fall in. Wind chill, what wind chill? The neoprene is super thick and warm (5/4mm). Although flexibility isn’t the strongest part of the design manoeuvrability is very good. Swimming after your kit being washed in by 2m wave in 3,7sqm weather was not a problem either.

The mouth piece doesn’t get in the way what so ever, and is very accessible when needed. I’ve found myself using it more than I had to; it’s been a while since my hands stayed warm for the whole two hour session in mid February. After a long period in the water the tubes do fill up with water, but this isn’t a problem at all as the water warms up from your body and next blow delivers even nicer feeling of a hot water stream on your palms.

Mouth piece feels suprisingly comfortable

Over all I would say the system works perfectly! Built for purpose and delivers. The wetsuit itself is super warm and there are not many disadvantages to it. This product is made for specific group of clients, and after breaking the first barrier of putting it on and using the suit it will find many believers and supporters. If you are looking to stay warm and be able to take full advantage of sailing in extreme temperatures throughout the winter, this is perfect product!

High quality neopreme and well thought design make this a great product.

“Even the young and fashionable conceded this odd looking suit solves a problem.”

Liam Ellis:

“First impressions are that the suit looks like a fairly decent; it’s a slightly odd looking wetsuit, with the tubes sticking out. But generally a pretty good quality suit. The neoprene is really comfortable, nice and flexible. Zip across shoulders generally feels a little restricting but whilst sailing not so bad.

I was not cold in this wetsuit! I purposefully dived under the water and I was still warm once out of water. Smooth skin is brilliant!

I wore the suit with gloves as opposed to open palm mitts which I think it may not work at its best as when I blow into the mouthpiece my gloves just inflated, so whilst sailing I found it would move the glove around my hand a little. It seels off the gloves quite well with the plastic piece for wrists on tube which I thought was pretty good!

I was surprisingly happy wearing the wetsuit and impressed. I guess it is designed to be able to keep your hands warm whilst sailing and it does just that! The water today was probably five degrees and I did not get cold once. The wind was about 25 knots and from the North so not a warm wind either and I think the quality of neoprene helped with that! I think little improvements to the size and fit and this could be a great wetsuit for the cold winter days!”

For more information on Ianovated Wetsuits, prodcuct info and videos along with testimonials from live users head to the full product page.

Check out more about the Ianovated suit here on Boards or on the Ianovated site here. 

Ianovated Hand Warming Suit

RRP £250

Because of the unique component parts we have developed we have to coordinate three factories in China. The wetsuit itself is put together by a very well establish and reliable manufacturer. As we make no secret of the fact that we are a young “Fred in a shed company” we are aware that most our pioneers are surprised when they see the wetsuits and realise they were not made in our shed.

Check out the thread on the Boards forum.

The design specification to which these wetsuits are made is detailed below

Neoprene glued and blind stitched – The suit uses the latest supper flexible CR neoprene. The body section is 5mm thick and the arms and legs are 4mm thick. There is a nylon lining throughout including on the seals at the neck, wrist and ankles to facilitate an easy entry and exit from the suit. So that there is no water flushing through the seams they are glued and plus blind stitched along one of the nylon lined sides.

The suit comes in two options:

Nylon double-line suit

• The body arms and legs have a nylon covered lining on both the inside and outside of the suit for extra durability.
• The only external smooth skin neoprene finish is the small seal sections around the wrists ankles and neck to facilitate the option to turn the these inwards and create a smooth skin seal against the users skin.
• The blind stitching is on the outside of the suit for all nylon to nylon seams but on the inside where the seam is with a smooth skin seal on the outside.

Smooth Skin Suit

• The exterior of the suit is just the smooth skin rubber neoprene finish to avoid any water absorption which in turn causes wind chill.
• A nylon lining throughout the inside for ease of entry and exit and to create a base for the blind stitching which is also on the inside.
• The seams on the outside are tidily glued to ensure there is no water flushing through them.
• However the section under the crotch is nylon lined on both sides for durability as this is the one part of the suit that rubs against itself during use.

Smooth Skin Neck Wrist & Ankle Sections
On both the double nylon lined and smooth skin models, for ease of entry exit into the suit these sections are nylon lined on the inside and smooth skin on the outside. The sections are long enough to give the user the option to fold them inside themselves so that there is a layer of smooth skin neoprene compressing against the users skin. This option highly restricts the level of water flushing at these points and should be applied if the user anticipates regular dips into the water. Pioneer report feedback suggestes that the neck seal is drier and more comfortable not folded in on itself. In particular if the seal is on the loose side it is in fact a tighter fit not folded inwards. 

