4/3 recommendations

[rgruber]

Yes, please CA, call all your pros home.

New York doesn't have waves. It's all an illusion. It's cold and flat all the time.

I'd like to go back to just surfing with the occasional annoying local and a few guys from Jersey. Having real rippers at my local break is annoying.

I heard NY is the new socal of surfing so... this plays!

Too fucking real lmao

 

[casa_mugrienta]

I will no longer buy a suit that doesn't have taped and glued seems. It makes a huge difference in keeping the water out.

I also prefer some type of wool material for the chest panel.

Taped seams = crap stitching.

All you need is a proper stitch and glue to create a long lasting seam that doesn't leak.

The better suits don't use tape.

 

[emmohl80]

It brings up an interesting question of who do you respect more as a "local"?

The better surfer?

The person who lives closer?

The person who's there everyday?

The person who's been surfing there for 30 years but only shows up once a month?

I almost always defer to the grey hairs. No matter where I'm at. Gotta give em props for still being out there. I respect it more and more as I get older.

 

[oeste858]

Taped seams = crap stitching.

All you need is a proper stitch and glue to create a long lasting seam that doesn't leak.

The better suits don't use tape.

Agree. @r32 While that stuff is great for the first months of a new suit (maybe even the first season), the problem is the taping or that black rubbery sealer in the photo cracks with usage, and once it does, the floodgates open. Welcome to Leaktown.

 

[r32]

Maybe you guys don't take care of your stuff, but my Oneill suits that have that rubbery looking sealer last about 5yrs before they need a repair. That's pretty good longevity, as I've had some other manufacturer suits that didn't hold up well after two years.

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

I **** myself like an excitable child, hang them to dry outside, stomp my way out of them in the parking lot, albeit with the suit in the tupperware bin, and if I'm going surfing again that day and it's sunny, they dry in the sun until barely damp.

They wind up leaking sooner or later. I wind up spending $4 on a tube of roofing cement sealer whatever TF.

 

[r32]

I **** myself like an excitable child, hang them to dry outside, stomp my way out of them in the parking lot, albeit with the suit in the tupperware bin, and if I'm going surfing again that day and it's sunny, they dry in the sun until barely damp.

They wind up leaking sooner or later. I wind up spending $4 on a tube of roofing cement sealer whatever TF.

$7

$7

or $26 for the Oneill branded bottle

 

[oeste858]

Good for you for getting that kind of lifespan out of them. I haven't had an O'neill in 25 years. Maybe they're better quality than I thought. the stuff on the Vissla & RipC both cracked and peeled off in the seat. And yes, I baby my suits, etc. The original cement and those repair tubes also limit the flex of the neoprene. So, as with everything, it's a tradeoff, IMO

 

[r32]

Good for you for getting that kind of lifespan out of them. I haven't had an O'neill in 25 years. Maybe they're better quality than I thought. the stuff on the Vissla & RipC both cracked and peeled off in the seat. And yes, I baby my suits, etc. The original cement and those repair tubes also limit the flex of the neoprene. So, as with everything, it's a tradeoff, IMO

I also baby my suits.

Put them carefully into plastic bin after surf. Not smashed and folded.
Wash them out with fresh water when I get home.
Lay them out to dry in the shade. Never in the sun.
Never hang them, always lay them on something.

I figure since I spend $500+ on a wetsuit, might as well take care of my surf tools.

 

[chilly1]

I also baby my suits.

Put them carefully into plastic bin after surf. Not smashed and folded.
Wash them out with fresh water when I get home.
Lay them out to dry in the shade. Never in the sun.
Never hang them, always lay them on something.

I figure since I spend $500+ on a wetsuit, might as well take care of my surf tools.

why is it not ok to hang at the waist?

 

[mundus]

$7

$7

or $26 for the Oneill branded bottle

Dam! I paid the 26. Feel much shame.

 

[rgruber]

I definitely don't take care of my suits, except by accident. My winter suits I generally walk from the beach into my warm shower and take them off in there once my hands re gain feeling.

When it's warmer I take them off on concrete and dry them in the sun if possible.

I get about 3-4 years out of my Xcels. Usually if there is a problem, like the most recent ones that leak through the seat seams, it reveals itself pretty quickly and I sent them back and get them serviced.

 

[rowjimmytour]

I definitely don't take care of my suits, except by accident. My winter suits I generally walk from the beach into my warm shower and take them off in there once my hands re gain feeling.

When it's warmer I take them off on concrete and dry them in the sun if possible.

I get about 3-4 years out of my Xcels. Usually if there is a problem, like the most recent ones that leak through the seat seams, it reveals itself pretty quickly and I sent them back and get them serviced.

Is that duff scale walking beach to shower or Hawaiian?

 

[silentbutdeadly]

My Xcel I bought this time last year is complete garbage but they're fixing a few issues as we speak. Free shipping, easy process so at least that's good.

 

[r32]

My Xcel I bought this time last year is complete garbage but they're fixing a few issues as we speak. Free shipping, easy process so at least that's good.

O'neill has the same. I usually send in to have the shoulder/neck panels replaced and suit is like new again.

 

[sdsrfr]

I think I’m gonna buy a psycho 1? not sure what the latest good but not most expensive O’Neil is.I dunno that the external tape is so bad.

they all eventually crack but most of my suits have given out in other areas before the leak on my calf first getting in was the deal killer.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

psycho i is a good suit

 

[MathDebater]

I'm really impressed with mine. Warm AF.

 

[GromsDad]

My current 4/3 is a Rip Curl called the Insulator with a removable hood. Best suit ever. Also the best suit for someone with bad shoulders. It looks like this suit is no longer in the lineup.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

Who wants to send a wetsuit in to get serviced?

Meanwhile you're drydocked or left with a shitty old suit.

Seems silly.