When i started surfing i bought wetsuits that were on sale, discounted or via some deal. It’s crazy how expensive wetsuits cost and until win the lottery, i’m gonna stick with the same cheap program despite “you get what you pay for.”
One of the first wetsuits i bought was an Xcel 5/4/3 Infinity. For 3 years i ran that suit and was completely happy. The seams stayed intact, and the rubber kept me plenty warm. No problems. So when the time came to get a new suit, i didn’t think twice about getting another (on-sale) Xcel. No sense in rolling the dice with some other company (ain’t broke, don’t fix it).
I’m now on my third Xcel wetsuit. They’ve all been purchased via some sort of sale. Here’s a recap:
Suit #1: Solid. Rad.
Suit #2: Seam(s) blowout after a year and a half. Bummer.
Suit #3: Seam(s) completely blew out on me at 8 months. Super lame.
There’s a seam on the wetsuits where 4 pieces of rubber meet. This seam occurs in 4 places on the wetsuit: on both back arm pits and both front chest pits. Each of these 4 seam areas are in various stages of blowing out on suit #3. The suit is totally screwed. Same thing happened on suit #2.
Even though i regularly rinse my suits out, how quickly the seams on suit #3 blew out were surprising. It wasn’t a high end suit, but you’d expect the seams to last longer than 8 months. None of the previous wetsuits i’ve bought had as quick or extensive of a seam blow out.
Aside from running suit #3 through a warranty, I’m done with Xcel. Hopefully the warranty process goes smooth. No idea if they’ll fix it, replace it, or whatever. I’ll let ya’ll know…
I want a wetsuit that will last me for a while–seams won’t blow out, rubber stays warm and stretchy. I’d pay money for that…
I’d be stoked to hear anyone’s opinions on wetsuits that are solid, and worth the money. Also companies with good customer service.
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Great, I just bought an Xcel Infinity Drylock (on sale) after pulling my zipper off my O’Neil Psychofreak for the second time in a little over 3 years. Everything I’d heard about Xcel had been positive until now. I will say that O’Neil has been awesome to deal with regarding the zipper repairs and I never had any seam ripping, or holes. Well, at least I have a backup suit if I have to warranty the Xcel…
i've never had the Infinity Drylock, which is the higher end Xcel suit. i've always gotten a notch down in the line. i've heard good things about the Infinity though.
i've been looking at the O'neill Psycho F's. hmm…
these are two great suits from experience and hearing: http://wetsuit.com/store/products.cfm?category_na…
I bought a 6/4 (only $216!), its lasted 3 years now, no problems, given though it has probably helped to be careful when taking on and off. Often times people degrade the stitching on their suit just from taking on and off i.e. "pry as hard as you can to peal this zipperless entry off my shoulder."
the second is based out of peru, but are making there way north. i guess they are common in california but I have seen them in only a couple shops futher north, one being cannon beach, the owner there is replacing much of his stock with boz wetsuits. Talk with him and you'll be sold. From what i have heard they are great. A cool part of them is there panal design, some how theyve reduced sections and stitching but have maintained proper fitting. http://www.bozwetsuits.com/index.htm
Unless you can get a good deal on oneill, dont buy, they are over priced.
I have the Drylock and has been a great suit. No real issues with it. My expectations for suits are pretty low these days. I guess the only thing I expect is that I'll have to return it once in it's lifespan (< 1 year). I've had really good luck with RipCurl customer service.
I have the Cypher Vest now so I can see going with one notch down from the high end suits, or at least the stretchier suits.
I agree with the description that Rip Curls disintegrate like wet toilet paper after 6 months (http://colparker.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-much-for-that-hole-in-wetsuit.html). I went through 3 $130 Rip Curls that lasted about 6 months each. I've had a $300 Hotline that is still toasty warm and plan to use it for a 3rd winter season. It fits better too.
have the Billabong foil POS that fills with water, but doesn't empty out. Have O'Neil mutant, love and hate it. warm n cosi, bitch to get off especially when cold,but that may just me being a w.b. blew out a zipper at O.S., took them almost 3 months to RMA the collar, SnoCon was emailing the weekly for me over the crap and crap service. This past weekend got a tear in the left calf during suit up, kind of sad. rinse after every surf, shampoo it every 5th or so
rip curl f-bomb all the way. after 1 year it’s just as good as the day i bought it. easiest to get off and on, hood fits a little snug but other than that it’s the f-in bomb.
