Does anyone out there own one of the 2 following wetsuits. Opinions on them, the good, the bad, the ugly?

store.magicseaweed.com/Rip-Curl-Mens-6mm-Flash-Bomb-Hooded-2012-Wetsuit/Item/14992/

store.magicseaweed.com/Quiksilver-Mens-6mm-Cypher-DS-Hooded-2012-Wetsuit/Item/14751/

The reason I am interested in comparing only these 2 is because I have had these brands before and know what size to get and sorta now how they are going to fit.

If anyone knows where I could try a patagonia/matuse suit in Stockholm then I am open to these suits as well. At the moment leaning towards the Rip Curl.

// Lee

mate i've got a rip curl flash bomb 654 and its great! it's not as warm as the excel 654 which i reckon is the warmest on the market but the rip curl makes up for the minor difference in warmth by being soooo flexible..its like having a 43 on compared with the excel..if you compensate when its reeeeally cold with new excel 8mm boots and have good quality gloves then the rip curl holds enuff warmth to keep you out on even the coldest of days..it is really easy to put on and take off compared to the excel and has the added advantage of having normal wetty material round the neck of the hood instead of some smoothy that always makes neck movement more restricted, ive got a medium and it fits me perfectly..
never tried a quiky so cant help you there...but for total warmth in extreme conditions i cant go past the excel and i still wear it when the air temps go to minus with onshore etc..its just that bit warmer..

I don't know where to find a Matuse in stockholm that you can try, but if you get the chance, I totally recommend it! I've been wearing mine now for the second season and am totally impressed how warm and flexible it is! The ichiban material feels like silk!

If you find one to test in time, order one from their website (www.matuse.com), they have a 25% sale on ALL their 2011 wetsuits from Dec 9-11!!!

www.facebook.com/events/227567313982826/?notif_t=event_invite

just tried out the flashbomb over on gotland for a few days...warmest suit i have ever used and really flexible as well. the inside dries in 15 minutes if you hang it, so its good for second sessions.

matuse are nice too but thinner for sure and if your looking for ultimate warmth i'd go with the flashbomb. sure the excel is warmer but its also way stiffer.

damn, just saw the 25% sale on matuse. then its definitely a hard decision!!!

yeah you got it right jacobw...rip curl is so much easier to surf in than excel, no doubt and ..yes..excel IS warmer... what do you sacrifice when it's REALLY REALLY COLD like we get up here in norrland..flexibility with a 15% reduction in warmth or warmth with a 15% reduction in freedom of movement??? Its a hard call..i just got smart and i have BOTH!! i use the excel when it's really fucken cold...ie -8 pålandsvind snöstorm och 2 grader i vattnet...men när vattnet är 5+ grader och även ner till 0 ute med pålandsvind och snöstorm använder jag min rip curl!
the BIG secret is to have really good quality boots and gloves that DON'T leak at all!!

I have tried so hard to put my hands on a Patagonia wetsuit but that seems impossible unless you go to the shop i San Sebastian. Pontus Hallin (3rd, on SM this sunday - we missed you there) seemed to be happy all day in his Patagonia r3 (the second warmest). Then the water was 5-6 degrees. But that's the closest I have been to have a Patagonia wetsuit on me.
I'll get back to you when I have tried it on Torö. Än så länge fortsätter jag med min fyra år gamla O'neill psycho II ett tag till, men jag jagar patagoniadräkten än.

@kinky so u saying Pontus had the R3 and was warm it it and that is rated on the site for 8-12 degress. So he was in for like 20 minutes at a time and was happy.

Then the R4 with Hood is rated 3-8 degrees and that is a 5/4 the R3 is only like 3mm. So in short the R4 will be rockin. So we just need to find a couple!

@Patagonia you can order them online @ www.westcoastsurf.co.uk/ but I would like to try one first and they retail at like 500 pund the Flash goes for 330 pund so this might be a better beat.

@RAT do you have the F-Bomb or the FLASH BOMB?

flash bomb 2012 model

What gloves do you recommend, the Xcel lobster? or is there something better out there?

yup, I guess the R4 would be THE wetsuit for a skitkallt Torö. BTW I ordered the R2 today (with R3 gloves and R3 booties). Min Psycho 2 funkar ett tag till.
kolla på www.downthelinesurf.co.uk/ dom verkar ha koll. Jag fick ett mail direkt efter order där dom undrade om jag verkligen skulle ha size 8 (US). Nä, det var såklart fel. Jag är ju en 9 (det vill säga 8 UK). Bra kollat av down the line surf.

Det går även att beställa via Patagonia i San Sebastian, tror de tar 40 euro i porto. Men kolla de har garanterat stort utbud www.facebook.com/pages/Patagonia-Donosti-San-Sebastian/285587411460637