Flash Bomb Conspiracy

[finlay]

From the MSW shop -

This wetsuit is the best that i've had. Being a surf instructor, i'm in the water for 4-6 hours a day on average, so need a good suit. This suit keeps me really nice and warm (too warm sometimes) even on the coldest days. In my opinion this is due to the inside lining that takes the water away from the skin and the hydro lock seal on the neck, arms and legs, effectively locks water out of the suit. If you do get a heavy intake of water into your suit, you can feel the water being taken away from your skin, and drained down the suit very quickly. Though it is a winter suit, the E3 neoprene makes it extremely stretchy and flexible, which as an instructor is very useful when i'm teaching, and also allows me to suit up quickly as well. The hydro lock collar does not rub on my neck either thus no wetsuit rash. I generally find this a problem with most other wetsuits after a long session, but certainly not with the Flash bomb. Overall, I am extremely glad I bought this wetsuit, and it is definitely worth the £300 price tag.
Mark Smith

Smells fishy as - If he bought it this season how would he have a clue if it's warm enough on the coldest days? I reckon you could surf for a couple hours in a 3/2 at Thurso at the moment if you were determined enough, by february the suit might be tried and tested and I'd believe what I'm reading. Either that or this guy got flowed the wetsuit for free last season, used it all winter and isn't really well placed for an impartial review.

I take the reviews at face value for the most part - this one doesn't make any sense. Flash bomb conspiracy?

[majordom]

i always believe everything i read on the inter web

[henryg]

I'm tempted to buy one just so I can sue them for false advertising when it doesn't dry in 15 minutes

[Chris F]

Is he an instructor? He doesn't mention it at all.

[spaddywaddy]

I dont think the flash bomb does dry in 15 minutes. Rip Curl should say the lining inside does, but i would say its far from dry, more like damp. It’s just another crap gimmick from rip curl, just like that hydrophobic material which was on the ebomb. It just washed off after a few surfs and god knows what kind of chemicals run off into the water! Rip Curl planet, just another scam!

[WP101]

Is he an instructor? He doesn't mention it at all.

Mark Smith

MS = Magic Seaweed?

Flash bomb conspiracy?

i think so

An impartial wetsuit review still does not exist, if you were to believe the mag reviews etc then every wetsuit is the best wetsuit in the world and if you relied on MSW forum users then every wetsuit is the best and the worst in the world

[Chai Wallah]

An impartial wetsuit review still does not exist, if you were to believe the mag reviews etc then every wetsuit is the best wetsuit in the world and if you relied on MSW forum users then every wetsuit is the best and the worst in the world

No followed MSW forum users you would only buy Exel or Snugg

[Black]

No no its foreskins for christs sake erm no wait I meant C-Skins for the love of god, yes c skins defintiely!!!The bust wetsuit!!!

Must stop taking viagra.........

[spaddywaddy]

You can by that cruddy wetsuit from here http://www.freakfish.co.uk/wetsuits.html my mates just got one! dang

[paullismore]

OK...I bought the Flash bomb recently having had an Xcel Infinity drylock for a few years which was coming to the end of its days.
Got the suit..Looks amazing..Flashlining feels like wool..lets get it on!

Suit fits great...tight were it should be and really flexy..no rub around the neck and only a slight rub at the under the arm but i think this is becasuse i have the armless hooded vest on at the mine.

first things first 5/3mm IS NOT WARM AT ALL....My 3year old xcel was warmer and that is dead. Seriously disapointed by the warmth and im going to have to buy a fleeced lined thermal to wear under the hooded rashy :/

I reckon the 6/5/4 would be better for UK climate and im seriously considering purchasing this for the Jan-March season!

The suit does not dry within 15mins...the flash lining feels dry pretty quickly but the normal neoprene takes as long as normal (maybe slightly quicker as the flash lining is doing its thing)

I tried the gloves on and they are horrible...bad stitching on the inside and just didn't feel comfortable...haven't tried the boots yet but i find Alder are the best for me personally for some reason.

On a brighter note the Flashbomb hood is the best hood ive ever had...Seriously little to no flush when duck diving (as in around the ears) and my head is toasty warm even in the gale force we've been having recently.

Anyone looking for a WARM suit for these harsh uk winters DO NOT buy the 5/3mm...Its super flexy but not super warm. This suit will be great after March but for now either jump to the 6/5/4 or hit xcel/oneill!

[roberdy]

^^ why would you go and buy a Rip Curl wetty when you had been so satisfied by the Xcel? I got the new drylock, only really been able to start wearing it properly the last few weeks as it is too fricken warm, pretty bloody mild winter we are having so far! I am not wholly convinced that the new Xcel will last as long as my last one, the materials do seem maybe more technical and perhaps more flimsy because of it, that said, it is super warm and only time will tell. So far I don't think i have liked any Rip Curl kit I have ever bought, gloves, boots etc, all get worn a couple of times then sold, don't seem to fit right and aren't comfortable for me. But maybe that is just me.

[danny1]

my 2 season old rip curl flashbomb the back panel has torn due to stress taking it off...the ankle cuff has split due to stress taking it off....i have had to stitch the hood back on due to it tearing off .....and just now i went to open the zip and the zip broke off.

NO MORE RIP CURLS FOR ME (ive had three on the trot which i was satisfied with but the exit is just to hard and causes stress)

[finlay]

Danny you need to get involved with the reverse bag method if you don't normally, totally takes the strain off getting the wetsuit around your ankle.

