Which thickness of wetsuit needed for paddling on the ocean around the San Francisco Bay Area?

Hi all - I am new to kayaking on the ocean and would like some advice on which thickness of wetsuit to get. I’ve read a bit about it already and the consensus seems to be that the NRS Farmer John’s are a good choice. Not sure about which thickness to get though. I am not planning on doing crazy stuff out there, just on calm days paddle near the beach/shore. I am not the fishing kinda guy so I won’t remain put in the same place on the water for a long time, but rather be actively paddling around most of the time. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and ocean temps around here are from about 51 in Winter to 61 in summer. Air temps on the coast are from 50 up to 80. Surfers around here wear 4/3s, some 5/4s. I’ve heard good things about the NRS 3.0 Ultra John but I am afraid it will be too warm for paddling. I read people use it in the north of the country during winter. I also of course don’t want to underdress. I have been out on the SF bay and on Tomales Bay and just wore swim trunks and t-shirt (+ PFD of course) which was a bit on the cold side but mostly fine for me even in January. But want to be safe on the ocean which is another beast. I am 5’11", 164lbs and in good physical shape. My yak is a Ocean kayak Malibu XL (sit on top, I usually go out with my wife). Thanks in advance for any input!!

3 mm farmer john style with paddle jacket should cover you for most of the year and in most weather we get. I would strongly recommend getting a farmer john with relief zipper -n the extra $20 or so is well worth it. The paddle jacket will be useful when the winds come up, as neoprene is not good at keeping you warm in a breeze.

Note - the temps in the bay vary a lot in the summer and fall (but not as much in the other seasons). The south bay doesn’t have much water coming in, and any ocean water that finds its way down there with the ides tends to swirl around for a week or so before exiting the bay again. In the summer, the waters there tend to warm up (often to over 70F) to points where wet suits may not be needed. The north bay, though, has large influxes of fresh water from the central valley, where it has had a chance to warm up, so it also can get warm enough to points where you don;t need wet suits. The central bay can be warmish when the ebb tide is sucking the warm water from the north or south bay out, but will be ocean temps on flood tides. Usually safe to expect to wear thermal protection at all times in central bay.

If you haven’t found it yet, here is a site that gives estimated and actual water temps for some spots in our area: https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/cpac.html

Thanks for the thorough response Peter! I can feel your passion for kayaking the Bay Area. :slight_smile: So in your experience, a 3mm John plus PFD is not getting too hot while you actively paddle around? That’s my main concern. I am sure I’d appreciate it if I fell in. :slight_smile:

When we get hot days, you will be too warm in 3mm. But with our year-round cold water in the ocean, not wearing thermal protection could be a killer for when you fall in. So we wear clothing based on water temperatures, not air temperatures. It is easy to cool off if you get too hot - splash some water on yourself. Or jump in and practice a recovery.

The rule of thumb I use is if water is under 60F, I wear thermal protection. Above 70F, I don’t normally. Between 60 and 70 I look at air temperature, the paddling conditions and the chances of falling in, whether I am solo or with someone who could help me get back in, etc. in making the decision of what to wear.

Over time you can get other options (I have 2 mm shorty, .5 mm shirts, dry suits, etc.), but the 3mm farmer john with paddling jacket is the basic that is recommended for around here. With those, you should be just fine for most anything we have.

Peter, thanks for the great information! I have a few follow up questions. I am also very new to this and have not done any kayaking. My plan is to start gradually along the beach line on Chrissy Field. My main concern is capsizing in cold water, cold shock, etc. I can seee how Farmer John is very useful for kayaking as it provides free upper body movement for paddleing, however what happens if you suddenly submerged in SF bay wearing Farmer John and paddle jacket? Will it keep you from cold shock and potential cold related problems? Will the water get through your suite as it is all open at the top? Looks like the water temperature there is about 55 F. What under layers are recommended with farmer John? Also any warm protection for feet, head, ear plugs?
Is paddle jacket design to withstand submerging or only will protect you from wind and occasional splashes? What happens if you submerge in it in 55 F water and say 60 F air with some breeze? Is it safe to continue your journey or one must get out of water ASAP?
Some recommend to do intentional submersion or swimm for 5 min before you get on your kayak just to get a feel for it. Is that something you would recommend considering above mentioned conditions? Will it make the rest of the journey more or less enjoyable? Thank you.

A farmer john is not going to be really annoyingly hot in the bay area unless it gets quite warm in the summer. In that case all you need to do is splash water on your suit in the sit on top to cool off or go for a brief swim. You may find in cold weather the farmer john does not cut it, especially if you paddle off the coast. The lack of arms and neck in a farmer john let cold water flush through the suit and in winter with cold air temps and water temps upper 40s, you may want a full wet suit. Decent surfing wet suits can be bought on sale fairly reasonably and they have plenty of stretch and allow arm movement for paddling without restriction. When I surf near SF, I use a 3/2 suit in the summer and a 4/3 in the winter. There have been times I would have liked a thicker suit in the winter. I only use farmer johns in the summer time for river paddling outside of California or late spring early fall for surfing here in San Diego, but the water here is usually 5 to 10 degrees warmer. If you get into kayaking and do flatwater, whitewater , surfing, you’ll soon acquire more than just a farmer john. Wetsuits are the least expensive way to go.

