I still have my Ripcurl E3 Dawn Patrol 3/2, had it a few years now, but may be looking into a new suit in the next year, is the Flashbomb a big jump up in quality or minimal difference? Been a while since i've done any shopping around...
love my flashbomb 4/3...would totally recommend it. & dawnpatrolsup, depending on which dawn patrol suit you have (flatlock or glued & blind-stitched), the flashbomb will either be a massive jump or a huge jump. either way, it'll be an improvement over what you're currently wearing.
Flashbomb is a great suit. Doesnt fit me right so I where an Xcel Drylock. Great suit. I have a flashbomb hoodie with vest for my 3/2 My head stays so warm, no water gets in and it dries immediately.
Bullsh!t... I own a 3/2 flash bomb and the only thing that is completely dry in 1.5hrs is the flash dry liner. The neoprene inside and out takes just as long as any other suit. It's a great suit with two issues. 1. don't believe the hype about having a dry suit. You will have a dry liner in a half hour that will make putting the suit back on easier, but you wont have a DRY suit. 2. The flash liner makes the suit a tad bit heavier than other suits with more typical liners. 3. Chest zip zips the wrong direction. Leave it to the Aussies to do it backwards. The pro's are 1. easier to put back on with the dry liner. 2. The flash dry liner is comfy and adds a touch of warmth vs typical liners. 3. The E3 neoprene is great stuff, super stretchy. If you are the type of person who spends all day the beach doing multiple sessions, or you surf before and after work and don't have a place to dry your suit, it's a great suit. Otherwise stick to an E-bomb or something else.
Agreed. The liner is the only thing that dries in about 1.5 hrs the actual neoprene doenst dry..the liner is what I meant...def a good suit if you are going to surf two sessions. I do think the suit is warmer than other suits so I say worth the money. I will say tho I also have a chest zip Excel Drylock and it is the best suit I've ever owned
I got the DP Flatlock, keeping me pretty warm right now, but in Jan - March, there will be days where I wished I had a better suit with hood, so i'll be looking around soon or talking my wife into one for Xmas.
Thank you for some actual information instead of marketing hype. I'm still trying to figure out the "completely changes winter surfing" comment. (Does the dry liner have a barrel magnet?) I'm pretty skeptical about the quick dry hype. I've got two xcel 4/3 wetsuits... one is two years old and the other is brand new with "quick dry fibers". I've been using both of them this fall, and can't tell any difference in how quickly they dry, and actually don't care that much as long as I'm warm in the water. I agree about the rip curl neoprene by the way...that stuff is from heaven.
if you want a 4/3 w/ a hood, you might want to consider the rip curl insulator or the o'neill mutant...both come w/ a hood that can be attached/detached from the suit as you will & are very solid mid-level suits for both companies. i personally think the insulator is a bit better of a suit, but that's simply my opinion. the insulator also might be a bit harder to find, as rip curl (for reasons known only to them) discontinued the suit this year.
Cool, thanks for the advise, i'll check em out and see what I can come up with. Don't you hate when they discontinue a good product but keep making bad ones? Not that i've ever had a bad wetsuit, i've always gone w/Ripcurl or O'Neil and have always been happy.
