For those of you who use such things; heres my question -
Have any of you found a company that makes a decent product and still uses “old”/non super stretch neoprene?
I just went through some 7mm excels. In less than two months, and this is averaging only 2-3 times/week at most. (Crappy winter blues.)
They still look like new, but they are @ 3mm and the soles are @ 1mm - hence the insulating properties are severely diminished, and the interior space has increased, so they are looser, and balloon with water. The same is true for the gloves.
I have some excels that are about 4-5 years old, 6.5mm titanium, non-stretch, and although the soles are getting thin, the neoprene is as thick as the day I bought them…
Anyway - If any of you have non-stretch favs, or a good inexpensive brand, please share.
I’ve always been happy with Hotline wet suits. They make some trick looking stretchy things but I’ve always stuck with their “Ultra hot combo” 5/4 hooded chest zip. The suit is snugly warm and firkin bomb proof. I even wear it abalone diving. Their booties seem fine to me. Hotlines are made in the US too, if that matters to you. I have friends that swear by Excel. Their booties seem to last. But other than that have I’ve minimal experience with them.
Spud - Thanks - I’ll see if anyone around has Hot line booties and check 'em out.
Paul - Thanks - I have some, and they’re good - I usually were some old socks for the on/off ease - but I feel “burned” by $60.00+ booties that last a couple months… they’d be tight at first with the socks, then… I may use it as a back up. But, I still miss the good old “less stretchy” neoprene for booties and gloves… Oh well.
I’ll check the O’neil too - seems most “bigger” names have all gone “soft.” Ha! Reminds me of the notion of built in obsolescence - “why make 'em last, when we can sell 'em every few months…” Agh!
I’ve had pretty good luck with the round toe O’Neill 5mm booties (“Heat” model?) and I know they make 7mm ones as well. I agree though, they don’t last as long as they used to…
generally the ‘major’ brands have bought into the low durability side…the most/best on that score out here in NJ are the boots and gloves from hyperflex(henderson) who make surf stuff as a sideline of their main thing of diving suits and gov contracts aka seal teams and such. I have a pair of booties that have lasted four seasons and flipper socks to wear under my UDeets three years old. they make good stuff! you on the left coast may not be able to get their stuff. today i spend 3 hours out in 50 degree water with warm toes and hands covered by 3 mm both…i love their products !
I didn’t follow through but recently was looking at some actual dive booties and sort of “reef boots” that looked like with a little velcro and AquaSeal to build on some ankle support could make good, sturdy booties for surfing. Considerably heavier soles so not sure how they would feel/perform standing on a surfboard (Homie is horizontal in the water these days). Worth a look though. Built for divers so maybe a more sane market.
I usually buy O’neill for all my stuff. I have 5 of their suits in different thicknesses. One is a 3/2 that’s probably 7-8 years old and is holding up great, my newer 4/3s and Psycho 2 6/5/4 are ripping a bit at the seams. I’ve only had the psycho since the end of January and have surfed maybe 16 times? and some of the fluid seams are cracking. Fortunately it’s under warranty so I plan on having the shop I bought it from send it out once it’s warm enough to move down to the 4/3.
I have a pair of Ripcurl 5mm gloves that have held up pretty well. I’ve had them for over a year now and they just finally got a small tear between two of the fingers. I also have 5mm and 7mm O’neill boots. They’re both going strong, the 7mms were bought in January and the 5mm were bought over a year ago. They’re a little looser now but not that much. I still have some problems getting them off.
A friend of mine swears by Xcel and all of his gear is holding up pretty well. We surf all winter long at least once a week, waves and class schedules depending.
I got some Gul gloves and Ripcurl bomb booties this year. On the Gul gloves the liquid tape or whatever it’s called is cracking, and the Ripcurl boots leak where the straps are mounted. So much for top brands…
I have some atan boots (www.atan-boots.com) which were very warm and flexible and have lasted a long time. I’ve worn through the bottom of them now, but have patched them and use them still when it’s not too cold. I don’t know if the new models are of the same quality as the older ones though. Ripcurl classic boots will last a long time too, but the sole is a bit cold and they are not exactly flexible…
You might try going custom, if you’re sick of the stretchy stuff. Heatwave wetsuits in Santa Cruz makes really nice custom suits. I had one that lasted forever, I also had one from Monterey Wetsuits (don’t know if they are still around), it was really nice also, and before that Thomas Custom Wetsuits. Having said that, I now use O’neills because they fit great on my bod’, and I really like the whole stretchy deal! I’m getting pretty good wear out of them - I regularly wash with silicon soap and use the conditioner stuff. I swear by this stuff, it seems to revive a suit a bit, and keep it supple and soft. You can get it at most shops, and the custom suit makers all really recommend it.
I work at the surf shop up in Westport, WA and we carry hyperflex booties, we’re currently low on sizes though. They look like pretty decent boots and they’re only 39+tax. We also have Hotline. That being said I wear the Ripcurl F-bomb, it is a flexible suit, but I’ve found that the newer runs hold up pretty good. I did have issues with the seam goo on one of their early run F-bombs, got about 6 months out of it (roughly surf 5 times a week). I sent it back and they sent me a new suit. Couldn’t be more stoked about a company’s customer service.
It never made sense to me why they use the new stretchy neoprene on boots.
Also when buying boots I buy them so they hurt, I wear size ten shoes and will usually buy a size 8 boot, gotta have straps.
Hey Foster - Check your PM - I happen to know a bit about “The Surf Shop…” Small world. Do you know/can you tell if the Hyperflex/Hotline are “non-stretch?”
I too had good service from Ripcurl. And, I do love my Excel suit… It’s just the boots and gloves.
I had a great lesson for me. I surfed early in the day in size 11’s, warm, just a bit of room, but work great. I surfed later in the day in size 10’s… And, on a couple of late drops I could feel my back foot toes trying to stretch/reach out, but being tight in the boots, I could only manager to hang on for the drop… just that fraction of traction, and it made the experience a drag… I’ll never wear too tight of boots again if I can help it.