Thought the General section for this post was most suitable as I am after a wetsuit for kiting, SUPping and surfing. I am chasing a winter wetsuit and thought the whole process of choosing a new wetty would be pretty straight forward. 
I am chasing a wetsuit that suits from Perth and southwards, and probably like most of you don't buy a new wetsuit too often. My last purchase was about 7 years ago...yeah I look after my gear and they tend to last a while (as they only get brought out in the brass monkey weather). Mind you, some of my mates are still sporting wetsuits that have the fluro colour schemes that came out in the early 90's.
So the search started and straight away the whole choice of wetsuit confused the f@ck out of me. Now days you get ones with options same seem to be more fitting to a high performance motor care with ABS, DOHC and EBD. You get wetsuits with AG47, airlock cells and even F'N lite. From my limited understanding on acronyms F'N lite can only assume it is lighter than Sh!t'N light. And this was just from one brand. In their selection I counted over 50 different types of wetsuits. Seriously! Man, I like the old KISS principle when buying stuff and like most things nowadays the selection of what is available confuses the hell out of me.
The bottom line is, I am chasing a wetsuit that is warm (but not ridiculous like a dry suit) and flexible (does not cut the circulation of in the most important of areas and give me the old wetsuit rash). The other thing is always price, some of the suits are going for over $600.
Cheers for any input and others experiences.
I reckon for quality and longevity go for an O'neill Psycho. I had a Psycho 2 for 3 seasons and passed it onto a mate that reckons it's still going strong after another 2 years. Just recently picked up a new Psycho 3 from Hyperride for around $270 or so delivered during a sale and the material is amazing. Way lighter than anything else I've seen and hopefully lasts the test of time. My next pick would be an Ebomb. IMO RipCurl have the best chest entry system but definitely don't last like O'neill, having said that their warranty is the best in the biz, I sent my last Ebomb back for repairs 4 times (with no receipt) and it only cost me the postage. Others may tell you otherwise but don't waste your money on Need wetties, I picked one up for a spare and it is decent but really only compares to the base model wetties in the big name brands material wise. Keep your eyes peeled on Hyperride and Surfstitch for sales and you should pick up one of last seasons top line jobs for not too much more than Need charges anyway. Also worth checking Murray Smith in Os Park he usually has a few going cheap
Need are good for the price, warm, flexible. Chest entry is a pain in the arse, but they all are, other than the old excels where the flap is only fixed to the back of the suit not the shoulder. One thing with the Need worth doing is turning the suit inside out, removing the metal clip holding the end of the zip together and stitching it together instead. Will chuck up a pic later.
^^^ I agree they are definitely good for the price but you get what you pay for. No comparison to the materials on the top shelf hence my advice of searching for an old model of a better quality suit
Don't buy anything with liquid seems. Last I checked Oniel had them. Ripcurl ditched them ages ago.
You pay a premium for Rip Curl.. Although I don't own one at the moment, I still believe they are ahead of the rest.
Select to expand quotebjw said..
Don't buy anything with liquid seems. Last I checked Oniel had them. Ripcurl ditched them ages ago.
You pay a premium for Rip Curl.. Although I don't own one at the moment, I still believe they are ahead of the rest.
Yep, mine cracked. Is that what happened to you?
I would try a few wetsuits on before buy.
usually go to my local and try different brands on. never bought online.
I find the billabongs sit on me most comfortably , but quality is not that good. I got 3 warranty replacements.
dont know if they are flexible enough for you, but I was literally amazed at how good my spearfishing open cell wetsuit was. I guess they dont make them for other sports so maybee there are disadvantages with flexability. you dont even get wet to start with. they are so good if you really want to beat the cold
Select to expand quoteDARTH said...bjw said..
Don't buy anything with liquid seems. Last I checked Oniel had them. Ripcurl ditched them ages ago.
You pay a premium for Rip Curl.. Although I don't own one at the moment, I still believe they are ahead of the rest.
Yep, mine cracked. Is that what happened to you?
Darth, I've had a number of brands with liquid seams and they all died in a season. Mystic and Rip Curl ditched them early. They end up cracking and then getting holes in the seems. Billabong was a shocker.
I kite and SUP and surf (mostly kite) in Melbourne and Sandy Point. I have a RipCurl FlashBomb 4/3. It's toasty warm.
The best thing about it is the inside touch dries in 20 minutes. My old wettie could take a week to dry in Melbourne in winter. "Touch dry" means it feels dry. It's not actually dry but the majority of the water has been wicked away so you can put it on without freezing your nuts off.
As for longevity, I stopped buy all other brands because they died. Strangely an O'Neill Psycho was the worst. RipCurl have great warranty service (although they're not as generous as they used to be). I still have a 7 year old RipCurl wettie and I wear it all the time. The new one just dries better and is, well, newer and more comfey.
The most important thing for keeping a wettie for a long time is how you handle it. Never hang it wet on a hanger. The weight will tear holes in the shoulders. I hang my wetties to dry on a rack made of plastic conduit so it doesn't damage the rubber.
Be really careful how you pull a modern wettie on and off. The new rubbers are really soft. Don't dig you fingers into the rubber and pull. You'll push holes into the rubber. It's even worse if you've got fingernails.
I always rinse mine in fresh water because the manufacturer says to. It's convenient for me to do that, but I'm not sure it's all that important.
Select to expand quotemyusernam said..
dont know if they are flexible enough for you, but I was literally amazed at how good my spearfishing open cell wetsuit was. I guess they dont make them for other sports so maybee there are disadvantages with flexability. you dont even get wet to start with. they are so good if you really want to beat the cold
Won't have padded knees, most probably.
