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The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

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Greenturtle
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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby Greenturtle » Mon May 21, 2018 2:29 am

I will rip either one in several places within a year on sharp or abrasive objects. Thats why I cant justify an expensive suit. Id rather have a new and functioning one than a well used expensive suit but thats just me

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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby knot_moving » Mon May 21, 2018 4:36 am

Never tried their full suits - I use a drysuit when really cold

But I have Patagonia shorty that is 3 yrs old and looks feels and smells new. Love it

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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby Barryg101 » Mon May 21, 2018 8:20 am

I just bought a billabong absolute comp 4x3

Gonna be in Portugal working as an instructor so it’s gonna get well used and when I bought it I saw it has a 3 year warranty on the seams and stitching !!

I’ve never seen a wetsuit or almost any product with a 3 year warranty , I was told if it’s broken they just ship it off and give a new one..

I’ll keep you guys updated on this and let’s see if this huge warranty holds up as long as the wetsuit

tomi3000
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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby tomi3000 » Mon Jun 25, 2018 1:53 pm

Biggest disappointment over the last few years has been O'Neill wetsuits. I had Psycho 1 3/2, and Psychotech 4/3 and they failed on seams and leaked badly shortly after being wet. Also, the thickness of the new Technobutter 3 neoprene is a joke. 4/3mm Psychotech is thinner than my old Ripcurl 3/2.

The best wetsuit for me is to my surprise Ion Strike 4.5/3.5. Very warm and the quality and attention to details are far above O'Neill wetsuits. It has a true thickness of neoprene, solid seams, shin guards and is still as good as new after 30 sessions. Also, have Ripcurl Flashbomb 5/4 hooded and it also has been fantastic so far but I have used it only a few times so far so too early to tell on the quality. But the neoprene is very stretchy and soft and the plush lining helps with heat retention significantly.

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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby gozokiteboarding » Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:00 pm

Hello,

I enjoy my Neil Pryde Mission 543, Very stretchy and very warm. Only had it through spring cannot speak that much to its longevity but seems to be holding up well. Also, it comes in camo!
https://www.npsurf.com/collections/miss ... 7136969755

RadDrDuke
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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby RadDrDuke » Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:27 pm

Rip curl flashbomb suits are amazing but expensive. I surf and kite in my 3/2 about 2-3x per week all year and no damage for past three years. If you add a 2mm neo hoody you can use a 3/2 all year for kiting down to 35*F water (but not surfing obviously).

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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby jumptheshark » Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:29 am

I second patagonia. My favourite cold water suit so far. Some of the unique details like the super tough cuffs on both wrists and ankles are very rough wearing. Stoked I got one before they stopped using merino wool lining. That shit's da bomb.

Have a Needessentials 4/3 that is also pretty nice and holding up well. $175 well spent.

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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby cleepa » Tue Jun 26, 2018 7:32 am

I used O'Niel Heat 4/3 for 9 years - went through 3 of them. Found that they were fine. Never had an issue with the seams - the neoprene over the shoulders would get thin and eventually crack. I got given a 40% Patagonia discount, and had heard a few people rave about them so decided to give it a try. I got the 3.5/2.5, which claimed to be as warm as the O'Niel Heat 4/3. It wasn't, but only by a little bit. The Patagonia is the first wetsuit that I've managed to put a tear in - no idea how. It is fine, but overall, I'm definitely underwhelmed with it for the price.

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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby paxs » Tue Jan 29, 2019 3:41 pm

I ride for years ION Wetsuits and love it. Never have problems with any of them and spend from 50 -100 days on water each year. From 2018 Neilpryde finaly made nice design wetsuits. So i go fo test ride and bought RECON 3/2mm 2018 model. I must say better fit for me then ION and materails are amazing stretch feel like t-shirt on me. I am 178 cm and 82 kg using size 52/L . Bought here last year https://www.surfnow.eu/collections/wetsuits

Hope it helps!

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Re: The Ultimate Wetsuit !?

Postby TomW » Tue Jan 29, 2019 3:59 pm

I've been using ripcurl flashbomb 5-3 fullsuit 3 years, an E-bomb 3-2, 3 years. About 80-100 hours of sessions a year. Both chest zip. have all seams and materials intact. Great products.

Recently bought 6-5 xcel top of the line drylock with integrated hood. Really hard to get out of it due to front zip being attached when open. That's been a bit disappointing. The ripcurl has reversed zip direction, easier to enter and exit. Despite this, the xcel is supremely warm in 0-3 c temps. It's so warm I get away with 3mm gloves. The xcel drylock 7mm booties give me toasty warm feet in 3c. I'm from warmer climate and generally get cold easy. I can tell it's not going to fall apart on me.
I've only used it 2 times so far in Swedish winter.

The LS size of ripcurl and xcel are the same. Both fit me well.

As a side note. These suits cost me 450€ to 200€. It seems like a lot of money until you look at goretex jackets that run 3-700€ and are much less materials and produced in way larger volumes...so I'm pretty satisfied with cost/ benefit ratio


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