Any Rip Curl e-bomb owners can give me your opinions and experience with the e-bomb as a winter suit, 5/4 hooded. How's the warmth, durability, flexibility do they leak, etc?
love mine! picked it up last year & it's super warm & super stretchy...by far the most flexible winter suit i've ever worn. if the water ever actually gets cold, i think this year will be the real test for it, since the suit is now a year old & the water never really dipped below 40 last winter.
I just ordered a 5\4 flash bomb. Fingers crossed. It got wetsuit of the year or something. I hope to get 2 solid seasons out of it. Before my cypher 5/4, I had a psyco2 and by the middle of the second season the psyco kind of sucked. I got 3 seasons out of my cypher and its just got frayed wrists and some hood damage with no leaks in the rest of the suit. I chose the flash bomb because it was double taped and the cypher wasn't. My old cypher wasn't double taped though and it was fine. Blah blah blah. Good luck. Anyone know about the flash bomb 5/4?
I have the flash bomb 5/4 for one winter already and I can say it is a very warm suit. It is NOT the most flexible suit, but I think it is the most flexible, warmest suit that I've had. Two things you should know about the suit that is not well publicized: 1) the zipper is plastic, zips backwards, and leaks a little water and 2) there is no internal "over the head" neoprene in case water comes in through the zipper. So basically, the suit is awesome except the zipper, my only gripe. If I didn't get this I would have purchased a drylock from Xcel....but I'm still happy with my choice.
Never worn any rip curl wetsuits but i would be surprised for it to be possible to be better the xcel drylock. Super warm, stretchy, and you don't get wet for like an hour, only bad thing is getting in and out of it lol
this pretty much says it all. there is no "perfect" wetsuit for all, everyone is shaped differently. xcel cuts their suits too slim for me; i can't wear them b/c i have broad shoulders & my wrists & ankles are too big for the drylock cuffs...tried some of their gloves on, felt like my circulation was being cut off. rip curl tends to do a more broad cut...as a result, it's all i've worn for the past 8 years or so. technologically, the drylock suits are great. doesn't mean it would work for me or the OP.
\ Drylocks are great suits but to be honest I find them too much most of the time. The keep you warm as hell but on either end of the season you feel like you are being roasted alive. The ebomb is a perfect balance between warm and super flexible . I thought it wouldnt be warm enough but so far it has never let me down.
Exact reason why I got away from Xcel. For me, I didn't have enough material to be comfortable and my neck was always killing me the day after. My E-bomb is more flexible, lighter and comfotable by a long shot. I also like how the neck/chin area aren't the standard neoprene and are a more forgiving material instead. My .02
HOTLINE WETSUITS! spend the extra bit, i last have a 5/3 hooded it has lasted 4 yrs thus far and its pretty much my year round suit except summer time when i drop to a 4/3 occasionally the 3/2
I just picked one up. I have used it 3 times in the last couple of weeks in Rhode Island. My initial impressions are that it is just as flexible as the 4/3 I have. So far, no issues with warmth. Have been out for over 3 hrs each time and could have stayed out longer. We'll see how it handles February, but right now I think it could get a lot colder and I'd still be fine for a couple of hours. There are warmer suits out there, but I think it is a good compromise between flexibility and warmth. Price is not insane compared to some other winter suits.
Me too, chose the 4.3 E-bomb due to more flex and stretchy over the heavier Flash Bomb; the "E" doesn't feel like a 4.3 either, liked it so well, replaced my older 3.2 with E-Bomb 3.2. If ya do multiple daily sessions recommend a dryer for the E-Bomb while the Flash does dry on its own as they advertise.
Lmao! This coming from the guy who low balls the crap out of anyone who posts a board for sale in the classifieds!