I got 2 Xcell suits, 4/3 drylock and 5/4 cheapo. The place where the seams meet sucks cuz when it wears out you start getting gnarly rashes on your pits… Both mine are over a year old, all it takes is some dental floss sewing and wetsuit glue.. They will last a long time…
Also, I heard that the Xcell suits went downhill about a year ago cuz the company was bought by Billabong… Not sure if there is any truth to that or not….
totally happy with the Rip Curl F-bomb 5/4/3….plus they warranty their seams and stitching for the life of the suit – I used mine hard for a year and a half and am currently getting the seam fixed on warranty or they will replace it.
the only gripe I have is up by the wrist….on a good duck dive water can slip past the "seal"…i ended up just using the velcro strap from my excel gloves to make it tighter and I had no problem since.
when i do win the lottery – i wanna try the Pattagucci
i know a few dudes with the Patagonia suits. from what i've heard they're all happy.
surfed one time last winter with a guy in the R4 who said he was hot when i was a little cold in a new suit. i get the impression that Pat. R4 is too warm. i guess they just came out with a hooded R3 though they're hard to come by. waiting list or something. sounds like that'd be the way to go with Patagonia.
still, 6hundo for a wetsuit that WILL break is rough.
at least with a $600 surfboard you don't know if/when it will break…
I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE
I am going on yr 3 with my rip curl f-bomb (3-2), and the seams are coming apart in various locations….I will look into warranty, but I would prolly go back to Oneill, and give the psycho 2 a try.
i have that same suit….it's brand farkin new.
living near 3/2 water would be pretty rad.
Was pleanty warm in a 3 year old Infinity last night, granted Ive made one repair to it, had a weird tear in the hood. Water was warmish thou, so glad I went with my back up suit. Have another newer Infinty for colder water & air temps.
That said been runin xcells for a decade now. I can always get the prior years Infinity for under $250 & they fit me really well. I have heard more complaints thou since Billawrong bought them. Ure issue sounds like a sizing issue, maybe to big/tall pulling apart? but wats the deal with the dry lock? A hundy more for a zipper? Gimmick?
that's a good point. i might need the XLT…
well, i have a friend who's a pussy. would always get cold before anyone else. dude got the Drylock 4/3 hooded and never got cold in the winter.
think Xcel is one of the only comps to make a hooded 4/3 too.
not sure if this offers anything.. but this my wetsuit experience…
I was told go to a place that sells a ton of them. they will look at you, and know what will fit you best. the fit is the most critical component of staying dry.
I did that. before picking suits off the rack, the guy at the store said O’Neills are hands down the best suits, but they don’t fit a lot of people the right way so they don’t work out for a lot of people. I guess some say it feels like they are being choked. For me, perfect fit. I have also heard great things about rip curl from the shops (that is what my wife wears.. )
At the time knowing nothing, I asked about price for value, this is how he broke it down (prices in terms of full MSRP):
< $300 - you will have a wet suit
> $300 – you will have a wet suit that will not leak cold water onto your bare skin
> $400ish+- you will have a wet suit you probably paid too much money for
I started with the Psycho 1 (4/3, standard down here) based on the stores recommendation. Suit was solid. Wore it out. I asked about Psycho 2, was told p2 is probably the best suit out there, but people also feel P1 is just as good… a lot of people like the overhead bat wing on the 2 I guess. opted for the 2 for my second suit, since then, it’s all I’ve had, been happy as can be.
All have held up great. I warrantied one p2 after about 1.5 years as the seams were leaking, they fixed it good as new, it’s in the regular rotation even on the coldest days.
As far as the psycho freak, I was told the upgrade in $’s does not justify it over the P2 by the store. I tried it on, a bit better (softer) rubber, but nothing incredible.
Also, since I have kept session stats along the way of sessions, I can say a wet suit lasts just about 150 wears before they start to break down fast. This is about the same I have heard at the shops, one season. (if you surf 3-5 days a week).
outside of warranty, we have a great shop that does wet suit repair in SC. super inexpensive and they do a great job.
last bit of food for thought… ..believe Xcel is based on the north shore. the water is warm there….
just a follow up to getting my ripurl f-bomb fixed on warranty- totally happy with how fast the whole process went – i sent it in and had it back a week later and they fixed everything I was complaining about free of charge. have to say I am pretty impressed with the customer service end as well.
Nice! Thanks for the msg. Def dig on nice peeps to deal with when stuff blows up. Rad that it only took a week. I’m bout two weeks deep on my xcel warranty.
That’s always been my experience back when I had a few Rip Curls – super quick customer service.
Suprised Xcel doesn’t have a lifetime warranty on seams. Also, 8 months of surfing on a PNW surf schedule is boolsheet for life expectancy on a suit!
