The bit nobody puts on their socials

Everyone remembers the paddle. Nobody warns you about the ten minutes afterwards.

You come off the water, the wind picks up the second you stop moving, and suddenly you're doing the car park shuffle with a towel round your waist and one leg in a pair of jeans. Your fingers have stopped working. Your hoodie is somewhere under a wet leash. And there's still the drive home.

That ten minutes is where a good day gets ruined, and it's the whole reason the FatStick clothing range exists.

Here's the thing though. Staying warm doesn't have to mean looking like you've wandered out of Antartica in a sleeping bag. The kit should work properly and be something you'd happily wear to the pub afterwards, or on the school run on a Tuesday, or walking the dog in February. That's the brief Reuben set himself, and it's what this guide walks you through — the full range, what each piece is actually for, and how it all fits together.

Designed by someone who's done the cold walk back

FatStick is owned and run by Reuben, and long before there was a brand, there was a surfer.

That bit is important. Anyone can order a fleece-lined jacket from a catalogue and stick a logo on it. It takes someone who has actually stood on a shingle beach in January, soaked through, hopping about trying to get a wetsuit off, to know which details are the ones that count.

It's why the zip on the robe opens from the bottom as well as the top, so you can get changed without wrestling it over your head. It's why there's a windbreak behind that zip, because a chunky zip with a gale coming through it is just an expensive draught. It's why the sleeves have adjustable cuffs, why the hood is a proper one rather than a token flap, and why the pockets are deep enough for a phone and a GoPro rather than just a car key.

None of that is marketing. It's just the accumulated knowledge of a lot of cold afternoons, and over a decade in the industry listening to what paddlers actually complain about.

The second half of the brief was simpler: make it something people want to wear. Which is why the colours that aren't just black. Warm is the job. Looking good is the bit that means you'll actually keep wearing it in April.

The FatWrap: the one that does the heavy lifting

You got to try the FatWrap.

It's a changing robe, but calling it that undersells how much use it gets. The outer is 100% waterproof and windproof. The lining is thick recycled sherpa fleece, the sort that goes from cold to cosy in about thirty seconds. It's deliberately oversized so you can get changed underneath it without putting on a show for the car park, and it's got the details that matter: two deep zipped outer pockets, a zipped inner pocket, adjustable cuffs, a big hood, and that double-ended zip with a windbreak behind it.

One honest tip on sizing. Because the robes are cut oversized for changing, if you mainly want to wear yours as an everyday coat, order one size down. We'd rather tell you that up front than have you post it back.

A few things worth knowing:

• Every robe comes with a matching beanie included — you need to add it to your basket and the discount applies at checkout
• They're made from recycled materials, with no single-use plastic anywhere in the supply chain, and a tree planted with every one sold
• There's a kids' version with the same sherpa lining, because small people get colder faster than anyone
  

And it isn't just a paddling thing. Ours get used for dog walks, touchline duty at freezing football matches, camping trips, sea swims and as a beach blanket. That's the test of a good bit of kit: it earns its space in the boot all year.

Hoodies and sweaters: the layer you live in

The robe is for the ten minutes after. The hoodie is for everything either side of it.

It's the one that goes on over a tee before you head out, comes off at the water's edge, goes back on under the robe for the drive home, and then somehow stays on for the rest of the evening. Lightweight enough that you're not roasting in it by March, warm enough that it earns its place in October.

If you'd rather skip the hood, the "South Coast" sweater does the same job with a cleaner line. It comes in colours like dusty green and dusty pink rather than the usual wall of navy and grey, which is the difference between a top you wear to the beach and a top you wear anywhere.

Both carry the "South Coast" badge. You can see the full run of them here. Worth saying plainly: these are the pieces our customers wear most often when they're nowhere near the water, which is exactly what we were going for.

T-shirts: not just a summer thing

It's easy to write the T-shirt off as the warm weather option, but it's doing a quiet job all winter as the base layer under everything else.

The principle is the same one every cold water swimmer learns eventually: thin layers trap warmth better than one thick one, and the layer against your skin matters most. A dry T under a hoodie & under a robe will keep you warmer on the drive home than a single heavyweight jacket over damp skin.

So keep a spare one in the car. Not the one you paddled in — a clean, dry one, folded in a dry bag with the rest of your change of clothes. It takes thirty seconds to pack and it's the single best upgrade to a winter session you can make for nothing.

The full tee range is here, all carrying the South Coast badge.

Putting it together: the boot checklist

You don't need all of it. But if you're paddling through the colder months on the South Coast, this is the kit that turns a grim car park into a non-event:

• A FatWrap — on the second you're out of the water, before anything else
• A beanie — straight on with the robe, while your head is still wet
• A dry T-shirt and hoodie — packed clean and dry, not the ones you arrived in
• A dry bag — so "dry clothes" stay dry when the boot floods
• A changing mat — keeps your feet off wet tarmac and your wetsuit off the car seats
• A flask — not ours, but it belongs on this list

The order matters more than people expect. Hat and robe first, then get changed underneath, then layers on. Most of the shivering happens because people leave the robe until last.

And a reminder that has nothing to do with clothing but everything to do with winter paddling: colder water is less forgiving of mistakes. Leash on, quick-release belt on, tell someone where you're going, and don't paddle alone in conditions you wouldn't paddle in July.

Warm out, warm home

That's the whole idea. Kit that's been thought about by someone who's spent years getting cold on this coastline, built so you can stay out longer, go back more often, and not dread the walk to the car.

And if it happens to look good enough that you're still wearing it on a Wednesday in town, so much the better.

Have a look through the South Coast collection →

One last thing. If you've got a photo of you or the family in your FatStick kit — on the water, on the beach, or just out walking the dog — send it over or tag us. We love seeing where it all ends up, and the best ones go up on our socials as part of the #FatStickFamily.