Wetsuits 2018

I got a 3/2 O’Neill Superfreak chest zip and like it. It’s light weight and flexible and feels great. Only thing I don’t like is it’s not tight enough around the ankle and lower calf which causes water to balloon up above my ankle. My 3/2 Ripcurl Dawn Patrol doesn’t do that, it fits like a glove. So I want a new Ripcurl for my next suite, although my old one is still in great shape after all these years. I also really like my Xcel short John suite. It’s basically a lighter weight spring suite with tank top. Suns out, guns out! It feels like surfing naked. Which I really enjoy.

 

No offense DP, i say this with all due respect, but you have no idea man. Technology in suits has advanced a bunch and you can definitely feel it in the 3/2s. Dont get me wrong. But it's CRAAAAAAAZY with the thick 5/4s. It's just a whole different beast. The difference between the old 5/4s and new..... can't even explain it. It's just insane. Never had a 3/2 that felt restrictive or like someone was holding your arms back while paddling, just to thin no matter what. Definitely have with 5/4s. Now the 5/4s feel like your naked. Just crazy.

I don't say this in a "your not core cause you surf warm water" way at all. But have you ever seen a 5/4? Obviously i have and even after all these years, after a summer when i grab the thicker suit im blown away at how thick they are. The ability to make a suit that thick and heavy so unrestrictive is incredible. I'll send you my old 5/4. Really. You'll look at it and be like "what the actual fudge".

Anyway i just bought a new 5/4 and had the first sesh in it today. I only wear rip curl. Got me a F bomb.

1) the ENTIRE inside is lined with fleece. I don't remember them doing that with past models. It's sweeeeeet.

2) i usually wear L but got LS this time. Didn't have straight L so i tried it on. Felt slightly tighter but actually fit better. In the water it didn't feel tight at all. Honestly totally forgot i was in a 5/4 when in the past i would need to get used to the 5/4 with a sesh or two.

3) the knee pads are new to. There smooth instead of that tractiony kind they used to have. Doesn't make a difference to me but feels nice.

Also got brand new 7mil boots. Boots never bother me so not much to say. But they do feel alot easier to put on compared to the old ones the replaced.

 

No offense taken, you’re right, I have never surfed in a 5/4 before. I have owned a 4/3 in the past and that was a bit more restrictive than the 3/2. This was years ago before all the great new technology. I would however wear a 5/4 and surf where you surf though if that’s what it took to get in the water. With the technology today I know the suite would keep me warm enough despite the fridged cold weather / water. I didn’t choose Florida, it chose me lol I love surfing enough to do it no matter where I am located. You could send me your 5/4 but don’t know when I would ever need it, unless I took a trip up to visit and surf with you lol

 

Ofcourse you would man. You'd never need a 5/4 in FL. I was just saying half jokingly to see how thick it is. Like i said, a 5/4 is business as usual for us and even i get blown away at how thick they are after not wearing it all summer. Technology advanced a bunch but specifically in the past 2-3 years it's gotten to the point where im blown away

 

What's "north" to you? Some guys wear 6/5/4s around here but its not necessary. I told this story here. But i basically wet suit shopping drunk and got the wrong suit. A 4.5/3.5 hooded. I wore that all winter and was GOOD. Just as warm as a 5/4 but the flexibility blew a 5/4 away.

I wonder if they could make a 6/5/4 that feels like a 5/4. I mean it's going to be thicker, so there must be limitations. But the 5/4s are also being warmer. Time will tell but this fleece lining throughout the entire suit looks warm as all hell

 

Agree....i bought a Xcel 4.5/3.5 mil Infinity CompX Hooded about this time last year - top of the line Xcel and used it all last winter. It's definitely a more flexible and lighter suit than the previous Xcel Drylock 5/4 suits I've had...even the last 5/4 Drylock I bought just a few years earlier. Really no comparison.

 

I have a Body Glove red cell 5/4/3 hooded that’s warm as hell even in 37 degree water and 15 deg air but man it’s like wearing a full body turneqette.
I’ve been ok with the 4/3 Body Glove legend, 5mil booties, 3mil gloves and hood up til water gets below 40 but this year I think Ive gotten old quick: today I didn’t last and hour and a half without gloves. I think I may be looking into these heavier suits your all talking about - be nice not to have to wrestle that red cell on and off. Ive punched myself in the mouth so many times pulling sleeves up and the upper torso together it’s not funny. And getting OUT of it? Dam near impossible without help. Driven home more than once wearing that suit so wifey could help get it started last the shoulder lol.

 

My old 5/4 got replaced because it got restrictive. My theory? It got old and lost its strechyness. Because it was fine for 3 seasons. How old is your suit?

 

My 5/4/3 vissla 7 seas has been the best bang for my buck as far as suits go. Going on it’s second season and it’s strong, minus some unfounded pin hole in the back calf... but that lasts for about 15 seconds before I’m completely warm.

While on this discussion, I’d really like to find an alternative to a 5/4 in the dead of winter, maybe a super warm 4/3 or 4.5/3.5. Any suggestions?

Two years ago, when it was a mild winter, I was cheap and wore a basic 4/3 with a 1.5 mil hooded vest. I got by fine, but again it was a mild winter.

 

I decided a couple years ago that wetsuits have gotten so warm i could get away with a 4.5 / 3.5 all winter and bought one of these. I'm in Delaware. Its fine down to 40 degree water. On the few sessions every winter when the water in is the 30s and its super cold out, i'll have something on under it. Thats rare.

https://www.evo.com/wetsuits/xcel-4535-comp-x-tdc-hooded-wetsuit

Its noticably lighter and stretchier than the 5 mil xcels i have had in the past, but that might be more that XCEL (like many companies) is now using limestone based neoprene which based on my past Matuse experience with that stuff is lighter and less prone to getting waterlogged during a sesh. It has a built in hood....i'm still not going through a winter with just a detachable one.

 

Yeah so i agree on the 4.5/3.5 being way more stretchy and just as warm as a 5/4. But i will say this. It was brand new. The next year it was still in good shape but just stretched out a bit and i found it not quite as warm. My opinion is it needs to be fairly new to be comparable warmth wise. Also somthing to note, I'm further north than you guys. It's fairly normal to have seshs with a wind chill in the negatives and water sitting in the low 30s. For those coldest days id just go 5/4.

We've had this discussion before. I'll skimp on a 3/2. But a 5/4 is not the time to skimp considering those brutal conditions i just mentioned. I get a bit of a bro deal usually but regardless, I'm more than happy to spend 500 on a quality 5/4. Hell, i take care of them and there in good shape but i still replace them every 2-3 years. Blizzard's, crazy cold wind chills, i want to be confident im be warm

 

Brand new last December - worn 4 times. Next size up was a bearskin rug lol.
I’m gonna head to Nor’Easter this afternoon and look around. See if he has some of the models your all talking about. Gotta kinda be careful spending though - I have 5 wetsuits already and PR isn’t gonna be free

 

I bought a 3/2 dawn patrol this early fall and used it in RI and it was amazing. Those sealed cuffs and fit were great. Warm too even with 55deg water and a decent wind. Great buy - too bad we went right from late summer to winter in a month lol

 

Why

Why? Don’t you like that searing shock and loss of breath when you get flipped by the lip and go head first, neck bent into that water? And then looking like a spectrum candidate trying to flip the hoodie back down so it covers that gap while floating in the lineup, with 5 mil gloves or even lobster claws?

 

With A big gay frog as your Avatar Your only obvious choice would be a 5/4 psychofreak that is LGBTP friendly.