The Best Surf Gear I’ve Tried This Summer

15.09.2023 - 21:37 / cntraveler.com

New York is a beach town if you want it to be—but I didn’t know that when I first moved here four years ago. That first New York summer, I left my Williamsburg apartment, boarded the ferry, and was miraculously lounging on the beach an hour later. As I squinted into the sun, I spotted surfers in the water. Surfing in New York? I couldn’t believe it. The following summer, I signed up for lessons with Locals Surf school, and have since spent almost every single weekend flinging myself into the waves at Rockaway Beach.

I’m in the lucky position of being close friends with my coworkers, and even luckier that a couple of them are just as obsessed with surfing as I am (if you’ve listened to the Women Who Travel podcast lately, you’ve likely heard them share tales of our newfound love of the sport). Though we still probably average more wipeouts than waves caught, we’ve learned so much over the past three summers, and between us have surfed in Rio de Janeiro, Costa Rica, Los Angeles, Lima, San Diego, and Montauk.

We’ve learned how to read the waves, and graduated from instructors pushing us to catching waves of our own. We’ve learned what types of boards to use depending on the wave size, and how to properly wax them. We’ve also learned a lot about the type of gear we like best, from the most comfortable bikinis to wear underneath our wetsuits, to the perfect post-surf routine (which involves a delicious guava scented leave-in conditioner and less glamorous but highly effective electrolyte tabs).

Below, a look at what you’ll find inside our surf bags—it’s by no means an exhaustive list of the best stuff out there, but it's a tried-and-true guide to the best surf gear that we’ve used so far.

P.S. As the surfers say: spread the stoke! If you live on the coast, there’s a chance that there is surfing not too far from you. I’ve found myself pulling up Surfline on every vacation, searching for local breaks near me. There are the obvious places, like Rio, where I spent one day catching waves on Ipanema Beach (and one day wiping out at Macumba). But other destinations have surprised me—like Scotland, can you surf there? Shockingly, yes! And in Seattle, WA and Portland, ME, too. If you’ve ever wanted to try, I hope this encourages you to book a lesson on your next vacation, or find a surf school at your local break!

This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

The type of wetsuit you’ll need greatly depends on the temperature of the water you surf in, as well as your personal coverage preferences. In New York, temperatures vary throughout the summer, from chilly high 60s in May warming up to mid 70s by September.

The wetsuit I find myself reaching for most often is my