Done with Xcel. Need a new warm hooded 5/4

sh3

Michael Peterson status
Dec 1, 2008
2,403
3,118
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Interesting. They don’t talk much about the rubber other than mentioning low absorption.
I asked Jim. Same Yamamoto #40. I told him, as did a friend, he needs to update the site to scream that information. People care about that... a lot. Jim is all about the highest quality, so he didn't think it was something that he needed to mention. I told him: MENTION IT.
 
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Duffy LaCoronilla

Duke status
Apr 27, 2016
38,642
27,984
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Two choices:

1. Isurus, as started by Jim B but know he's no longer there.

OR

2. Jim's new company since he split with Isurus: Winterleaf Wetsuits. www.winterleaf.surf

Same great guy, new great company.
Traditional bilateral design symmetry balanced with authentic fabrics and materials. Winterleaf is expanding the standard by providing maximum freedom of paddle, warm, comfortable insulation, and lighter, low water-absorption, resulting in advantage and joy.
Wut?
 

YakAk

Legend (inyourownmind)
Feb 22, 2010
398
88
28
My O'neill Psychotech 5.5/4 is the best wetsuit I've ever owned, and not by a close margin. I'm cheap as f and would buy one at full price without thinking twice.
My current choice as well. Hoping to get through my third winter with this suit. Starting to get a bit tattered (so am I :). After 26 years of surfing here in Alaska, I have tried more than a few wetsuits.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
17,644
113
Petak Island
No smooth skin either.
Well, their 344 doesn't.

I mean, who would need any protection from the wind in a 4/3???( :ROFLMAO:)

But their 345 does.

But only on the back.

Cuz clearly you won't need any extra warmth/protection from the wind/water absorption/evaporative cooling on the front of your core. :)

It's pretty amazing how people have the connections to make something good and then clearly blow it.
 
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feralseppo

Billy Hamilton status
Feb 28, 2006
1,469
1,125
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Cuz clearly you won't need any extra warmth/protection from the wind/water absorption/evaporative cooling on the front of your core. :)
Maybe they assume people won't be worried about wind protection from the front in 50 mph onshore winds.
 

mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
36,725
15,943
113
I have a Billabong with no smooth skin and it is plenty warm, I think with the new liners smooth skin is not needed.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
17,644
113
Petak Island
I have a Billabong with no smooth skin and it is plenty warm, I think with the new liners smooth skin is not needed.
How much do you surf?

These suits tend to be OK for low use when the neoprene is impermeable or if your session is short.

All neoprene breaks down and eventually takes on more and more water.

If you're surfing 3 or 4 days a week you'll soon find out.

Yes, a good liner helps.

But there's a good reason the vast majority of suits made for the coldest waves use smoothskin. It's just warmer. Because it's a water barrier.

I will say out of all the OTR suits I've looked at the top of line Bong looked best.

I have not seen any any of the O'neills people are raving about but I did see some of the Technobatter falling apart on the rack.
 

mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
36,725
15,943
113
How much do you surf?

These suits tend to be OK for low use when the neoprene is impermeable or if your session is short.

All neoprene breaks down and eventually takes on more and more water.

If you're surfing 3 or 4 days a week you'll soon find out.

Yes, a good liner helps.

But there's a good reason the vast majority of suits made for the coldest waves use smoothskin. It's just warmer. Because it's a water barrier.

I will say out of all the OTR suits I've looked at the top of line Bong looked best.

I have not seen any any of the O'neills people are raving about but I did see some of the Technobatter falling apart on the rack.
Going on 2nd season, still warm. In the water at least 3 or 4 days a week surfing or paddling, swimming when water gets over 50.
 

sh3

Michael Peterson status
Dec 1, 2008
2,403
3,118
113
Threw me too. There's an internal neck gasket that attaches in back in addition to the gasket in front. So... symmetry... I think.

And marketing.

But everyone needs something to stand out from the pack.

My 3 mil and 5 mil (two new suits that haven't hit the site yet) both have smooth skin at the shoulder yoke and hood. No smooth skin below the shoulders. Suits are glued and double blind stitched, so the taping isn't a BS gimmick as you'll see with the "liquid seam" crap in other suits that lasts about 1 season. Not year - season. I still have my original Isurus from Jim (2009, I think) and it works just as great as day one. Same taping and GDBS. Maybe that's an anomaly, but I trust Jim's work & workmanship.

