VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

My O'Neil mutant is nearing the end of its days, with death by a thousands cuts from fins and barnacles, and just good old old UV brittleness. Can't even remember when I bought it - its my 'new' one but I guess it must be at least 5 years old, it owes me nothing!

So, whats good on the market? I keep hearing about nearly-dry wetsuits....

Try Here: http://www.coastalbc.com/ads/surf.htm I bought my last couple hotline from http://www.cleanlinesurf.com/categories ... -Wetsuits/

xcel drylock is about as good as it gets. You can find them on sale online for as low as $250-300ish.

I just got a Ripcurl Flashbomb on recommendation of a friend. Haven't tried it yet, but pretty impressive construction.

Flashbombs Ive found to be the best. Outlasted my excells significantly. Warm and dry faster.

http://www.cleanlinesurf.com/products/R ... D2013.html

i find for summer it is nice to have a leaky one. for winter i have the xcel drylock, it is super nice. the new mutants are great too, if you liked the last one.

Hmmm found the receipt I bought the mutant October 2009 and thanks to the log personal stats summary I can see it had about 200 sessions. It could go more with a little tlc but it's good for summer with those leaks. That works out to $1.50 a session for the suit.

I consider my neoprene a level 1 life insurance You never know when you might have a problem & be hours in the ocean. I often am out by myself & a kite board provides no sanctuary. It's a new suit ~ every 3 years for me.

HtO gives good deals to my students MF4. Just twlk to Mick or Millsy and tell them i sent you in. I am happy with my E-bomb 5.5/4.5 for the cold and the dawn patrol 4/3 for the summer.

I have been an Assassin NPX proponent, they fit super nice, easy to put on and take off which is huge in my books....I am on my third one....hence no Excels or Hotlines for me....til now Silent Sports has not been very good warranty wise with the suits (they sent me another suit for $200 saying that was their cost, then they sell them for $225 regular....) and I have had tears, many seams failing, glues letting go. Emails request info, pictures etc. and then go unanswered.
Also not so happy with the 6:4 Zealot, for that little bit of extra warmth the hood is a pain and tight in the neck and it is a bitch to put on reaching for the neck bib and the hood leaks.
Just based on the warranty issues I won't buy another NPX, the factory email was never responded to either. Pricing was from $220 on sale to $325.

I, too, am in need of a good winter wetsuit as my leaky 4/3 is just getting too cold... brrr!
I'm wondering, as this is my first winter season on Van Isle:
-would a 5/4 wetsuit be sufficient around here, or would a 6/5/4 be better?
-is HTO the only or best shop on the island to buy westsuits? Are there other options? ~I do prefer to buy in person to make sure it has a good fit!
Thanks

buy a drysuit or at the least a 5/4 should get you through the winter... just use thicker gloves and booties...

the drysuit might not appeal to all and its really a 'damp' suit after a session but it's like night and day in the winter

abetanzo wrote:buy a drysuit
the drysuit might not appeal to all and its really a 'damp' suit after a session but it's like night and day in the winter

hmm yes, it is warmer, no question....but I would suggest they are not as safe ...or safe at all if you are more than a few tens of meters off shore

if you stay out of the water a fair bit, the 5:3/5:4 is fine, just wear a removable hood/liner in your helmet and a neoprene based rashy helps a lot, the 6:4's are hard to combat, esp if you don't wear it often, you fight neoprene all the time and get tired. I don't like mine but wear it when really cold, no rashie. Usually 5:3 with rashie if to 4 degrees, with open palm gloves. 6mm booties or wool socks help in booties a lot but I hate the spongy feel, lots warmer tho! Also I have a bright orange wind breaker, super difference and you can ditch it when having to rescue as it too is a problem swimming

To each their own

5/4 is fine for west coast van island winter

coastline is the other shop in vic.

re: dampsuit...thanks for saying so Adrian...I have a SurfDry, but always damp at end of session...possibly leaks from seals, but maybe also just sweat. Was a little disappointed, as it isn't the hoped-for hop in my car dry and drive home. I find the new wetsuits are really semi dry anyway, very well sealed. Half my kite sessions my suit still has dry patches inside. Nice warm fuzzy material too ... both xcel drylock and ripcurl flashbomb.

I've heard about some crazy old drysuits that end up being unsafe but I haven't experienced anything like that with the new OR Soul drysuit... even with a zipper not quite closed or a slash from a surfboard fin.. there was only a little leak not like a major submersion..

the death bag apparently was when someone's neck seal failed (older drysuit)... but I figure if you keep your gear in good working order you're not gona blow out your neck seal!

but as for being fully dry... yes they do keep you fully dry... just not when you crash at high speeds or sweat your bag off! and remember it's like a bag over your body so no matter what you're gona perspire a bit!

I've used it for sailing & wading in the rivers & shallow scuba diving to clean the bottom of the boat and am really dry in it... kb'ing though after an hour's session there might be a little dampness near the seals but I can peel off the suit and drive home!!