Dry Zip
The good old fashioned construction of alloy teeth compressing onto a rubber/nylon seal. The zip is mounted horizontally across the rear shoulders for minimal interference with movement. It is an extra long 90cm for easy of entry exit.

Knee Pad Reinforcement
To prevent snagging the neoprene whilst rigging, etc.

WHAT THIS SUIT DOES NOT BOTHER HAVING BUILT INTO ITS FABRIC!!!

Titanium – Air chambers – Limestone – Zirconium – Bamboo – Charcoal – Heatlock lining

We highly recommend that a lycra rash vest is well worth investing in to improve the comfort of any winter steamer including this Ianovated suit.

The Ianovated wetsuit is a 5 & 4 mm neoprene suit that is baggy fitting / totally neutral in body and arm length. Its users will get to know what temperature range they are comfortable in with just the suit and rash vest. At lower temperatures users can exploit the baggy fit of the suit by putting on additional layers of clothing underneath the suit and there by tailor make their dress for the temperature of the day.

The designers of this suit truly believe that the flexibility the Ianovated suit offers in terms of wearing extra layers underneath it plus the promise of comfortable warm hands is worth all the titanium mines in the world!!!

The Hand Heating System

This system combines the heat contained in your exhaled breath with the insulating properties of the neoprene wetsuit to transfer that heat to your hands. It integrates with the gloves, mittens or palm-less mittens that you normally wear for your given sport.

Most of the time the user is inhaling/exhaling through his nose but to maintain a comfortable hand temperature will exhale down this hand heating system as often as the conditions demand.

In just 2°c the sportsman may elect to leave the mouth piece in his mouth all the time and exhale down it every 3rd or 4th breath. In the more relaxed winter temperatures of 6 to 10°c the user can leave the mouth piece resting below his chin and flick it into his mouth for a couple of breaths every other minute.

The Mouth Piece

• The mouth piece is much smaller than that of a snorkel to make it easy to put in and out of your mouth at regular intervals whilst doing your sport.
• To allow total free movement ofthe head while the mouth piece is in your mouth the two tubes circle round your head and enter the suit just behind your neck.
• The moulded mouth piece uses an elastic squeeze tight fit over the tubes that pulls apart with minimal force. You therefore have the confidence to know that if the tubes get caught on something the tube/mouth piece loop around your neck wil break apart with out inflicting any harm to you. As the squeeze tight fit of the mouth piece over the tubes is never the same on each side, the mouth piece will let go of one tube but cling to the other and not therefore get lost in the event that this loop is pulled apart.
• When the mouth piece is not in your mouth you can set it so that the tube loop rests over your shoulders and the mouth piece lies against your chest just below your chin. In that position it is out of the way of your water sport activity but can easily and quickly be flipped up into your mouth when required. You ensure this tube mouth piece loop circles around you in this way by twisting the tubes round at their point of entry into the mouth piece and the mouldings on the suit at the back of the neck.

The Tubes and Mouldings to facilitate their entry/exit from the suit.

• This system only works if the tubes run along the inside of the suit exploiting the insulating properties of the wetsuit.
• The system uses standard 11mm external diameter tubing but moulded in black or white although the clear version can be purchased at any DIY store.
• There are four moulding units to facilitate the tubes entry/exit from the suit, behind the neck and at each wrist. Combined they form a partially elastic squeeze tight fit that is:

• water tight under the minimal water pressure at the water’s surface
• but which can be altered so that the length of tube extending out of the suit meets the users requirements – how far it goes into the glove, how large a loop around the neck is
• and the tubing can be removed completely for cleaning or if the hand warming system is not required. The suit comes with 6 (4 + 2 spare) rubber stoppers to plug the holes the tubes leave when removed so that the wetsuit can be used with out the hand heating system.

tube into the glove

Tube into palm less mitten, better for windsurfing!

The Tube into the glove at the wrist

• Upon entering the suit at the back of the neck the two tubes cross over inside the suit and then run along the arms to exit the suit just above the wrist seals.
• At that point there is the silicon moulding around the tube to ensure there are no air gaps either side of the tube at the point it enters the glove. This prevents any cold drafts working inside the glove but still allows exhaled breath to exit the glove after circulating around it.
• The tube enters the glove through the wrist hand entry point, at the back of the hand, so as not to interfere with any hand actions.

