Warm Winds — Attraction in Narragansett

In the interest of full disclosure, the guys at WW did me a real solid thing recently by donating to a charity benefit for a local surfer who has ALS and I'm really grateful for that. Nevertheless, I will try to be objective in the interest of those looking for a good surf shop in RI. First, let me say there aren't many left in this state. Not real ones that actually sell surfboards as their primary product. Warmwinds and Sid's Waterbrothers in Newport seem to be about it for the Newport and Narragannset areas. (there may be others down South I don't know about) I've been surfing my whole life and in RI for about 14 years and since moving here I've settled on Warmwinds as the place to buy boards, suits, etc. Their inventory is way, way, way beyond anyone else in RI and they seem to have every size, shape, and company represented in their board room. What this means is that you can find exactly the board you want/need, not just something close. It also means you can do hands-on side-by-side comparisons of lots of boards you're considering. Not possible on line. Most of us only buy boards a couple times a decade and you don't want to have regrets. I've seen too many people come out of other shops that only have small number of boards after being talked into something that's not really right for them. As for other products like wetsuits, shorts, rashguards,... I find their prices pretty much the same as the web, but you get to hold it before you buy it. I see that other reviewers have had some negative retail experiences and I'll just say that in the last 5 years or so, I've gone there quite a bit and only had positive experiences. I must have spent an hour in there once trying on multiple wetsuits and they were nothing but nice and helpful. I bought my last board there from Mike - a really nice local surfer who knows his products well- and it was a really great experience. Finally, let's not forget that for many years they have had a free 24hr webcam at town beach - pre- Surfline! Who else does that around here? Like I said, there may be other surf shops in RI I have not visited and they may be great (local loyalty is big in the surfing community). I can only say that WW pretty much has all you need for surfing or surf related stuff and they seem good about supporting the RI surfing community in all...

I am only writing this review due to the many (in my opinion) undeserving bad reviews I have read. From the late-80's all through the 90's to the early 00's, I was an avid customer of Warm Winds. I knew Tom from the store and the line-up and he knew me by my first name at that time as well. I had purchased several boards from them during that time as well as thousands of dollars in clothes over the years. I never on one occasion had even the most remotely bad experience in the store, quite the opposite. Tom and crew were always helpful. Fast forward to the present day, I have moved from the area and do not know the current business arrangement of the store; I stop in every couple of years and still see Tom there (I dont think he remembers me now). It appears as if someone else is running things but just as it was back in the day, the staff is always polite, stoked, helpful and respectful to me and these new schoolers dont know me at all as opposed to when I was a local. The product is well stocked and I consider this shop to be everything that a surf shop should be. If people have a bad experience there, I would guess that that reflects more on their behavior than anyone...

I recently booked surf lessons for my nieces and nephew with Warm Winds, and I can’t say enough good things about the experience! The instructors, Jake and Maggie, were absolutely fantastic. They were patient, encouraging, and really tuned in to each child’s individual level—whether it was their first time on a board or they were already catching waves.

Jake brought great energy and knew just how to push the kids to try new things while keeping it fun and safe. Maggie was equally impressive—she connected so well with them, offering thoughtful tips and helping build their confidence in the water. I could tell they both genuinely cared about helping the kids improve and enjoy themselves.

These sessions truly sparked their love of surfing, and I’m so grateful to Jake and Maggie for making it such a positive and memorable experience.

I highly recommend this surf school to anyone looking for quality instruction with kind, professional, and skilled...