best boardshort/wetsuit company

Discussion in 'Mid Atlantic' started by ...LostInFlorida, Jul 25, 2008.

  1. ...LostInFlorida

    ...LostInFlorida Well-Known Member

    229
    Jun 3, 2008
    i'm posting this in this section, as it seems to get the most visitors...

    basically, in your opinion, who makes the best/most comfortable BOARDSHORTS.

    and the best/most comfortable WETSUITS.

    personally, i think RVCA makes the best boardshorts (i've yet to bring myself to pay 80 bucks for hurley phantoms, but i'm told they're great)

    and as far as i'm concerned, XCEL INFINITI is the best wetsuit on the planet.

    what do y'all think???
     
  2. JaYbLaZeE

    JaYbLaZeE Well-Known Member

    69
    Jul 6, 2007
    Im an XCEL wetsuit guy and i agree about them having the best wetsuits... Boardshorts i wanted the phantoms but like you said 80 is too much, but i have heard they are the most comfortable.
     

  3. tbing

    tbing Well-Known Member

    595
    May 27, 2008
    I'll wear almost any kind of board short. I like Xcel wetsuits too though.
     
  4. Dawn_Patrol

    Dawn_Patrol Well-Known Member

    433
    Jan 26, 2007
    Xcel infinity - have a 5/4/3 and and 3/2 - are the best wetsuits i've owned in 21 years of year around surfing.
     
  5. ...LostInFlorida

    ...LostInFlorida Well-Known Member

    229
    Jun 3, 2008
    5/4/3 !!!!!

    good god that is a thick suit!!!!

    i wear a 2/2 here in pensacola..... if it get's really cold (54 degree water, 30 degree air, 20+ mph offshores) i'll wear a 3/2 and some booties...

    i'm actually more comfortable in a wetsuit than i am in boardshorts...

    during the summer we get jellyfish, and this year has been the worst in recent memory... it sucks.
     
  6. Dawn_Patrol

    Dawn_Patrol Well-Known Member

    433
    Jan 26, 2007
    yeah it is...but the Xcel is surprisingly flexible.
    a really cold session in Maryland would be 38 degree water, 25 degree air, 20+ mph offshores. That 5/4/3 Xcel is the first wetsuit i've owned that just kicked ass in those conditions.
     
  7. ...LostInFlorida

    ...LostInFlorida Well-Known Member

    229
    Jun 3, 2008
    i'll pass on the 38 degree water:eek:
     
  8. rgnsup

    rgnsup Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2008
    Enjoy that warm water!! The winters have been warming up with some 60 degree days.. but when its cold, its ****ing cold. I wear a 6/5/4..keeps me warm!

    We just had a little swell here and had to wear my 3/2 because the water went down to mid-upper 50's at the end of JULY!!!!
     
  9. ...LostInFlorida

    ...LostInFlorida Well-Known Member

    229
    Jun 3, 2008

    dang, here it's 88 degree water, 95 degree air.... and partly cloudy

    sweatin' my balls off.
     
  10. steelwave42

    steelwave42 Well-Known Member

    438
    Nov 7, 2006
    RipCurl 4/3 w/ the insulate has got me thru the past two winters in MD fine. The thinsulate really helps with warmth, but there have been days where my thighs and hips got numb, but only after long dead of winter sessions. Really a great, comfortable suit which has held up beautifully, I would think it would be Ideal for the winters in the carolinas.

    I rocked an OLD 3/2 for a while, and used it my first winter... my boys hand me down, holey as hell, sometimes layered in the chest with an old vest. Miserably cold and heavy from the layers, but doable. I think after going thru that it built up my tolerance for the chill...
     
  11. steelwave42

    steelwave42 Well-Known Member

    438
    Nov 7, 2006
    Damn, 21 years of winter ey? I would think those first couple of years you were pretty cold with the gear they were putting out those days, but in all honesty, I don't know. I'm always reading how far we've come with wetties recently, is what I'm reading true or were you still pretty warm back then?
     
  12. chilli21

    chilli21 Active Member

    36
    Sep 13, 2007
    i wore ripcurl suits for 10 years until now, i absolutely ruined one in 4 months and that was it for me. i've switched to xcel, and for good reason. they make unreal suits, rated best wetsuit 2 years in a row. as for boardies, the hurley phantoms are THE suit functionally, but volcom and rvca hold it down as far as styling.
     
  13. JerseySurfRat89

    JerseySurfRat89 Well-Known Member

    256
    Oct 6, 2007
    more comfort in wetsuit than boardshort!!! after 9 months of surfingn with a load a 5m on you its nice to have a little freedom.....but i will admit the jellies are starting to get annoying
     
  14. jay cagney

    jay cagney Well-Known Member

    207
    Oct 26, 2007
    i tend to like quiksilver board shorts probably because i love their winter stuff for snowboarding so much
     
  15. GnarActually

    GnarActually Well-Known Member

    931
    Sep 30, 2007
    superfreak

    superfreak boardshorts r great, cheaper than phatoms and feel the same 2 me, the worst boardshorts are billabongs. i have a 4/3 xcel infiinite which has been fine for winter in jersey, i did get a little chilly in the hips in feb. it has awesome seams that keep the water out great. . but i just got the billabong revolution 3.2 and thats awesome, if you need a 3/2 for fall/spring (and this summer) give that a try..its only 130 on sale at hsssurf.com i believe. product google it. it will come up at 180 but when u get to the site its 130
     
  16. Aguaholic

    Aguaholic Well-Known Member

    Oct 26, 2007
    phantoms and xcel inf.
     
  17. Dawn_Patrol

    Dawn_Patrol Well-Known Member

    433
    Jan 26, 2007
    Yeah my first 5 mm. suit was in 1987. O'neill from Sunshine House (shop on Baltimore Ave @ Division St.) crappy stiff rubbery booties and hoodie that didn't actually connect to the wetsuit - just a long flanged neck that stuffed down inside the collar of the wetsuit. The back zipper was heavy and no inside barrier - every duck dive felt like an ice chip slid down the spine. It was warm enough to be tolerable for an hour or two in the dead of winter but the rubber was super stiff and the whole outfit cost well over $300 which was more than a new shortboard cost back then:rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2008
  18. ivan

    ivan Well-Known Member

    61
    Jun 18, 2008
    oneill boardshorts are definitely the best. way cheaper than phantoms too. if you know someone that works at a surf shop, get them to hold the shorts for you until they have a big sale, and then get their discount on top of the sale. i do that at my surf shop and get superfreaks, psychofreaks, and goorus for like 35 bucks.

    as for wetsuits, nothing tops xcel with infinity. back zippers and velcro are a thing of the past. infinity has created a comfortable, durable, elastic, and warm wetsuit that is untouched by any other suit....no comparison at all. ive worn suits from every company and the only ones that come close are the billabong solution platinum and the new oneill animal, aka 'psychofreak' both of which are expensive as hell, but they both have velcro and back zippers.
     
  19. schraduh

    schraduh Well-Known Member

    57
    Jul 23, 2008
    i do enjoy rvca boardshorts still wanna try out the phantoms though. as for wetsuits i have o'neills but i think quiksilver makes better suits.
     
  20. TomTruck

    TomTruck New Member

    3
    Jun 16, 2011