As some may know, I used to be purely in the Patagonias for personal reasons. I still rep and wear their products, but the wetsuits just were killing me. Seams would not last.

So I'm happy to be back and helping out Jim B.

That's me. YMMV.
 
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Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
11,990
22,531
113
PNW
I still like the Oneill Psychotech the best out of all the big brand suits. I dont get more than a season out of them though. The exterior seam goo starts cracking and once they start leaking its pretty much over for my skinny ass. Kind of a rough go for the price IMO. They're never on sale either. I do surf a lot but i rinse and hang dry in shade after every session.
 

ChaseTMP

Billy Hamilton status
Apr 6, 2014
1,712
3,118
113
S. Redondo
Threw me too. There's an internal neck gasket that attaches in back in addition to the gasket in front. So... symmetry... I think.

And marketing.

But everyone needs something to stand out from the pack.

My 3 mil and 5 mil (two new suits that haven't hit the site yet) both have smooth skin at the shoulder yoke and hood. No smooth skin below the shoulders. Suits are glued and double blind stitched, so the taping isn't a BS gimmick as you'll see with the "liquid seam" crap in other suits that lasts about 1 season. Not year - season. I still have my original Isurus from Jim (2009, I think) and it works just as great as day one. Same taping and GDBS. Maybe that's an anomaly, but I trust Jim's work & workmanship.

As some may know, I used to be purely in the Patagonias for personal reasons. I still rep and wear their products, but the wetsuits just were killing me. Seams would not last.

So I'm happy to be back and helping out Jim B.

That's me. YMMV.
The factory for the door and window company I work for is in Porto, Portugal (Porto). Winter Leaf's website copy is pretty bananas and reminds me of the Google translated superfluous Portuguese I've had to rewrite for some of our marketing materials.
 

Northern_Shores

Miki Dora status
Mar 30, 2009
4,487
4,404
113
How much do you surf?

These suits tend to be OK for low use when the neoprene is impermeable or if your session is short.

All neoprene breaks down and eventually takes on more and more water.

If you're surfing 3 or 4 days a week you'll soon find out.

Yes, a good liner helps.

But there's a good reason the vast majority of suits made for the coldest waves use smoothskin. It's just warmer. Because it's a water barrier.

I will say out of all the OTR suits I've looked at the top of line Bong looked best.

I have not seen any any of the O'neills people are raving about but I did see some of the Technobatter falling apart on the rack.
Smoothskin sucks. The glue line that attaches it to the rest of the suit cracks/rips and then the suit is not warm any more and it's difficult to repair.
 
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Duffy LaCoronilla

Duke status
Apr 27, 2016
38,642
27,984
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The factory for the door and window company I work for is in Porto, Portugal (Porto). Winter Leaf's website copy is pretty bananas and reminds me of the Google translated superfluous Portuguese I've had to rewrite for some of our marketing materials.

For a number of years now, work has been proceeding in order to bring perfection to the crudely conceived idea of a transmission that would not only supply inverse reactive current for use in unilateral phase detractors, but would also be capable of automatically synchronizing cardinal grammeters. Such an instrument is the turbo encabulator.

Now basically the only new principle involved is that instead of power being generated by the relative motion of conductors and fluxes, it is produced by the modial interaction of magneto-reluctance and capacitive diractance.

The original machine had a base plate of pre-famulated amulite surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing in such a way that the two spurving bearings were in a direct line with the panametric fan. The latter consisted simply of six hydrocoptic marzlevanes, so fitted to the ambifacient lunar waneshaft that side fumbling was effectively prevented.

The main winding was of the normal lotus-o-delta type placed in panendermic semi-boloid slots of the stator, every seventh conductor being connected by a non-reversible tremie pipe to the differential girdle spring on the “up” end of the grammeters.

The turbo-encabulator has now reached a high level of development, and it’s being successfully used in the operation of novertrunnions. Moreover, whenever a forescent skor motion is required, it may also be employed in conjunction with a drawn reciprocation dingle arm, to reduce sinusoidal repleneration.
 

rgruber

Miki Dora status
May 30, 2004
3,617
1,329
113
I haven't had smoothskin rip or crack on me in many years and all my thick suits are smoothskin. I've had them fail in other ways, but the smoothskin itself isn't an issue particularly on thicker suits.