Getting wet as you go through surf during a winter paddle can be a headache. Clothing decisions are always a trade off between freezing at the start of your paddle and being comfortable later in your paddle vs.  being comfortable through the surf but being too hot later in your workout.

If you live in an area like San Diego (like we do) the problem is compounded further because the water can be chilly/cold while the air is warm.

The problem is compounded even further if you are a prone paddleboarder because, ideally (at least in our experience) wearing a wetsuit can be restricting.

As such, we are always on the lookout for new pieces of clothing to make our winter paddles more comfortable. This year we stumbled upon the X-terra Lava Flow pants at a trade show.

Triathletes will be very familiar with the brand Xterra as they have been making top quality wetsuits for years. We have no problem recommending them as a company. Recently, they got into the SUP business and the Lava Flow Pants are part of their entry into the SUP world. Our testing, however, focused on prone paddling.

Long story short: they did what they were intended to do. Stay put, keep us warm on cool mornings, and (importantly) they needed to cover our butt crack because nobody would want to see our crack when we reached forward to paddle.

As far as sizing goes – take a good long look at their sizing chart. These pants run slightly big. One of our testers is 172, 5-11, and has a 31 inch waist and he needed a small. The medium was baggy. The small fit perfectly.

In our opinion, these pants are best used in cool (not cold) weather  when the water is 58-62 degrees and the air is in the 50’s.  To give you an idea of what we will be wearing up top,  we will be pairing them  with either  a  long sleeve neoprene top such as the Hurley fusion 101 jacket or Oakley Surface Tension vest as needed depending on air and water conditions.

These pants will be great for SUP in a wide variety of conditions because your legs are not wet when you SUP. Prone paddlers, however, are cautioned, that these pants are not intended to be worn when it gets really cold. Since your legs are wet when you prone paddle, when it gets really cold you will want to pick a bottom with some wind resistance which is not present in the Lava Flow Pants

Check em out on the Xterra website