Stay away from this wetsuit it is so fragile and warranty does not cover tares and rips in rubber material. Mine has fallen apart after only wearing it about 8 times. First tears/rips appeared after session 3.

I watched a Youtube video, about these wetsuits and how good they were for winter conditions. (No mention of how fragile)

So I googled to see who sold in Australia and must of done a bad job coz couldnt find a 5/3 3k in Oz. So ebayed and got an American Store selling them, and ordered one. While the store has been helpful and given me another neorprene wetsuit at cost price (plus freight charge), (not rubber suit which i refused), They said NeilPryde would not warranty tares/rips and this wasnt seen as a wetsuit with longevity, they DONT tell you that in the advertizing hype etc, which p's me off

Yes they are brilliant at keeping the cold out but useless for any longevity unless you gonna use it once a yrear for 3 years.

So disappointed

Consumers beware.

PS. The rips occur putting wetsuit on and taking it off, and the guy in store said ya gotta be careful putting them on FFS, have you tried putting one of these on? Impossible without using sum sort of pressure or force Fn Ridiculous

Back in my spearfishing days we used to use a very weak solution of body wash and warm water -- squirt that into the wetsuit before putting it on and not only does it glide on, it's nicely pre-warmed as well!

Just the ticket for a cold winters day

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nebbian said...

Back in my spearfishing days we used to use a very weak solution of body wash and warm water -- squirt that into the wetsuit before putting it on and not only does it glide on, it's nicely pre-warmed as well!

Just the ticket for a cold winters day

What rigging area has warm water available on tap? I mean sure, you could bring a thermos but that seems a little to organised Not that it's not a good idea!

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nebbian said...

Back in my spearfishing days we used to use a very weak solution of body wash and warm water -- squirt that into the wetsuit before putting it on and not only does it glide on, it's nicely pre-warmed as well!

Just the ticket for a cold winters day

Neil Pryde shoulda recommended that solution and warned how fragile suit was, Then I would not have bought the rubber suit coz I would neva want such a fragile suit, and stuck to a Neoprene Wetsuit

THE SUIT I GOT 4/3 HAS BAMBOO LINEING AND VALCRO ON THE ANKLES, IVE NOTICED A COUPLE OF NICKS BUT I PAID $350 WSS AND I FIGURE IF I CAN GET 3 SEASONS OUT OF IT, THATS A BIT OVER $100 A SEASON ,I WAS CONSIDERING GETTING ANOTHER ONE AND STASHING IT AWAY AT THAT PRICE
THERES A TRICK TO GETTING THEM ON AND OFF, FRIST YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE VALCRO ANKLE STRAPS ARENT ON GETTING IN, AND MAKE SURE THERE OFF WHEN YOUR GETTING OUT OF THE SUIT
ALSO I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE RUBBER STICKING TO IT SELF THE FIRST TIME I USED IT ,BUT AFTER COVERING IT WITH TALC POWDER IT WAS FINE, I WOULD ALSO GIVE IT A COATING OF TALC WHEN STOREING IT FOR THE SUMMER

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keef said...
THERES A TRICK TO GETTING THEM ON AND OFF, FRIST YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE VALCRO ANKLE STRAPS ARENT ON GETTING IN, AND MAKE SURE THERE OFF WHEN YOUR GETTING OUT OF THE SUIT

That makes for a bit of humour at the beachside shower

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keef said...

THE SUIT I GOT 4/3 HAS BAMBOO LINEING AND VALCRO ON THE ANKLES, IVE NOTICED A COUPLE OF NICKS BUT I PAID $350 WSS AND I FIGURE IF I CAN GET 3 SEASONS OUT OF IT, THATS A BIT OVER $100 A SEASON ,I WAS CONSIDERING GETTING ANOTHER ONE AND STASHING IT AWAY AT THAT PRICE
THERES A TRICK TO GETTING THEM ON AND OFF, FRIST YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE VALCRO ANKLE STRAPS ARENT ON GETTING IN, AND MAKE SURE THERE OFF WHEN YOUR GETTING OUT OF THE SUIT
ALSO I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE RUBBER STICKING TO IT SELF THE FIRST TIME I USED IT ,BUT AFTER COVERING IT WITH TALC POWDER IT WAS FINE, I WOULD ALSO GIVE IT A COATING OF TALC WHEN STOREING IT FOR THE SUMMER

Same here... Bought the same 4/3 suit with Bamboo lining and can't fault it. Its warmer than the Oneil psycho ii it replaced and i find it's a lot easier to get on and off.

