recently bought a flashbomb, rip curl store had 30% off before xmas. perfect time to buy. Normally i would not spend 600 bucks on a wetsuit even tho thru winter i use it near daily and autumn spring couple days a week. this being said the flashbomb is definately a huge upgrade to the usual dawl patrol/billabong/quiksilver baseish models i usually purchase. things i find better are: -flexibility -comfort -sealed seams -tight arm and leg holes -warmth -drying, fing amazing. usually takes 1-2 days to properly dry my dawn patrol. flashbomb i soaked in fresh water to test and dry enough to comfortably put on in about an hour. will see how it goes thru winter, but i think will be much faster.
im 6'2 and 80kg and find the L good. Looked into the other brands but find the rip curl suits just look and feel more refined. they have the budget and years experience to put loads of RnD in so you get your moneys worth IMO. only downside i find is colour. still dont see why wetsuits are all black or black and blue. would muhc prefer some more colour and less seal like...
i have had Flashbombs but found it stiffer than the O'Niel and it wore out faster. The Excel were very flexible and warm, but, once again, didn't last as well as the O'Neils.
i always buy a top of the range wetties on special (hate paying $600), hence I haven't had an O'Neil for a few years now, but if I saw one for 3-400 I would grab it quick.
I also treat my wetties like crap. Never wash em, never dry them. They just sit in the back of the car festering in the tub. Sometimes I drain te accumulated brine when it gets smelly.
Oh, I found the excel a better fit than the Flashbomb. Make sure you try before buying with wetties. The new materials are great, but even they sometimes can't stretch to fit an endomorph when they were cut for an mesomorph.
If you know a few crew that are after a wettie then head to www.cleanlinesurf.com and use the code STILLCOLD2017 and get an extra 20% off. I think the shipping to Australia is $70 so you need to be buying 3 wetties for it to be a worthwhile saving. Code is valid for the next two weeks I believe.