Hey there,
Just a quickie; I'm heading from Dublin down your way at the beginning of April for a short trip. Planning to bring some of the kite gear and take in some spots both North and South (wind permitting!). Can anyone tell me how much neoprene the ladies (sorry lads, but there is a thermoregulatory difference!) are wearing these days? I was planning to bring my 5:4:3 Evo with me but ditch the gloves and booties...what do you think? Thanks for any help, Cathy.

You'll be super warm in that at the moment. Even in winter you'd be warm wearing that specially up Auckland way. Down south i'd expect it would also do fine.

5/4 in AK and you'll cook. April water temp is still well into the 20s.. boardies weather.. heres hopin for some nice cold squally winds to cool that water down then.

Ooops i'm sorry you meant for ladies... ah well you could allways try and bridge the gap by eating lots of pies... good wholesome kiwi tucker.. lots of energy, lots of fat, great for a hard days kiting.

But you will definately NOT need gloves. As for booties... you won't need them for heat reasons but for protection from rocks, oysters etc they come in handy.

Hi Cathy

I used to wear a g string bikini kiting, but the water was always too crowded and I kept getting guys tangled in my lines (so to speak), so I reverted to a full length 3:2 all year round. It appears to have worked, no men for miles now!!

Seriously though, I wear a full length 3:2 all year round, though in summer it is more for protection than warmth (I get a good close look at the sand and shells on a regular basis!). The other gals have more kiting prowess than me and wear board shorts and rash tops in summer. If you bring boardies and rashies, then along with the wetsuit you mentioned, you should be right for NZ kiting in summer and winter.

Thanks for the info guys. All we need now is wind!