I have worn mine all winter it looks like new. I tried three different suits in the shop and found you really make sure it fits well and is not too small. The first suit I tried had the right size printed but was slightly too small.

In regards to tears, with slick skin suits always make sure you keep your finger nails well away. Always grab the suit with your hand rather than your finger tips. Surfing style suits with stretch skin aren't as sensitive in that regard but then again they don't seem to keep you as warm once you are out of the water.

I too bought one and so far so good though I've only used it a couple of times. I found it quite easy to put on or off due to the material being quite stretchy. As Keith say the velco ankle straps need to be undone when putting it on or off. I found it much easier than the West Suits wetsuit I have.

Compared to other suits the NP is extremely warm and doesn't let water in. Thats what a steam wetsuit should do. With other suits if you are in the water you can feel the water penetrate the material and you end up cold and soaked.

I'm trying to take care of it as its such a nice warm suit to have on those cold westerly winds plus it cost a fair bit of cash. I'm never buying a cold weather wetsuit that is designed for the surfer marker ever again.

I used to have a O'Neill steamer I bought in America designed for windsurfing and it was great too. Unfortunately I did not look after it and it perished.

bamboo lining?

yes windextasy bamboo have a look at the web site, the thing i like about them is they don't get wet on the out side so not as much wind chill and they just soak up the sun , here in NSW we have cold westerly winds off the snow and little cloud so you can still be warm even if the temp is 13to14deg

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Windxtasy said...

bamboo lining?

The bamboo sticks are a bit stiff but you get used to them after a while.

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keef said...
so you can still be warm even if the temp is 13to14deg

Thats 3/2 weather down here You guys are soft

hardie, put a plastic bag on your foot and your wetty goes on like teflon

Guyz sum1 like me should never have bought such a wetsuit But thanks for all the replies, and good to hear not everyone's rubber suit disintergrated after just a few sessions!

The assasin (npx) comes in a 4/3 and I've had no probs with mine. I think Elmo would reccommend them.

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pepe47 said...

The assasin (npx) comes in a 4/3 and I've had no probs with mine. I think Elmo would reccommend them.

Bloody things being trying to deep fry me the last couple of weeks and it's only a 3/2

Got to deliberately fall on gybes to cool down

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hardie said...

Guyz sum1 like me should never have bought such a wetsuit But thanks for all the replies, and good to hear not everyone's rubber suit disintergrated after just a few sessions!

Its not rubber its neoprene. What you want is a double lined neoprene suit, much tuffer but more suited to surfing or diving, you need to be in the water to keep warm in this suit. What you have is single lined neoprene suit which is best for on the water, the outside being smooth will stop wind chill, the most you would need say in the middle of winter in Sandy Point would be a 4/3 single lined neoprene suit. You will be a lot colder in a double lined neoprene suit if you use it for windsurfing,even if it is 5/3, but it is more durable. So cut your finger nails and be careful. The last rubber wetsuit would have been made over 60 years ago when Jack O'Neill came across foam and made the first single lined neoprene wetsuit.

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Mobydisc said...

I too bought one and so far so good though I've only used it a couple of times. I found it quite easy to put on or off due to the material being quite stretchy. As Keith say the velco ankle straps need to be undone when putting it on or off. I found it much easier than the West Suits wetsuit I have.

Compared to other suits the NP is extremely warm and doesn't let water in. Thats what a steam wetsuit should do. With other suits if you are in the water you can feel the water penetrate the material and you end up cold and soaked.

I'm trying to take care of it as its such a nice warm suit to have on those cold westerly winds plus it cost a fair bit of cash. I'm never buying a cold weather wetsuit that is designed for the surfer marker ever again.

I used to have a O'Neill steamer I bought in America designed for windsurfing and it was great too. Unfortunately I did not look after it and it perished.

Yes I bought a Serene 5-4-3mm for winter and so far it's been terrific although it didn't arrive until the water had started to warm up a bit. So comfy..I did buy it a little larger to accommodate the few extra kgs I usually put on in winter but I've actually lost weight so it's prob a bit big at the moment.
It has the bamboo lining to avoid odour.