4/3 Wetsuits: For When the Atlantic Gets Serious
The 4/3 is the serious suit for serious Atlantic coastline. When Biscay drops to 12°C and the offshore wind comes straight off a French frost, three millimeters stops being funny. Four on the body, three in the arms, full thermal lining, and you are suddenly the person staying out through the tide.
This is the thickness for the European autumn and winter that actually delivers the best waves of the year. The swell does not reschedule. Neither should you.
The 4/3 Wetsuit: Europe's Winter Workhorse
A 4/3 covers the 10 to 15°C band, which is the French Atlantic from November to April, northern Spain through the winter, and Portugal on its coldest weeks. It is the thickness that turns winter from an ordeal into a season. Four millimeters of thermal lined neoprene through the core holds your heat; three through the arms keeps the paddling honest. Sealed and taped seams keep the Bay of Biscay outside the suit where it belongs.
4/3 or Something Else
If your water sits above 15°C most of the year, stay with a 3/2 and add a thermal top on the cold days. If you surf below 10°C, or anywhere the air hurts, skip straight to a hooded 5/4 from the cold water range. The 4/3 is the bridge thickness, and in southwest France it is the one that earns its keep from the first October gale to Easter.
The Vissla 4/3 Lineup
The 7 Seas 4/3 is the value pick and the bestseller. The High Seas 4/3 adds premium stretch for the surf every day crowd. Add 3mm boots when the water hits 12°C; your feet will lose the argument with winter long before your core does. Winter France is empty and pumping. Dress for it and find out.