This system after you have taken a dip in the water

• while you are in the water, water will creep inside the tubes to the system, especially if the mouth piece is not in your mouth and the water can freely push the air in the system from the wrist end out through the mouth end
• You do not feel the cold water creeping into the tubes and so you therefore do not experience any discomfort
• When you are back up and going again in whatever sport you are doing you can simply blow the water out of the system. The water will seep out through your gloves in just the same way the breath does and you will be surprised by how much the water has warmed up in the short time it was sitting in the tube system.
• for surfers we suggest that you allow the water to enter the system whilst paddling and blow it out and bring your hands back to comfort when waiting for the right wave.

To purchase the Ianovated suit and find out more information check out their website here.

Ianovated, just some of the pioneers!

The unique wetsuit has a breath powered hand heating system; via a mouth piece and tubes that mainly run along the inside of the suit to your hands you can exhale warm breath into your gloves or palm less mittens when ever your hands ask you to do so.

You can become a pioneer Ianovated sailor for as little as £200 with a guarantee of your money back any time in the first 6 weeks of use if you don’t agree that this suit keeps your hands warm!

The suit is on offer for £250 (£100 off) together with a 6 week full refund guarantee; this means you get six weeks to try the suit in various winter conditions and learn how to tune it to your needs. If during that time if you do not believe it transforms your ability to enjoy your water sport in colder weather – simply pack up the suit and return it to Ianovated for a refund of your purchase price.

You can also become an active Pioneers; Ianovated will refund  you £25 on submission of your review and photo or £50 on submission of an action video and review!

To get find out more about Ianovated and how the suit can keep you sailing through the winter head to their website here. 

As we get deeper into winter and the nights draw in, unless you work night shifts, Mr ‘after work sailing’ has left us for another year!

I was therefore intrigued to find out what other fellow sailors did to keep themselves fit and healthy through the winter month…….how many of us actually do keep sailing (!?), what do people get up to on those ‘less enticing’ days!!

Get kitted up!

Many a dog walker has greeted me with strange looks as I get changed at the back of a van on a cold blustery windy day – I’m sure they must think we belong to some strange sect! But those of you who have braved those days, will agree, we often get blessed with some of the year’s best sailing!

But what if the weather really isn’t playing ball, when it really is just too cold to brave getting frost bite whilst getting changed behind the trusty van, or you best winter ‘get up’, just isn’t enough…….are there such days……….? I caught up with fellow RYA Windsurfing Coaches Jon Metcalfe, (The Army’s Windsurfing manager – a job in which you really can’t be seen to be a sissy!!) and Sam Ross (RYA OB Officer and Freelance Coach) to tell me what they will be up to this winter.

Windsupping; less windchill and you stay drier!

Jon is an all winter sailor, with some great tops tips …….”put as much rubber on as possible, buy yourself a decent single lined winter suit, use mitts not gloves to avoid the cramp, a decent balaclava, split toe boots all the way and don’t live in a mobile home during winter, it tends to lead to colds and flu!!”

Getting back to the serious side, when sailing is just not on the cards Jon’s ‘next best’ alternative suggestion is mountain biking or building a house………whereas Sam ‘no pain, no gain’ Ross, the ‘you can always get out’ optimistic chap, gets on the water as much as he can during the winter months, equipping himself, like Jon, with key clothing such as palm less mits and a hood.

Sam Ross demonstrating a new move on one of those glorious winter days!

With house building not really on Sam’s agenda right now, he spends winter days SUP’ing, as well as something we may not have all considered – Local Racing. “When you are exercising it’s not much different in temperature than going for a run ………..unless you fall in! I don’t just wait for the epic days to get out on the water, big sail weather is great during the winter. The wind-chill is a lot less and you are working hard blasting up and down with less likelihood of falling in” explained Sam.

“I tend to find it’s sweat in the wetsuit rather than cold water…… (Nice! Thanks for that Sam!), so bizarrely I tend to find it’s the lighter wind summer alternatives that make sure I stay active during the winter and don’t dry out.”

Supping gets you on the water rather than in it

But if winter really isn’t your bag, make sure you don’t lose that windsurfing fitness or next years ‘come back’ will just be that little harder!! So for those of you snuggling up to a warm fire this winter, here’s a few health tips from Bonnie at BFit (bonnie@alphaplusuk.com) to help ensure that first dip in 2013 is a good one………

Don’t let winter be a time to hibernate, resulting in your wetsuit feeling a little tighter when you wiggle back in to it and your first time back on the board a struggle. Take the opportunity to work on a different side of your fitness that otherwise gets pushed to the side, as let’s face it time on the water will always come first!