Before you take the suit off roll your ankle cuff up and put a plastic supermarket bag over your foot. Roll the cuff back down over the bag. Do this for both legs. When it comes to getting bunched wetsuit off your legs and round your ankle it just slips right over the bag off your foot with way less stress on the suit compared to standing on the suit and yanking your leg out.

[roberdy]

Danny you need to get involved with the reverse bag method if you don't normally, totally takes the strain off getting the wetsuit around your ankle.

Before you take the suit off roll your ankle cuff up and put a plastic supermarket bag over your foot. Roll the cuff back down over the bag. Do this for both legs. When it comes to getting bunched wetsuit off your legs and round your ankle it just slips right over the bag off your foot with way less stress on the suit compared to standing on the suit and yanking your leg out.

This also works in reverse if your wetty is wet when you are putting it on, slip some asda bags over your feet (remember to remove any groceries) then feel the pleasure of sliding them straight down and out the bottom of your usually bloody awkward damp wetsuit legs.

So the reverse, reverse bag method

[danny1]

Danny you need to get involved with the reverse bag method if you don't normally, totally takes the strain off getting the wetsuit around your ankle.

Before you take the suit off roll your ankle cuff up and put a plastic supermarket bag over your foot. Roll the cuff back down over the bag. Do this for both legs. When it comes to getting bunched wetsuit off your legs and round your ankle it just slips right over the bag off your foot with way less stress on the suit compared to standing on the suit and yanking your leg out.

mate im all over that...when suiting up....a trick i learned from my scottish brethern years back

but never thought about it for getting suit off...nice tip

[dixie]

dunno about where you are but ive been more than happy in my second skin 4/3 this year so far........£150 n more flexy than my xcell 3/2
purfik
got a xcell infiniti for when it does get cold tho..maybe 4 days in feb

[Leven]

So, just to re-invigorate the Flashbomb conspiracy....I've just got one (not my choice and a long story), and it's the 3/2mm version.

The lining does dry unbelievably quickly, and so does the suit really, neoprene and all. However....

3 or 4 surfs in and it's got several little nicks in the outer part of the neoprene, including one that's around an inch long. Now I don't have long fingernails, but I do surf a reef regularly, so it could be from hitting the reef. But....a wetsuit is made for surfing, so shouldn't it withstand a slight bump? My feet do, so why not the suit?!

Also, the chest zip is rubbish. It lets water in every time you paddle pretty much, and if it's choppy and there's a bit of water coming towards you, look out. It's not a huge amount of water, but it is enough to get chilly in October I reckon.


So, it's a quick drying and flexible suit, but it's flimsy as hell, and has a rubbish zip. To me, (and I've had a fair few wetsuits) it feels like a one season suit already, which, at £250, I don't think is good enough.


And yes, I've emailed Ripcurl too....

[artyk]

Mmm ok so what suits you guys recommend my last wetsuit was an xcel infiniti2 bought just over 2years ago and I've gotta say yeah its as warm as toast etc but not to happy with build quality at all i surf east coast UK and live inland so its not like im in every wk and i have a sunmer suit so you would think my xcel would last me but no the necks ripped , the chest panel has lots of little tears it and on my last sesh the seam behind the knee split so pretty much its knackered, after initially saying to all my buddies xcels are great etc i think im gonna go for another make so which one guys ?

[roberdy]

if you surf on the east coast spend the money and get an excel.

[WP101]

West. http://www.westsurfing.com/wetsuits . they use limestone neoprene so no need for petrochems

[treehugger]

Bought one of these,654, worn it three times and the seams have started to come apart at the back. There's an obvious design fault where the external liquid tape does not run up to the edge of the smooth neoprene. There's about an inch & half gap, which gives room for the seams to start pulling apart. My psycho & BB gold both have the liquid tape to the edge and have not suffered with this problem even though they're 3 & 4 seasons old.

Anyone else had the same problem and what were RC like on sorting it?

TH

[philo]

Bought one of these,654, worn it three times and the seams have started to come apart at the back. There's an obvious design fault where the external liquid tape does not run up to the edge of the smooth neoprene. There's about an inch & half gap, which gives room for the seams to start pulling apart. My psycho & BB gold both have the liquid tape to the edge and have not suffered with this problem even though they're 3 & 4 seasons old.

Anyone else had the same problem and what were RC like on sorting it?

TH

pretty much the same with mine.

[Nemo]

Ive got 5/3 no hood, worn it for a season. quite happy with it. got a 3/2 ebomb pro which for summer (may-Oct in pembs) is brilliant, really happy with that, but flashbomb although quite happy with i may look at an xcel in the future. no problems with seams on mine, get the odd flush down the arm or back, never use the stash pocket though. i had to send one back after the zip broke when i tried to put a key in. Not convinced by the warmth though. im not cold, but been warmer in other suits before.

[flacky]

I remember gettin a ripcurl ultimate elasto 2 when they first came out. 10 years ago? 11? Anyway, all the lads insanely jealous. It was a great suit. East coast or west. Warm as a warm thing. No liquid seams and pretty basic by today's standards, so how come a similar suit now just wouldn't cut the mustard? I'm xcel all winter long now. Had 2 Infiniti on the run, bought from USA way cheaper than from here. Even with import duty on the last one.