Wetsuit Centre Reviews The New O'Neill Epic Wetsuit.
O'Neill from the humble beginnings of Jack O'Neill making his very first wetsuit have never stopped in the quest to produce the best and warmest suit to keep you in the water for longer.
The best selling suit is still the O'Neill Epic and for very good reason. It simply keeps getting better and better in terms of materials used and warmth features added each year. Now for summer 2015 O'Neill have yet again stepped up the game on having the best suit on the market at the best price point. As this year the suit is using 100% super stretch material throughout the entire suit. This means that you have unrestricted movement in every panel of the suit and the more flex you have the better it fits and the less tired you become in the water. As O'Neill are all about staying in the water for as long as possible this is certainly a suit worth considering.
Wetsuit Centre takes a look at what is new for the Epic 3mm wetsuit in 2015 and what this means to all of us that use the products. We try to give this review an unbiased view on what is good and bad with the suit and get some time to explain the jargon and technical features. We test all the products as year on year they do change so it is useful to find out what is new.
We
have been using the O’Neill superfreak wetsuit to see how well this
wetsuit performance in the UK’s icy cold waters. The test environment
was in the English Channel, with bone chilling 8c water. Here’s our
review of the wetsuit.
About the wetsuit:
The
O’Neill Superfreak is one of O’Neills entry level wetsuits, and is
comparable to the O’Neill Epic in terms of features. However, the major
difference between the Epic and Superfreak, is that the Superfreak
features a chest entry zip. The idea behind the Superfreak is to
provide a top quality wetsuit with a chest zip, which doesn’t cost top
of the range money. The wetsuit comes in mens and youth sizes and in a
3mm, 4mm and a 5mm version. All versions are available via our website.
Superfreaks Features
First
of all we would like to say that the zip on this wetsuit feels very
solid indeed. It has the same kind of zip system as the Xcel’s, or the
RG8. Some chest entry zips you have to connect the zip together to close
it. This is eliminated with the zipper system the superfreak has
adopted. The zip comes connected, so there’s no messing around
connecting the zip together, it’s simply pull and close. We found this
system very easy to use indeed. The overhead flap for the overhead
collar features a pull cord, which tightens up the shoulder panel. This
prevents water from entering underneath the panel and inside the
wetsuit. Once the cord was tightened, it was comfortable and you didn’t
notice it was there.
Chest Entry?
Some
people might think getting in and out a chest entry wetsuit to be hard.
We found the entry and getting out of the Superfreak very easy indeed.
O’Neill has provided the wetsuit with plenty of room to get into, by
developing a cross panel in the back of the wetsuit. When this cross
panelling is stretched, it gives the wetsuits entry hole more width. As
the wetsuit is really stretchy getting out of it was a piece of cake as
well.
For
maximum comfort the collar of the wetsuit has been lined with a super
soft rubber, and the edge of the collar has been rolled over. The collar
was really comfortable and didn’t cause any rashes when used over the 8
week duration. In the back and neck area underneath the collar is the
neck barrier panelling. This system kept cold water flush at bay. If
water did get through it was met by the barrier panel and ran straight
out the drain holes in the back and arm.
Was it warm?
After
testing the wetsuit in very cold waters, we found that the Superfreak
did a very good job of keeping us warm. After a 3 hour session, the
warmth was still flowing and the wetsuit was keeping us in the water. So
what exactly maintained the warmth? Well, if you look inside the
wetsuit there’s two panels of fleece like material in the back and
chest. This material helps retain your body heat within the wetsuit.
O’Neill has also added a rubbery panel to the outside of the chest and
back area. This rubber helps water run off the wetsuits and reduces wind
chill.
So how is the flex?
The
flexibility of this wetsuit is outstanding. O’Neill state that the
wetsuit in 60% made from their fluid flex neoprene, which is 40% flex
and the other 40%, is made from 100% ultra-fex. However, it really does
feel like the wetsuit features O’Neill 100% ultra-flex all over. We
found the superfreak to be just as comfortable and flexible as some of
the top end wetsuits we sell. All the seams on the wetsuit are 100%
glued and blind stitched the plus side to not having silicon seals that
the seams are stretchier.
So do we dig it?
As
far as budget wetsuits go, you can’t go far wrong with the Superfreak!
It has all the boxes ticked, great flex, brilliant warmth and a great
price point. We would highly recommend this wetsuit to anybody looking
for a good quality wetsuit
Which Winter Wetsuit to Buy, Wetsuit Centre takes a look at the best choices on the market
The first thing you should consider when
buying your wetsuit for winter months is how much you are going to be using it.
In other words there is no point buying a top end wetsuit if you are only using
it for an hour every couple of weeks. Saying that if you do feel the cold more
and are willing to get the best wetsuit on the market it will keep you warmer. All
winter wetsuits are 5mm of neoprene on the body and 3mm on the arms. They are
also all GBS, which means on the seams they are stitched and glued together
minimizing water getting into the wetsuit.
In terms of do you get what you pay for in
winter wetsuits then it’s a big yes, the more expensive the wetsuit the more
flexible then become as higher grade neoprene is used which is softer and if it
fits well the warmer you will be and less tired. It will also have added
thermal lining properties, which are designed to wick water away from your body
and act in much the same way as thermal underwear and retain your body heat.
Most of the entry level wetsuits now have
certain critical areas such as arms, lumber region & certain parts on the
legs with the high grade neoprene. They also contain the thermal lining on the
chest & kidney areas. So we have come up with what we consider to be a really good buy if your looking for a mens winter wetsuit, ladies winter wetsuit or kids winter wetsuit
So lets take a look at a few
recommendations:
Billabong Foil / Synergy Winter Wetsuit Range
BillabongWetsuits produce a really good value for
money entry-level winter wetsuit in the foil range as above for Ladies, Men
& Kids. They all have a good amount of high-grade flex material where you
need and include thermal properties. Smooth skin is on the chest panels and is
designed to stop wind cooling the body down on winding cold days. This has
proved to be a good cost effect with a decent amount of style. The mens &
Ladies range are both £134.99 and the Kids £79.99 so they wont break the bank.
O’Neill Epic Winter
Wetsuit Range
O’Neill Wetsuits are the market leaders in
Wetsuits and for good reason these guys invented the first wetsuit. Since then
the modern day wetsuit has been continually modified to get warmer and warmer.
The Epic range again all 5/3 wetsuits all have thermal material on the chest
and lumber regions and good flex on the arms and good quality neoprene on the
legs so not to stiff. They all have smooth skin neoprene on the chest and
kidneys which is designed to stop wind getting into the wetsuit once it is wet.
Prices start at £119.99 for the men & ladies and £89.99 for the kids. Great
value and great back up from the people that know all about wetsuits O’Neill.
Rip Curl Dawn Patrol Mens, Ladies &
Kids Winter Wetsuit Range
Rip Curl are another company at the fro
front of wetsuit technology and in recent years have produced the flash dry
thermal lining which is designed to wick water away from the body and retain
heat unlike other thermal linings it is also designed to be the fastest drying
lining meaning you don’t have to wait a age to get it back on again for your
next splash. All companies keep pushing the boundaries which means now even the
entry level wetsuits have the technology and features that a top end wetsuit
would have had a few years ago. As before on the other brands Rip Curl also has
good levels of stretch material in there entry level wetsuits. Prices start at
£139 for mens & ladies and £99 for the kids.
Hope that this brief run down on the
wetsuit centre recommendations for 2013 but should you have any questions
please feel free to contact us info@wetsuitcentre.co.uk
or call 01202 302943
