Surfing Waves

They seem to be about 30%-50% cheaper than competitors O'Neil, Body Glove, RipCurl etc...for the respective model type comparison. Is there something to be leary about with this company's wetsuits or are they just a smaller, newer company with a competitive price tag?

For $100 some odd dollars they aren't bad but you get what you pay for. If you take really good care of it I would guess they might last for a while. But the flex is moderate at best.

CHarvey wrote:For $100 some odd dollars they aren't bad but you get what you pay for. If you take really good care of it I would guess they might last for a while. But the flex is moderate at best.

I own an old O'neil 3/2 Reactor with only 30% flex listing (and for a 3/2 is truly very stiff) and most of the higher-end Hyperflex lines of wetsuits are listed as 100% flex. Is their marketing misleading perhaps?

The particular wetsuit I have my eyes on is a 4/3 Hyperflex Flow listed at $190.00
It has 100% stretch neoprene, sealed and taped seams, waterproof chest zip and polyfleece lining.

For an extra $60 you could get the top-end Hyperflex AMP model which from what I can tell the only difference is it says "water repelent neoprene". I noticed the Rip Curl E ($300) & F Bomb($390) wetsuits also claim water repelent neoprene. What does this mean, and how much better is the water repelent technology (i.e. is it worth the extra $60 upgrade?)

Also I noticed that the top of the line O'neil (Psycho 2) and a few other top end models have the double taped seams. The price seems to bump up $75-$100 for the 2x taping. Is double taping really that much better? It seems like alot of extra money just to run taping on the inside seams, why don't some of the lower models get double taped...seems like a $10-$20 upgrade in reality at best....but what do I know.

The water repelent neoprene is good because it keeps the weight of the suit down while in the water. Pluss your suit drys out that much faster so you have a dry suit the next day. So far as the double taping I can't say. But I would and have paid for the water repelent neoprene. But for the most part what I look for is blind stitched, glued and taped seams.
For reference I currently have a 4/3/2 Matuse Hoplite. Cost $480 (I have the second generation of the suit.)

CHarvey wrote:The water repelent neoprene is good because it keeps the weight of the suit down while in the water. Pluss your suit drys out that much faster so you have a dry suit the next day. So far as the double taping I can't say. But I would and have paid for the water repelent neoprene. But for the most part what I look for is blind stitched, glued and taped seams.
For reference I currently have a 4/3/2 Matuse Hoplite. Cost $480 (I have the second generation of the suit.)

Thanks for the info. on the water repelent neoprene!!! Matuse's sure are pricey, but I've heard alot of good things about them so I'm sure their worth the investment.