Rip curl = great suit, likely to tear (Rip Tear - very good NatDat Young!).
Psycho 2 = great suit, knees likely to disintergrate.

as for whether to go 5/4 or 6/4, how cold were you last winter?, how much "natural insulation" do you have?.

Having the hood built in can be a god send and it can also be a pain in the neck (literally) .

The choice is yours.

just looking at that site again - the new mutant is cheaper than the pyscho 2. I would've thought I'd be the other way around.?? Cheaper materials??

Would have thought so. What seams does it have?

i'm sure the mutant has a lower spec materials wise - 70% ultrastretch ds and 30% something else. the psycho2 is all ultrastretch xsda-16v-gti rubber (or something).

<from memory - might still be worth checking>

You're right - the mutant is a lower spec suit. I saw pics of a red one advertised on the back of a magazine and it looks bloody awful.

the new billabong solution looks pretty sweet and im sure they come in a good few diferent options 6/4, 5/4, zipless, back zip, built in hood, clip on hood that sort of thing. deffently worth a look id say

Was looking at the new C-Skins for this winter - was warm enough last year but I have no insullation of my own and the only problem with last years C_Skin (2005 one) was flushing up my spagetti arms - might look at M or MT instead of ML.

Pyscho 2 looks the other option at the moment

wish i had the money for a new winter suit..

the one ive been using the past 2 years is in horrible condition, trying to get it on takes ages, pulling the zip up needs some random person to pull up (gettin the zip back down is no problem tho)


hopefully getting a job in the next few weeks, which means a nicer surf come to winter days!

Yeah, it's toasty and very comfy, feels as light on as a 3/2. Not sure about the knees though, starting to get thin already after maybe 15 surfs. Just picked up my replacement f-bomb 6/5/4 today, beaut suit, much improved build quality and entry system on last year.

have to hook up 101 senior with a suit, I like the ol ripcurl meself but have had to have one replaced last year, has the build quality improved? what about o'neil and xcel?

Wore my new excel for the first time on Saturday (my 3/2 was soaking and it was early). The suit is very comfortable and very warm. One thing I would say is watch the neck seal if you are buying one, make sure it seals well as there is no way of making it tighter. Mine seals fine most of the time. The suit was way to hot for the current water temps, I must have lost a stone through sweat. I will let you know what the durability is like at the end of the season.

Must recommend Rip Curl for their after sales service. Sent off my one year old 6/4 fireskin last month to get it repaired and received a brand new F-bomb fireskin in the post. Seems to have been lots of problems with the seams on the chest of the old 6/4 (they were just butted together and taped) but the seams on the new suit are nicely sewn and look bomb proof if you pardon the pun. Just thought this might be of interest to anyone that has had problems with the old fireskin. Can’t argue with that sort of treatment. The new suit is real nice.

By the way post it direct to Rip Curl Europe for 10 euros and don't bother with the shop you bought it from. A friend of mine got left waiting by a shop for over 3 months for his suit and gave up in the end. Go straight to the source!

I'd a similar experience with mine last year. ended up ringing the ripcurl agent to get things moving

My less than one year Saloman boots ripped whilst treking out to a reef last tuesday. The shop I bought them from sent them back and gave me a credit note so I got a pair of the O'Neill Mutant boots instead, they really look great.