Wetsuit Tips and Recommendations For Boat Lift/ Boat Hoist and Dock/ Pier Installations and Removals

Here's our wet suit recommendations installing or removing boat lifts (boat hoists), docks (piers) in the Midwest region, where it is often snowing and partially iced over when people start installing and stragglers start removing! We aren't endorsing any particular brand or getting paid for our recommendations, just simply stating the brands that we personally like the most from our experience. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for, but sometimes that just means overpaying for a name and no other benefits, but spending $200-$500 a person depending on your needs and conditions and getting a comfortable and effective suit and gear will not only take out most of the underlying misery of annual installations and removals, but also greatly expand your summer by allowing potentially a couple extra bonus months of jet skiing, tubing, wake surfing, water skiing, etc! If you're impatient and don't want to watch through or care to hear why we choose these options and for which conditions, here's the basics: Buy a CHEST-ZIP 4/3MM WET SUIT (we have mostly Hyperflex and Xcel brand, although any major brand of surf style like Quicksilver, Billabong, Ripcurl, etc. which are generally chest-zip style will be just fine)! Avoid back-zip suits and get rid of your waders, you'll thank us later! Always try to support a local store if you can when shopping for suits, especially to try them on- proper fit is key to having an effective AND comfortable suit! Otherwise, if you don't have any local options, we find most of ours on Wetsuitwearhouse.com or on Amazon. *A cheap, non-breathable rain jacket over the top to act solely as a WIND BREAKER will help split the difference if you own a 3/2mm suit already or need a 6/5/4 for actual ice-water conditions once or twice a year, but still want to use it for other lake activities the rest of the spring and fall. It will be soaking wet inside and out- the point is not at all to keep you dry, but to simply stop the wind from blowing through your suit and chilling your core temp. Must Buy *- SEAC 6MM HARD SOLE BOOTS- do not buy the regular SEAC 6mm, you want the HARD SOLE version, which has an actual boot sole and will save your feet all summer long from sharp sticks, rocks, nails, rebar from old seawalls, etc. and will give you some grip on slimy surfaces and doing other things like while jet skiing, fishing, etc.We love these and wear them year round for a variety of lake activities, your feet won't get terribly hot even in the summer without a wet suit over the top. There are probably other brand options with a similar hard sole option, but we have probably had 30+ pairs of these over the years and most of our pro installer friends/ competitors also choose these exact ones. *7 or 9 mil-thick NITRILE gloves- typically used by Mechanics, they are basically a thick version of a surgical glove, so they are far less prone to tearing around sharp dock components, etc. We buy ours at Harbor Freight typically and stack 2 pairs when it is cold and sometimes wear the simple, original Mechanix brand gloves over them when we need grip or more separation from touching the cold metal. These work just like the wet suit and rain jacket, the point is to stop the wind chill that normal neoprene wetsuit or rubber-coated gardening gloves cause and actually freeze your hands faster, plus have almost no dexterity for dealing with small dock bolts, washers and nuts. Having 2 or 3 pairs stacked allows some water to get trapped between them, acting as the buffer once your body warms them up, just like how the wet suit works. We wear these all spring, fall and winter at the shop, at home while doing cold yard work, shoveling snow, mountain biking, dirt biking, jet skiing, even during sports, etc. We go into more depth on tips and other great accessories in the video as well, plus when to choose certain things, so please give it a watch and also please share with your lake friends/ lake association and family if you found it helpful! Have a great season on the water!