The GEAR REVIEW Thread...

[biolton]

New/Modern/Expensive stretchy boardshorts........


Got some... suposedly fast drying, etc, etc, etc...



They´re made with lycra!!!!!! Even the seams are the same as used on lycra vests and they are selling these like some kind of breakthrough in boardshort design........

And, theyre not fast drying either.... Not good...

Got two different brands. One is not too bad. The other is just awfull.... At least I payd 1/10th of their street price...

[MiaM]

New/Modern/Expensive stretchy boardshorts........


Got some... suposedly fast drying, etc, etc, etc...



They´re made with lycra!!!!!! ....

What shorts did you get? I'm looking to replace mine after my ace and comfy O'Neill ones flew off a boat - yep, true story, I didn't tie them on like a complete idiot! Got some new ones on order so wanna know which brands to avoid!

[petegee56]

I hope I am ok posting this here, I am looking for a new winter suit but the number of options is blowing my mind some what, I have a budget of about 200 - 250 quid and think my top proirity is flexibility,kind of wish I had more money as the choice at the very top end is less but I can't quite stretchit, is their any advice you can offer, are the mid range excel suits still better than their competitors at that price range as I know their top range of suits is rated very highly

Pete

[flacky]

Shop round for one of last years Xcels

[Archy_is_God]

If flexibility is a priority over other bells and whistles, then I highly recommend O'Neill's Gooru. Not mega-warm by today's Patagonia/Drilock/Psychofreak etc standards, but still warm enough.

Just picked up an 2010 Gooru 5/3 on the interweb from Shore Sports in Bournemouth for £99. Barry Argyn

[petegee56]

Cheers for the responses guys, I have been looking for last years xcel online, not found much but also im a bit reluctant about buying online as i would like to try it on to be sure about size,

So is the xcel infiniti worth the extra money over say the Quiksliver cypher, or how about the Xcel X Flex.

Pretty sure I will go for the Xcel Infiniti. ( kook question time, is the hood on a hooded wetsuit a real pain in the ass if you are not wearing it up, what do you do with it )

Pete

[Archy_is_God]

What you wearing at the mo? That should give experienced shop staff a good clue as to what will fit you best.

Most shops worth their salt will swap yr suit if it doesn't fit properly anyway, but it is still the most important thing IMO. No point having a £300 suit that fits like a dodgy Burtons blazer.

[flacky]

go in a shop, try as many as you can on. just say, "no, I don't like the fit" then go home, and fine last years online.

Hood, you get used to it always being there. It is a bit of a pain when you're turning to look behind whilst paddling, but I'd never go back to a winter suit without a built in hood.

From my experience, the drylock isn't worth the extra from the standard infiniti. Don't know what their range at the moment is though. My Drylock is nearly 3 years old now.

[petegee56]

What you wearing at the mo? That should give experienced shop staff a good clue as to what will fit you best.

Most shops worth their salt will swap yr suit if it doesn't fit properly anyway, but it is still the most important thing IMO. No point having a £300 suit that fits like a dodgy Burtons blazer.

I wear a snugg at the moment but its about 4 years old now

go in a shop, try as many as you can on. just say, "no, I don't like the fit" then go home, and fine last years online.

Hood, you get used to it always being there. It is a bit of a pain when you're turning to look behind whilst paddling, but I'd never go back to a winter suit without a built in hood.

From my experience, the drylock isn't worth the extra from the standard infiniti. Don't know what their range at the moment is though. My Drylock is nearly 3 years old now.

Living in birmingham is my main problem on the getting to surf shop fronts, guess i will plan a trip to devon sooner rather than later, cheers for the info on the hood and the drylock

[danny1]

Got one of those robie towels- shrank big time after first wash! Can't belting how small it went!!!! yfrog.com/j2ly8fbj

[Vince Noir]

go in a shop, try as many as you can on. just say, "no, I don't like the fit" then go home, and fine last years online.

this kind of stunt drives shopkeepers mad . one guy this summer had the cheek to come in and try a suit on, even said we will do a discount for cash..said he would think about it. looked across the road and he was sat on the grass googling it..walks in says" na its cheaper online"

[petegee56]

Well in the end I managed to find one of last years Exel Infiniti suits at a decent price

Pete

[peter]

I bought Dekke boardies, its fast dry (I was surprised) and simple design

[danny1]

kin billabong- shittest suit of all time to get out of. 3mm pile of wank..it is so hard to get out of that the seams are already getting fucked cos of too much stretching..kin 6ankers

[flacky]

danny, you are not a medium. i quite like my bill suit. Got a 4mm zipless. No worries in and out. Velcro could be stronger.

[Chukka]

Meyerhoffer 6'8 Lemondrop.
Bought from Surfed Out in North Devon. Im a pretty rubbish surfer and have been tanking about on a Mini mal for a couple of years.I'm 40 years old and 15 stone & I never thought I would be riding something smaller but I decided to take the plunge after talking to the guys in the shop and have bought a Lemondrop.
This thing flies! Really easy to paddle and catches waves that before I would have missed. It can be ridden as a quad or a thruster although I surf it with the quad set-up all the time now. I am progressing really quickly now and can actually cutback!
I would'nt suppose it would be of much use to the guys who rip but for a very intermediate surfer like myself it's fantastic. I reckon by next summer that I will be dropping down a few more inches. I am trying to find out if they do a 6'6?

So, if like me you want to progress your surfing to the next level, catch tons of waves and get out of the sea with a silly grin on your face then this is a superb board.

[danny1]

these are a good design, chunky quality...only used it once but very impressed UK made also

http://dryrap.com/outdoorchangerobe/

notice smelly in the pics!

