The Great Unbiased Wetsuit Review Thread

ckupczynski1

OTF status
Oct 14, 2009
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second session in the need essentials 3/2 this morning..still stiff af but not a single drop of water touched my body i reckon. was dry when i peeled it off in the lot and felt warm the whole session despite it being 50 degree air and high 50's water.
I have the 4/3 last year model and it took about 6-8 sessions to break in. It’s a good suit and I’ll be using it again come January-April
 
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CutnSnip

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2018
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Probably dropping in on you, California
I have the 4/3 last year model and it took about 6-8 sessions to break in. It’s a good suit and I’ll be using it again come January-April
yea - the fit is good, and its a comfy suit. just alot stiffer out the gate than the rip curls ive been wearing the last decade or so. finally cold enough to warrant wearing a new suit so im sure itll break in quickly now.

I bought a 4/3 at the same time for when the temps dip around here in January.
 

Lowqi2

OTF status
Mar 17, 2013
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Bought the zipless 3/3 about 4-5 months ago.

Super flexible and soft. Material of the wetsuit itself is very high quality. But I started getting rips in the seams about 3 months in.

Talked to customer service and they said they prioritize flexibility, which I get but three months when I wasn't even wearing the suit full time is a bummer.

They did pay to get the seams patched, but I can already feel water starting to seep through the crotch repair. No bueno.

You might have better luck with the chest zip. I think part of the problem is the zipless flushes regularly (I was told to expect this and honestly didn't mind because the suit is really warm), which pulls the legs/crotch down and puts extra stress on that area.
What are your dims and the size you got?
 

Bob Dobbalina

Miki Dora status
Feb 23, 2016
4,258
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That's good to know. I just got mine back from seam repair and discovered the leak. Been hesitant to get back to them cause I don't want to be stuck with my shitty Xcel backup now that the water's cooling down.

My brother in law rented an excel this weekend. I was shocked at how god awfully heavy it was.
 

thekadvang

Legend (inyourownmind)
Jan 29, 2013
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i think we're central
Have a bunch of isurus suits (5/4 hooded, 4/3 no hood, 3mil zipperless hooded) and I don't think I would recommend a zipperless isurus (got mine used on CL to fill out the wetsuit quiver)

at least for the way mine fits (tight!) it takes a lot of stretching to get on/off, which started to create a hole where the chest seams meet. tbh i don't really see the benefits of a zipperless suit (my zipped suits are plenty flexible for me)

generally love their suits -- warm flexy and last a long time minus the issue described above
 

btesser

OTF status
Jul 18, 2005
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I've got about 60 sessions on my O'Neill 4/3 Hyperfreak with hood. Insane flexibility. Bar none, it's the lightest, most flexible and comfortable suit I have ever owned. So far, the only issue is some thinning on the right knee pad, which I expect will become a hole at some point. Will definitely buy another one when this one wears out. I wore Rip Curls for years and hadn't owned an O'Neill suit since the early 90's. Of course, durability is a concern. But I don't care. I like being warm in the water and the flexibility makes surfing so much more enjoyable.
 

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
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San Diego, CA
may just get another mutant
You weren’t gonna get the zipperless anyway, just get the chest zip Isurus.
I did have the initial flushing with my zipperless 3/3 but simply cinching the cord another 1/2 inch solved it. I ordered the LT and they also emailed to try to talk me into LTS. They design their suits to fit tight, but LT fits my long torso perfectly. Later I ended up getting a barely used 2/2 full in LTS, and it’s just slightly short in the torso for me. I’ll replace it with a zipperless 2/2 next spring.
YMMV
 
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