Fit is everything for a winter suit, too big and you’ve more leaks than Edward Snowden’s laptop, too small and you stretch the neoprene thinner than it’s original spec and lose insulation. To obtain the best fit, your local shop is still the best way to find the one that “suits you Sir” as day in, day out they get the experience of matching body shapes to suits. One trick though that the top end suits allow you to do is size up a little if you prefer a ‘relaxed’ fit for ease of movement and entry/exit as the top end specs compensate a little for the loss of warmth in a looser fit but this really only works for windsurfing, kitesurfing and sup where you are not immersed as much as surfing for example.
Insulation is always key to winter sessions and if you want to stay warmer than an economical way of increasing your suit’s range is use of layers. My favourites are the combined vest and hood singlets and thermal shorts for the really arctic sessions. Hard charging Tom Lowe I’ve seen use a summer short arm, short leg suit over his winter suit for the brutal Mullaghmore days. One of the best and often overlooked insulators are flotation vests, there’s a reason foam is used for insulating your house! Great for keeping windchill off as well as keeping heat in they also offer protection from boards smashing into your chest when going out through shorebreak as well as the obvious assistance in swimming in bigger winter swells. For overhead designs, make sure you get a snug fit to avoid riding up and if going for the variety that are zip and belt, make sure the zip is corrosion resistant and try and get as many belt/buckles as you can to stop it being ripped off in the surf. The belt / buckle type can offer an advantage when using jet ski support as they give more ‘grab’ options for the ‘driver’ when doing rescue pick ups.