[ATTMFKH]

Meyerhoffer 6'8 Lemondrop.
Bought from Surfed Out in North Devon. Im a pretty rubbish surfer and have been tanking about on a Mini mal for a couple of years.I'm 40 years old and 15 stone & I never thought I would be riding something smaller but I decided to take the plunge after talking to the guys in the shop and have bought a Lemondrop.
This thing flies! Really easy to paddle and catches waves that before I would have missed. It can be ridden as a quad or a thruster although I surf it with the quad set-up all the time now. I am progressing really quickly now and can actually cutback!
I would'nt suppose it would be of much use to the guys who rip but for a very intermediate surfer like myself it's fantastic. I reckon by next summer that I will be dropping down a few more inches. I am trying to find out if they do a 6'6?

So, if like me you want to progress your surfing to the next level, catch tons of waves and get out of the sea with a silly grin on your face then this is a superb board.

Yours sincerely

Chukka ( owner of Surfed Out who ordered too many Lemondrops )

[ATTMFKH]

these are a good design, chunky quality...only used it once but very impressed UK made also

http://dryrap.com/outdoorchangerobe/

notice smelly in the pics!

tell us it was a present Danny - £70 , WTF happened to you ?

[finlay]

I want to weigh in on my previous part review of a patagonia r4 winter suit (hooded)

It is still warm as anything, even in north coast scotland rivermouth surf. It feels like you're wearing a knitted onesie and the hood is as warm as your favourite beanie. The seams are still good (2nd winter now) though I'm starting to feel drops of cold water around the underarm seams so there must be pinholes, but nothing to get too worried about. I would say the neck seal isn't as waterproof as the xcel design, and if you get tombstoned by the lip or bail awkardly it can properly flush with freezing water - this is partly due to odd design decisions on their part. The front zip suits are open on both sides of the zip, and without elastic to hold the open sides closed (xcel style).

That said I reckon the suit is going to be longer lasting by design as well. My theory is the extra insulation/woven inside of the suit (and it running just abuot all over rather than just an insulated chest panel) will keep you warm even as the seams inevitably age and some water starts to get in, whereas my previous winter suits were only warm as long as the seams are were in good condition.

[danny1]

these are a good design, chunky quality...only used it once but very impressed UK made also

http://dryrap.com/outdoorchangerobe/

notice smelly in the pics!

tell us it was a present Danny - £70 , WTF happened to you ?

hahah mate well as someone who just uses a dressing gown usually...these things are lush and toasty!! no i didnt pay the RRP!

[danny1]

I want to weigh in on my previous part review of a patagonia r4 winter suit (hooded)

It is still warm as anything, even in north coast scotland rivermouth surf. It feels like you're wearing a knitted onesie and the hood is as warm as your favourite beanie. The seams are still good (2nd winter now) though I'm starting to feel drops of cold water around the underarm seams so there must be pinholes, but nothing to get too worried about. I would say the neck seal isn't as waterproof as the xcel design, and if you get tombstoned by the lip or bail awkardly it can properly flush with freezing water - this is partly due to odd design decisions on their part. The front zip suits are open on both sides of the zip, and without elastic to hold the open sides closed (xcel style).

That said I reckon the suit is going to be longer lasting by design as well. My theory is the extra insulation/woven inside of the suit (and it running just abuot all over rather than just an insulated chest panel) will keep you warm even as the seams inevitably age and some water starts to get in, whereas my previous winter suits were only warm as long as the seams are were in good condition.

nice onf inlay...good to hear an objketive review about these suits....

[Colinjames]

The Wrist Pod by Golden Hour - The best system I have found to bring a camera out in the line up and still have a normal session. www.goldenhourcompany.com

[ATTMFKH]

this one depends on how far you live from the surf ................

Those bags filled with wheat , you stick them in the microwave for 2 mins , put against lower back and drive to waves - great if you have been in the day before and your back's a bit stiff - £3 ..... or if you're flash , stick on the heaters on your car seats

was thinking of buying 20 of them & putting them under my rash vest , cheaper than Gav's heated one

[Matt Rose]

Those Zippo hand warmers are good this time of year.

[zboy]

tried my psycho 2 last couple days very flexiable which was great for obvious reasons, the peck on the hood ? warmth: nice,no flushing money well spend.

[Black]

Well I finally managed to get on one of PeteUk's boards which I borrowed for the last month or so getting 4 surfs in that time.
Its a 6'4" swallow with an unusual 5 fin arrangement; 2 front & 3 small trailers.
Its construction means its strong & light & good looking. Can't remember how many years old this board is but it has no compressions like a normal board would.
It paddles well & felt smaller in size when getting outback which is good. Its quick off the mark. At no time did I want to be on another board, it handled all the conditions feeling surprisingly solid at times. It got nice n skatey on the small fun waves too.

YES I would recommend getting one or two!
Do yourself a favour, these boards will outlast your others, the shapes work & they look good!

That's quite an advert, deserves a discount!

[buttholesurfer]

tried my psycho 2 last couple days very flexiable which was great for obvious reasons, the peck on the hood ? warmth: nice,no flushing money well spend.

That's all I ever wear now, great suits... nearly tried all brands , but always come back to the Oneill.

[surfrat]

Seeing as its f-ing freezing and everyone should be thinking about their ears can i say that I've moved on from Docs Pro Plugs which I used to like but lost several pairs of, and recently spent the extra money on SORKY ear plugs. They are awesome, no water in ears at all (and i'd just had some weird problems with that) although they are a bit strange when u first put them in if you're not used to having things stuck right down there....

Worth the £35 or so

[danny1]

I bought a xcel 5/4 off King of water sports on ebay.

It was listed as hooded- when it turned up it was without.

Gutted. messaged the seller and they sent me more than enough to make mje think im gonna be a customer fot life

so I am bigging up King of water sports - total legends. no dicking around.