This thread has been stale for awhile but I just noticed it
Shane. Here is my two cents: I have had 3 Xcel Infiniti suits. The
first 2 were the regular Infiniti 5/4/3 and my current suit is the
Drylock 5/4/3. Similar to other posts, I have noticed a few more
issues with Xcel suits in the past 2 years. I surfed my first 2
Xcels for about 3 years each and they stayed pretty warm and intact
for that period of time. I did have to send one back for some seal
repair but it was not a big deal. Xcel fixed it for free and had it
back to me quickly. My current suit is starting to come undone in
the same areas that yours did. Xcel has always been good about
their warranties and I am confident that I can get it repaired but
I must admit that it is a little disheartening to know that after
about a year my wetsuit always needs to be repaired. I had a 4/3
Ripcurl Elasto about 9 years ago that held up rather well. I think
that all of the Oniell suits are overpriced and do not fit me the
best but maybe they are a little more durable. Xcel suits are very
warm, fit me very well and have a lot of stretch to them. That is
what keeps me going back to them. By the way, the Drylock suit is
not $100 more just for the new zipper. Along with the waterproof
zipper it also has the tapered cuffs at the wrist that keep water
out much better and the biggest difference is that it has extra
thermobarrier insulation through the torso all the way down to the
knees. It is a noticeably warmer suit compared to the regular
Infiniti.
Awesome info J. Thanks for piping in. Waters been damn cold lately. Or the air has been.
so, im killing time during the uw/nebraska game and thought
i would chime in something positive, cause apparently that one
ridiculous thread about some titus thing is still going
on…anywho, i moved out to the outer banks a few months ago from
wa and much to my displeasure the water temp has dropped to 38
degrees. the guy before said the xcel drylock is legit…couldnt
agree more. wore the 4/3 and some 7mm booties and 4mm gloves 2 days
ago…surfed for 3hrs and was ok. pretty much over 5mil suits now.
i had that quiksilver heated vest thing last year at home, it was
sick while it worked, but the battery sucked and it stopped being
awesome after awhile. maybe they will fix it next year. anyway, i
love xcel and have tried everything except the pricey stuff…my
dad swears by patagonia, but im poor and he wont let me try it out.
game is back on…go dawgs.
that’s good to hear. thanks for backing the backing of xcel again. my xcel that i just got repaired is exploding on me again. the same seams that i described above are blowing out on the back now. water coming in pretty bad. fuck. i put some seam seal on em and surfed yesterday. seemed to hold ok. for now. that seam seal stuff never seems to last long. i haven’t really looked at the infinity suits but im pretty much over the xzip. i think the place where i’ve had that blow out multiple times is a bad design. like 5 pieces of rubber meet. other suits don’t even have seams right there.
@jeff – is your dad running the R3 in that 38° water?
he lives back in seattle plus i think he has the r4 or
whatever was the only one with a hood last year. seen a few guys in
matuse suits here but no patagonias. most guys rock pretty standard
to crappy stuff, def not a fancy as what most people, including
myself wore at home…..it helps to be surfing 2 minutes from your
house i think.
quik suits, any experience? got an offer to get one on the cheap but never tried ‘em on to know how the tall sizing is, longevity, etc.
reply to my own post. checked out quiks locally to compare length vs. oneills vs. xcels. the quik long was 2″ or more shorter than the oneills i usually wear – glad i didn’t order it!
c’mon manufacturers, i don’t really consider 6′ to be excessively tall in this day and age, can we get the tall suits to be 6’4-6’6 or something? and why do talls with length always have to be for bigger boned people? shiiiiit.
I’ve had a quiksilver in my lineup for the past two years now and it’s held up well. Seams are still fully intact and no holes. Can’t tell you about the siziing other than I where the same size in the quik, as my xcel, ripcurl and patagoinia. I’d say nab it up.
interesting…i’ve always ran an XL Xcel, and dbl XL ripcurls…
i bought one of those West suits online (w/o trying it on). the Lotus size XL. totally too fucking small for me. Lame.
Total gamble buying shit online w/o tryin on first. But a deals a deal. I’ve always figured you can slang your shit if you end up getting a decent price.
Anyone want to buy a West Lotus XL(would fit you if you were normally a large)? $200.
I was right in between the small and med in the Rip Curl, could’ve gone either way. My quiksilver is probably one of my most comfortable, other than my expensive ass Patagonia.
yeah, hear you on the online crap shoot. my buddy at quik thinks XL tall for me (LT in oneill) so i guess i’ll report back this fall…
If its under $200 just roll the dice.
I got a Quick Ignite 5/4 really cheap and ended up to be my favorite suit until now. Like mjss above got the $600 patagonia R3 and I love it but will be buying another $200 discount suit when it wears out. (which it will in the next couple years for sure)
Probably another quicksilver after the last one I had was so great. cheap, warm and no problems. I really liked the shoulder and hood fit with that suit too, which I am always really picky about.
Sure my $600 patagonia is better, and will last longer…… but I’m sure it wont last 3 times longer. Think the discount plan is the best route in my opinion and the Quick suit seemed as good as any to me. good luck on sizing…. Im 5’11″ 190 and wear large in quick.