Nowadays wetsuit material is more flexible and warmer than ever before, but going by must last 4 purchases I believe this is coming at more than just a financial cost. All four wetsuits and all from different "big brand" names have all experienced some level of material failure in the first few wears. My current wetsuit is with the manufacturer being repaired at the moment and by their own admission that this is not "usual" but definitely a "material issue". Previous suit had seams coming apart in the early days.

For example, the neck material.....super thin and forming a great seal however this is how it looks after it's fifth wear....

Happy to accept wear and tear over time, but these sorts of issues happening consistently.

Just my issue or are others finding the same problems?

5th!!!
I get that after maybe 50 in 5yrs....

Definitely not acceptable I say

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Well let's ask what are the best wetsuits?

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I am due for a new winter 4/3 back zipper, my current one is ION which was good for 2 winters and not so good for a 3rd winter.

Wife's ebomb split several places in the neck quite early in it's life like in your picture, so ripcurl sent her a new one........great service. New one is worn several times a week (she wears it year round....cold frog!) and so far no issues in 12m. I have an ebomb as well and love the flex and warmth.......no issues so far after 2y touch wood.

Wow 2 yrs. I'm lucky to get half a season. I'm in the water a lot though but still. Tried them all from cheaper to more expensive. They all seem to fail in the same time frame. I end up looking like Freddie flinstone by end of summer. Get one in autumn and generally need a new one by October.

When you're forking out $350 plus plus for a wettie, I'm chasing more than a few wears in durability.

Okay, a few different stories

What about the care factor?

For me, take em off, chuck it in the car, throw it on the netball ring, chuck it back in the car.

Happy to get a newy every couple of years

Btw, needessentials, fine by me! less than $300 steamers 4/3

Need essentials. Had a couple of those. Same issues except for the fact they felt like wearing straight jackets relatively speaking. Okay functional wetties, well Priced but not great.

Yeah, and there in-lies my issue.....I wash them in fresh water and hang them in a place out of the sun....as per care instructions. I think I have to take a more care-less attitude. My next wetsuit.....I will definitely try the Needs Essentials. Not many brands left for me to try actually.

Funny you should mention your wife's Ripcurl wetsuit AJ. Mine is a DawnPatrol, thought I would go back to my old teenage years surf roots and test out the new version. Sadly, as warm as it is...well the rest is history. 6 weeks of mucking around with warranty and it is still in mail, somewhere.

Got a Seventh Wave wetsuit when I was home in 2019. Long sleeve spring, 350 pacific pesos, 2mm Yamamoto neoprene which is made of ground-up vegan toenails or something. Actually, let me google that... Oh, limestone ... as opposed to petroleum-based. Ok then.

Anyway -- use it for 10 months of the year, care-less treatment (I just hang it up when I get home ... if I remember) and it's going strong. Warmer than it has any right to be.

What I find with the "normal" neoprene that's all soft and smooth and feels nice, but the Dynabar chews the hell out of it, like in Shi house's picture up there. But worse.

My neck gasket material is showing some stretch marks, but it's chest zip so has to get all of me through it. Can't blame it for showing signs of stress...

Looks like they might use a similar rubber/material/glue combination as a certain boom manufacturer. Incredible boom, but feels a bit, uh, flaky in the hands.

My care factor is zero as well. I can attest to shi houses care routine, seen it in the flesh, very thorough - almost OCD.

Me - don't give two far outs. Although I have done in the past, with the same timeline issues, so now I don't bother.


thought it was the kiting - harness etc - but don't really kite anymore and still the same problems.

I wash mine out after every use, surf generally 2 times a week, and they're buggered after one season. Tried most of the expensive brands and Needs essentials, they all seem to last about the same for me. One thing I've been wondering is the water quality here (mid-West WA) is sh1thouse, I wouldn't drink it. Maybe it's eating the rubber

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eppo said..
Me - don't give two far outs. Although I have done in the past, with the same timeline issues, so now I don't bother. .

Same. Used to rinse in fresh water, but don't bother now. I refuse to pee in them though.

Used to rinse my kites in fresh water too jeez what a waste of time :D

Just got my wetsuit back from RipCurl yesterday. Looks like they have done a great repair job (hopefully). Interestingly enough they have not replaced the neck material with the same rubber backed seal type material as with what was originally on there. IMO (and maybe theirs) this material is a definte weakness. They have now used standard 1.5mm material. Hopefully it survives at least one season!

Hmmm... this is interesting.

I usually buy the lower end Ripcurl or O'Neil wetties as they fit me better (currently running O'Neil Reactor II). I surf a couple of times a week when I can... always wash my wetties out in warm water under the shower, and hang it tall on a fat-shoulder suit coat hanger inside-out in mid-sunlight to dry. I seem to get at least 4yrs out of my wetsuits... maybe the cheaper neoprene and lining is stronger?

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GPA said..
Hmmm... this is interesting.

I usually buy the lower end Ripcurl or O'Neil wetties as they fit me better (currently running O'Neil Reactor II). I surf a couple of times a week when I can... always wash my wetties out in warm water under the shower, and hang it tall on a fat-shoulder suit coat hanger inside-out in mid-sunlight to dry. I seem to get at least 4yrs out of my wetsuits... maybe the cheaper neoprene and lining is stronger?

Yeah I think more stretchy equals breaks down quicker

Instructions on my ION wetsuit

^^^ does it say not to ion?

Do all that. They still don't last.

A question to those of you that are finding their wetsuit breaks down quickly
Are you wearing them in summer when the air temp is 25+ and the water temp is 20+
I see a lot of people wearing wetsuits (2/3 steamers) all summer in WA

I think that the heat and sun exposure might be causing them to break down more quickly
They really are designed to be used when the weather is cold

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IanR said..

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A question to those of you that are finding their wetsuit breaks down quickly

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Are you wearing them in summer when the air temp is 25+ and the water temp is 20+

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I see a lot of people wearing wetsuits (2/3 steamers) all summer in WA

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I think that the heat and sun exposure might be causing them to break down more quickly

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They really are designed to be used when the weather is cold

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Maybe blokes, but from what I have observed, the girls almost wear nothing ??