Cross training is a great way to keep in good condition but also rest repetitively used muscles potentially preventing injury. So shake it up a bit and challenge your body to new fitness heights enabling you to spend longer on the water.

Go get muddy in the woods either a mountain bike or with a refreshing runs through the woods utilising a wide range of muscle groups as you duck under branches, hop over tree stumps and leap over puddles.

But what if the British weather really does force us indoors……….. spinning, a challenging cardio or endurance session are all good alternatives, giving a good body workout, getting the heart pumping and burning plenty of calories! Always try and balance it all out with a mixture of core strengthening, posture improving, back strengthening and overall body balancing workout in the form of Pilates.

The centre of the body below your bottom ribs and above your pubic bone is called your ‘powerhouse’ consisting of the abdominals, pelvic floor, muscles around the hip joint and through the lower back. Pilates looks to strengthen these muscles which in turn protects against potential injuries. Pilates will also develop and maintain flexibility and mobility through the joints all which are priceless when jumping back on your board.

And for my favourite part……….food!! Bonnie’s advice is to enjoy nutritious stews and soups full of vegetables containing vitamins and minerals needed to keep energy levels up and the immune system on top form. Instead of filling a casserole pot full to the brim with red meat plump it out with puy lentils which are low GI and provides slow burning carbohydrates for sustained energy as well as a good punch of protein and fibre.

So is 2012/13 going to be the year you brave a full winter on the water……..? Remember there are lots of us out there! If you need a little extra encouragement, make your winter even more enticing by joining a club and meeting lots of like-minded people, taking part in some local racing or perhaps taking a few sneaky coaching tips at by nearest training centre. Details of all of these can be found by visiting ‘Find my nearest’ at www.rya.org.uk

You might also like to read:

Boards Wetsuit Guides. 

Spartan present the Reflex 5/4/3, which as a single lined suit presents great protection from the elements.

The Reflex is a vertical, zipped overhead barrier sealed suit. The chest lining has a specialist thermal material using the same technology as used in cold weather, technical, sports clothing. Combined with the refined panel layout, adjustable neck seal, water entry to the suit is kept to an absolute minimum; this suit allows maximum flexibility and warmth.

The Reflex is designed for wind sports and will keep you warm and comfortable even in a windchill.  5mm chest and back, 4mm legs, 3mm arms and shoulders with a vertical zip.

Spartan Reflex

Mesh. After the air temp drops below 14C and the wind picks up to force 3+ if you want to stay out on the water all day without getting cold and remain comfortable then the Reflex is able to protect you and keep you warm to the core. It must be a mesh suit we have tested everything and been in long talks with Neoprene manufacture’s who agree with our findings.

Quality of Materials. The Reflex also dries very quickly and does not absorb lots of water as the Neoprene is of a very high quality, the quality of the materials is so important for durability, warmth and the right amount of stretch.

Benefits for wind sports. Specially tailored cuff seals with option of Spartan straps to to allow true baggy arms that will ensure that the wetsuit does not prevent full supply of blood to the hands and therefore prevent cramping. The new water release valve in the leg works a really well. It allows water to run out of a special neoprene valve placed high enough so that if you need to prevent ballooning you can tie a Spartan Ankle strap. It s also a very easy leg to get on and off.

Design essential requirement. Today we all know that we want to prevent water entering a suit as it burns very valuable calories that are better spent on doing your chosen sport.

Tailored 3d fit. A wetsuit must fit well and our suits are tailored to make a 3d shape.

Reflex technical sleeve

Barrier

Reflex wrist

Benefits and features

1. 3D Profile: Neoprene is formed to create your body shape, and be comfortable on the water.
2. Smooth skin Neoprene: Greatest resistance to wind chill.
3. Xtend arm panels: Super flexible arm panels that work with your natural body movement.
4. Overhead Barrier zip seal system: No water penetration through zip area, ensuring minimum flush creating an extra seal around the zip and neck.
5. Warm chest lining: Wicks away moisture keeping you warm and dry.
6. Sealed seams: Eliminates water entry via the seams.
7. Water sports neck: Reduces water entry and extends seasonal use.
8. New Compound knee pad: Comfortable, flexible and durable.
9. New leg drainage: One-way drain holes in calf, stops water ballooning in lower leg.
10. Enhanced Neoprene layout: Very warm and durable.
11. Over head barrier
12. Cuff seals and smooth glide materials

Retail price £199.00

For all the info on the Spartan Reflex head to the Spartan website here.

Check out these Spartan recommended retailers:

Boardwise

Andy Biggs

Juice Boardsports

More items in the Wetsuit Guide: