Wetsuit Love

Let me declare this upfront - I have more wetsuits than handbags or high-heels. Ok, so I only have 1 handbag and 2 pairs of heels (but 15 pairs of slops!). But I do have a LOT of wetsuits. I hate getting into wet wetsuits, and hey, you surf 3x in a day and an early sesh the next morning - you gotto have at least 4 suits. So yah, I dig wetsuits.

And I'm fussy...not having much of my own in-built insulation means I need a really good, warm suit. Which brings me to the subject of today's blog. I'm in love! My two new O'Neill Psycho 2 4/3's just arrived from the States. 

Oh man, it is just a ridiculously amazing suit. Buttery soft neoprene and so flexible you reckon you could twist yourself into a koeksister no problem. Which ain't bad for a 4/3. I actually didn't believe it was a 4/3 cos it was so damn stretchy and light, and kept checking the lil sticker on the cuff to make sure.

Having all the restraint of a lightie with Christmas presents, I pulled it out it's packaging and hopped straight into it to suss out the fit. Was praying like hang I'd chosen the right size (XS men's - we'll get back to that in a mo) as I'd dropped some pretty hefty coin for the 2 suits. So yah - all this wetsuit love isn't cos this was a freebie and I'm blowing air up a sponno's behind - no ways, these suits truly rock!

Anyhow, it fitted like a glove (shew) - must admit O'Neill (and Bong) have by far and away got the best fits in suits. So here I was hopping round the room like a bunny on acid, super stoked with my new suit. But hey, fit and flex are one thing, but was this puppy warm? Looking out the window revealed what could be construed as a borderline "wave" out at Millers, so decided to test drive it there and then. 

The only way I knew the water was in fact pretty coolish was that my hands got chilly - cos not a drop of water got into my suit and I was warm n toasty like a hot-cross bun at Easter.

So the suit quickly got a 10/10 - toasty, fits great, so stretchy you can do yoga in it, a 4/3 that feels like a 3/2, super comfy neckseal. What's not to like? (OK, so maybe you shell out a good whack for it, but then you treat it right, you'll get 2-3 seasons out of it easy).

To all you peeps out there that like to be lekker warm, whilst still being able to surf nice n loose, this is the suit for you. Go visit John down at Surf Centre, and he'll hook you up with your very own psychotically good Psycho.

Pity that it's just going into summer now! I might suffer heat exhaustion if I wear this thing.

Ag well, had to get the suits whilst I could - as SA O'Neill head honcho Paul Canning was heading over to Santa Cruz for a trade-show, and very kindly offered to bring the suits back for me....they don't stock XS in SA. Pity - there are plenty small peeps that need to be kept warm!

(You may be wondering why I don't just get a chicks suit, but with plenty years of top-end wetsuit experience, there is a beeeeg difference between the quality of chicks and guys suits, us ladies get a raw deal generally - not sure why...maybe we should take the wettie companies to constitutional court for gender inequality!).