Need Essentials +1 yes, the cost/performance may change due to the materials. Will have to wait and see.
O'neil +1 Ditto previous statement.
And I agree re: fingernails, Gorgo, and small tears must be fixed ASAP with the black rubberised glue.
For budget wetsuit google Sanctum. They are stupidly cheap.
I saw even the springy had fire furry lining.
I am a big fan of the Oneill Psycho as well. Mine Have served me well over the years. No complaints in terms of longevity or warmth or stretchiness. Make sure you buy a suit smaller than you think. They stretch. If you are a large get a medium. If an XL get a Large. If you are short or tall you can get different lengths. But when trying on - if you think it's too tight then that is probably the one you want. Don't go the size that feels like the right fit now. After a few wears it will stretch and annoy the hell out of you.
^^^^ can't say I agree with the "one size too small" advice. There's nothing worse than fighting your way into a too small wetsuit. I been perfectly happy with wetsuits that fit. I've never noticed any stretching. Wetsuits can be a pain to get on and off (especially when they're wet). It seems perverse to make it even harder by wearing one that's too small.
My mate buys wetsuits one size too small and he's constantly struggling with getting them on and off and dealing with tears and stuff.
When I buy wetsuits I try them on. It's usually blindingly obvious whether it fits or not.
Two things~
1) I'd never buy a wetsuit w/o trying it on first, it's a must. So no online purchases for me.
2) I'd never buy a wetsuit that requires help from somebody else to get the damn thing on or zipped up. Help is not always available.
I'm an O'Neil fan myself, I wear out the material before any liquid seam, the seams have always held up for me.
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..
^^^^ can't say I agree with the "one size too small" advice. There's nothing worse than fighting your way into a too small wetsuit. I been perfectly happy with wetsuits that fit. I've never noticed any stretching. Wetsuits can be a pain to get on and off (especially when they're wet). It seems perverse to make it even harder by wearing one that's too small.
My mate buys wetsuits one size too small and he's constantly struggling with getting them on and off and dealing with tears and stuff.
When I buy wetsuits I try them on. It's usually blindingly obvious whether it fits or not.
Agree. Not great for the liquid seams to be stretching them too much.
As for Oneill liquid seams, they seem to last ok for about 2 seasons, then start to crack and fall to pieces.
The Psycho suits material definitely outlasts their seams.
I have taken old psychos to the wetsuit repair place and got them to tape and stitch the seams and have got extra seasons out of them for about $50 worth of work.
A trusty mate told me to go to s2 in oconnor. Custom made. Good price. I haven't been yet.
Select to expand quotemitchbat said..
^^^ I agree they are definitely good for the price but you get what you pay for. No comparison to the materials on the top shelf hence my advice of searching for an old model of a better quality suit
There made in the same factory and from the same materials as all of last seasons quicky suits (pre-AG47)....excitingly they are almost exactly the same patterns as the quicky suits
Select to expand quotebjw said..DARTH said...bjw said..
Don't buy anything with liquid seems. Last I checked Oniel had them. Ripcurl ditched them ages ago.
You pay a premium for Rip Curl.. Although I don't own one at the moment, I still believe they are ahead of the rest.
Yep, mine cracked. Is that what happened to you?
Darth, I've had a number of brands with liquid seams and they all died in a season. Mystic and Rip Curl ditched them early. They end up cracking and then getting holes in the seems. Billabong was a shocker.
Ive had this problem with ripcurl and oneill, I wash them in fresh water after surfing and they still crack. Not sure what Im doing wrong??
Select to expand quoteKozzie said..
wetsuitwarehouse . com .auSelect to expand quoteDARTH said..bjw said..DARTH said...bjw said..
Don't buy anything with liquid seems. Last I checked Oniel had them. Ripcurl ditched them ages ago.
You pay a premium for Rip Curl.. Although I don't own one at the moment, I still believe they are ahead of the rest.
Yep, mine cracked. Is that what happened to you?
Darth, I've had a number of brands with liquid seams and they all died in a season. Mystic and Rip Curl ditched them early. They end up cracking and then getting holes in the seems. Billabong was a shocker.
Ive had this problem with ripcurl and oneill, I wash them in fresh water after surfing and they still crack. Not sure what Im doing wrong??
The liquid seams on my B'bong suit failed after about 5 month's use and I'm only a weekend warrior. I washed it as much as I washed its predecessor (an Xcel) and I got four years out of that. Have bought a Need Essential wetsuit and it looks good - not used it yet though.
Select to expand quoteTux said...mitchbat said..
^^^ I agree they are definitely good for the price but you get what you pay for. No comparison to the materials on the top shelf hence my advice of searching for an old model of a better quality suit
There made in the same factory and from the same materials as all of last seasons quicky suits (pre-AG47)....excitingly they are almost exactly the same patterns as the quicky suits
I've never heard any good reports about quik suits
I've never heard anything good about Quiksilver wetsuits either so i hope he's wrong!
I really love my Excel chest zips. Onto my second one and first one lasted me a few years at least. TBH I'm not easy on my suits, often drying in the sun and taking it of in a warm shower. Comfy and i rate them.
I found i rang Surfstitch before buying my last one and i said i could buy slightly cheaper. They gave me a 20% discount as a one off..Cant hurt to ask 
Struggle IMHO to find better than mystic wetsuits
I had the star for 4 years till someone nicked it
Possibly drop a thickness as they're a euro brand( colder waters)
Possibly the most popular euro brand