55* is cold! For me drysuit only.

@Philvos said:
Peter, thanks for the great information! I have a few follow up questions. I am also very new to this and have not done any kayaking. My plan is to start gradually along the beach line on Chrissy Field. My main concern is capsizing in cold water, cold shock, etc. I can seee how Farmer John is very useful for kayaking as it provides free upper body movement for paddleing, however what happens if you suddenly submerged in SF bay wearing Farmer John and paddle jacket? Will it keep you from cold shock and potential cold related problems? Will the water get through your suite as it is all open at the top? Looks like the water temperature there is about 55 F. What under layers are recommended with farmer John? Also any warm protection for feet, head, ear plugs?
Is paddle jacket design to withstand submerging or only will protect you from wind and occasional splashes? What happens if you submerge in it in 55 F water and say 60 F air with some breeze? Is it safe to continue your journey or one must get out of water ASAP?
Some recommend to do intentional submersion or swimm for 5 min before you get on your kayak just to get a feel for it. Is that something you would recommend considering above mentioned conditions? Will it make the rest of the journey more or less enjoyable? Thank you.

The wet suit works by limiting the water that gets in/out between it and your skin. So when you flip, you will get some water in and you do have the possibility of cold shock, but wearing the wet suit and paddle jacket limits this, as do the relatively warm water we have for cold shock concerns (more common at colder waters than we have).

Once you swim, some water does get under wet suit, and it stays there and gets warmed by your body. To limit the water going in and out, you want a wet suit that is reasonably tight. A loose wet suit would let water in and out, which means you don’t get a chance to heat it.

Paddle jacket is more to prevent wind chill, which wet suits are not good at stopping. if you tighten the adjustments on your wrists and necks, this will also limit/slow water entry when you first swim, which would reduce chance of cold shock.

Being on a sit on top, you may also want paddle pants to prevent wind chill on your lower torso.

Or, as mentioned by another, a dry suit or paddling suit would often be more comfortable, but a bit pricier. A paddling suit is cheaper than dry suit and comes with a neoprene neck instead of a dry suit’s latex neck and would run $500-600. But if you get a good wet suit and paddle jacket and pants, you are getting up there in price also.

Crissy Field is exposed to winds, especially in afternoon. And many areas around there have strong tidal currents, and some areas get current caused waves. Bay Area Sea Kayakers has a good site which lets you estimate currents and tides for any day for many places at http://www.bask.org/trip_planner/.

Here is a short video showing examples of current caused waves just off of Alcatraz - I took it during one of the Escape from Alcatraz swims, which take place when there is a pretty strong ebb tide. https://youtu.be/EgxtM1ace8Q

There are other more protected areas which you may want to paddle from at first, such as launching from Schoonmaker Beach in Sausalito and paddling around protected Richardson Bay.

Some shops, like California Canoe and Kayak, do a half day sit on top quick start class, that you may want to consider taking. Covers a lot of the basics needed to paddle in the area, gear needed, how to re-enter if you fall out in deep water, etc.

From what I have read cold shock with 50* water or 35* is not much more likely. Need Balaclava to protect back of neck. Sit on beach in some breaking waves in 55* water and you will see it is cold. I don’t even bother with my wet suit any more.

As you’ve read, it’s not the air temp that will get you, it’s the water temp.
Meantime, don’t head into the Bay or ocean until you’ve had some lessons. Go over to a place like California Canoe and Kayak in Oakland and take lessons suitable for the waterway you plan to paddle. You need to know self-rescue techniques, or your wetsuit isn’t going to do you any good if you dump.

Tomales bay is cold and pretty much flushes with new cold ocean water each tide. It does not warm up as much as portions of SF Bay. Here, a wetsuit is a minimum requirement as the water and air are, even on warm days, likely to be very chilly morning and evening. I’ve seen more foggy/windy days there than on SF Bay. If the water is calm, lots of jellies in the water, particularly in the south end of the bay (Inverness area), so when trying to cool off, dip carefully :).

Peter is right that as you get closer to SF, the bay temperatures are not warmer than the ocean, so 3mm farmer john is what I use. I don’t like shorties for the bay as it has hot and cold spots, and the cold spots are quite a bit colder. Even in the Carquinez Strait, where the bay narrows and the currents are strong (20 miles inland from the Golden Gate) there are cold and warm spots, some of which are a solid 5-10 degrees colder.

My general rule is if I get warm, I fill the hat with water and dump it on my head or I practice a few rolls. Definitely a spray jacket (at least on the deck) as the winds pick up in the afternoon (except on really hot days) and the farmer john isn’t adequate in those conditions. A capilene (or wool or other synthetic fabric) underlayer can both prevent chafing under the arms and provide some much needed thermal protection from immersion and wind. I am less a fan of the wool than some of the synthetics.

Rick