I think that is the secret (hang your suit in BA's shed!), on my first 6/4 ripcurl fireskin the seams went very brittle to the point of chaffing, and then split, letting in water. On the replacement suit (exactly the same suit, nit a newer model) I never left it to dry in the direct sun, and it lasted the winter without any problems.

Also, its a shame that the knee design of these suits are not used by ALL other manufacturers, they are bullet proof and I have never had an issue with knees wearing through. They are the only ones, on all excel, billabong, O'Neil, and lower range ripcurl the knees go as thin as tights after no time at all.

In never hung mine out in the sun and the seams still cracked up after a few sessions
The new one is already starting to go after five sessions


There has to be better ways of sealing them. Quiksilver's idea of less seams is the right way to go i'd say

My take on this is that all the top end suits are pretty similar performance-wise but all of them seem to have a design flaw be it knees or seems. There doesn't seem to be a perfect suit that's warm, flexible and durable. The best bet is to find the brand that fits you best (Psycho II in my case), wash it in fresh water after each surf and hang it somewhere dry and dark. Other than that when something wears out, use the warranty. I don't think there is a silver bullet out there.

There's no such thing as Scotchtoberfest either.

I dont think that wetsuit manufacturers talk to enough real surfers, ie those using the suits on a frequent basis in climates that actually warrant the use of suits.

My impression is that their primary feedback is from team riders who are more concerned with flexibility as they probably get a new suit each week anyway. Also, the majority of suits are sold to occasional water users, whose suits probably last years, and therefore when they look statistically at the levels of returned suits it is a low figure, and it is probably more economical for them to replace returned suits than to actually fix the real problems.

An Oneil with Ripcurl fireskin knees would probbaly be my ideal.

Very true.

My brother is amazed when I tell him tales of going through suits in a matter of months and always gets a kick out of reminding me that his Gul suit has lasted him 9 years, to which I then get great satisfaction from reminding him that he only uses the feckin thing 2 or 3 times a year at most anyway so of course it's going to last!

Will probably go for a Ripcurl as my next suit just to see if their longevity is any better than the O'Neills.

Asking for trouble mate, I have another rip curl due to me and I dont know would I even go to the hassel of picking it up I was so pissed with the last 2

Ripcurl is probably a good bet if you have another suit to wear when the ripcurl is away being fixed/replaced. But then that is the same for all of them, including excel.

In fact my experience of excel is worse, because they actually just fix up your old suit rather than replace it with a nice new one (I have been waiting about 3 months and have phoned 6 times - great customer service excel and green room, really unimpressive).

I wont be buying an excel suit again because of the poor and lengthy returns process, better the devil you know.

Iv had a completly different xcel eperience, so maybe its more the green room then anything else

What issue did you have, did you deal direct, and how long did it take to rectify?.

Apparently Excel only guarantee seams. Knees wearing through are nothing to do with them, although they have offered to repair them this time.

I think the process would have been quicker dealing direct, but did not have the number to do so until now. So if anyone ever needs to deal direct on suit returns just PM me.

I think the general consensus today is that yes indeed wetsuits are shit and we need to move somewhere with warm water, even warmer year round sunshine, and 800 hot chicks in bikini's at the end of September with 2-3' glass rolling in at the same time would be nice

Not essential of course though.

I wonder do surfers who surf in warm climates who can get away with boardies all the year round have similar complaints about the quality of their boardies?

I'd like to append a 'giggity giggity oh yeah' to my last post.

I had a pannel rip and I contacted the shop i got it through (bundoran surf co) who sent it off and the pannel was replaced and reinforced, then proceed to wear the suit for a large portion of the autum/winter/spring (twas a 4mm) and after about a year and a half all the inside of the suit started to come away(the light lycra stuff)

So chancing my arm I brought it into tubes and said how disgraceful it was from a top wetsuit company and the lads told me to go fuck my self but would send it back if I wanted.

Xcel came back a week later saying they had never seen it happen before but because I was such a "good" customer(told them I have the 5mm and the hooded rashie I was very happy with) they gave me a new 4mm at cost

OH SWEET LORD!!!!

You think that's good?

Check this out!

That fella Uge has got THE best job in the world....as voted by readers of the Sydney Morning Herald (fact!).