Source: Surfline
Manera x Surfline Shop have teamed up to deliver an epic beanie with every Manera order purchased on the Surfline Shop. If that doesn’t persuade you, read below.
When you’re surfing in bone-chilling waters such as Canada or Alaska, your gear is fundamental to your success. A wetsuit that floods, booties that shift, or hoods that are too tight or loose, can skew a surfer’s day entirely.
Pete Devries is a professional Canadian cold-water shredder who perceives hoods as essential as his surfboards and considers his 4/3 a summer wetsuit. Before heading out for another adventure in the middle of the Bering Sea (with a fresh 6 mil ready to go), Pete told us what’s in his wetsuits quiver. Spoiler: it’s all Manera.
To understand Pete’s commitment to Manera, you need some context. In 2020, Pete’s 20-year partnership with Hurley had come to an end. While some brands sat in shock, others seized the opportunity to show this Canadian how good a wetsuit can truly be.
“Manera was the first company that reached out,” he says. “I started looking at their stuff, they sent me a few samples, and I was blown away by the quality. Surfing with Team Manera is really great. It’s been fun working on different video projects with them, which is something I didn’t really get to do in the past with fairly with such a big international team.”
Before Manera, Pete would go through more than six wetsuits per year and a pair of booties every three weeks. Some wetsuits would start as flexible and be blown out from the seams after a few sessions, and others the quality just wasn’t up to par. A helpful reminder that finding a wetsuit brand that fits your needs is a challenge for everyone, even the pros.
So according to Pete, what is so great about Manera wetsuits? “The quality, the durability, and the flexibility.”
With Manera, Pete gets three wetsuits at the start of fall to gear up for his cold-water winter surfing. For Pete, it’s the kneepads that always go first, so he makes sure his quiver is stocked. Though these suits will last him around two or three seasons, he only uses the latest and greatest for his coldest surfs. The previous seasons suits are rotated in during summer or shoulder season.
Before the dead of winter happens and the 6 mil is broken out, Pete took us through his favorite Manera wetsuits and accessories for shoulder season.
“My go-to summer and shoulder season wetsuit when the water temp is around 51º or above. The 10XD is an essential wetsuit for the daily hardcore surfer who wants a high-performance suit that’s flexible and has good maneuverability. I’m a guy who always wears a hood, so having one that is lighter when it’s not too cold is perfect. The 10XD provides top notch flexibility without the compromise of durability and longevity.”
“This one is currently in my quiver. The Alt has a bit more weight and thicknesses being a 5 mil. On the flexibility scale, this one is a bit stiffer, but it’s an all-around suit that I’ll use in the winter. The Alt is an environmentally friendly wetsuit made with alternative materials, so the neoprene has a different feel to the exterior, but the interior feels the same. For anyone who is more conscious of the environment or gets up for dawn patrol before work on the coldest days of winter, the Alt is for you.”
“I personally don’t use this one, I find it too warm. Say if you’re wearing the Alt 5/4/3 Hoodless, or any hoodless suit, you can throw this on for the extra warmth. This hood is full on meant for the coldest conditions, which means it doesn’t have much maneuverability in it.”
“I wear this one because it’s a lot lighter and brings me a lot more flexibility for my neck. The 10XD Hood is made with the same materials as the 10XD Wetsuit. The detached hood alleviates the compression I feel on my neck with hooded wetsuits. I’ve found that these hoods can help me sustain a longer surf session without being as stiff and sore after. Especially when I want to rip an air where your body is rotating or power through a turn where your head is torquing, this hood brings that extra rotation without the pullback from a hooded suit.”
“Boots are an interesting one for me. In recent years, I’ve found that the boots have been too flexible, and the neoprene gets too soft and gummy. I was blowing out a boot within one to three weeks. The Manera Round Toe Booties have a good mixture of feeling good while having solid soles that make them actually last. I’m very impressed with how these booties perform.
“I probably go through two pairs of Manera 7mil Booties in the winter as opposed to a pair of boots every month. I prefer very tight-fitting boots. I was worried about the fit because these boots don’t have a specific strap to tighten. So, if you’re looking for that tight fit, size down. I’m a size 10 shoe, but I wear a size 8 in boots.
“When trying them on, they will definitely feel tight. It takes some technique to finesse your foot in there. On your first surf with them, you’ll feel pressure on the top of your foot. But just know, after a couple of days, they will loosen up just enough. If you’re struggling to get the boots on, I put some warm water in them to soften the neoprene.”