4 sessions in the 5/4 isurus.
first impressions are it's fairly warm. it's hard to tell how warm for sure because the water isn't super cold lately. the air has been in the 40's though so and when it's cloudy and breezy it can chill you down pretty fast. still, i haven't been overheating like i would with a brand new 5/4's like an xcel drylock or rip curl flashbomb. even though the suit has loosened up a little and is easier to get on and off it's definitely not as stretchy and easy to move in as an oneill or buell. it doesn't seem to soak water and get too heavy which is nice. i like that it's slim through the midsection and not sized for the lowest, beer bellied, common denominator (sorry sbd
). the hood is nice. a little snug at first but now fits my fat head perfectly and doesn't allow much water ingress. the suit feels solidly built, like it will last but that also remains to be seen. i dig whatever they use as seam tape on the inside. i wish Xcel would use this instead of their favored material which seems to be made of paper?
why any slant chest zip suit would require you to thread the zipper is baffling to me. it works but it's not great having to dick around with it with frozen fingers. the cinch cord over the shoulder also doesn't stay put. the little spring loaded cincher thing just doesn't work at all so i can't tighten it up and as a result i get some flushing through the chest zip area on duckdives. my biggest gripe is that the cuffs don't have anything to keep them tight and especially the leg cuffs are constantly getting folded up after a wipeout. it's pretty annoying when surfing punchy beachbreaks (which is what I surf almost exclusively) beacuse it's like after every wave i am messing with the cuffs trying to get my gloves and/or booties tucked back in. somehow the legs themselves are snug but the cuffs are loose. this is a common problem with bargain suits in my experience but most of the top end 5/4's don't have this problem.
overall for the price I think it's a bit lacking. not as bad as a Patagonia or anything but still, not great. it's mostly small details that seperate a good cold water suit from a bad one and the Isurus just doesn't seem to have it quite figured out. the psychotech 5/4 is a much better suit and almost $200 cheaper. if you can find one.