Forum for kitesurfers
-
Kitemanmuc
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 568
- Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2015 11:10 pm
- Kiting since: 2015
- Style: Big Air, Kiteloops, Hydrofoil, Wave
- Gear: Eleveight
-
Has thanked:
12 times
-
Been thanked:
14 times
Postby Kitemanmuc » Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:14 am
So, im on the hunt for a new wetsuit. Im looking for the best kite specific wetsuit in a 3/2 for men and a 4/3 for women.
Had my eye on a Brunotti. If anyone has any experience, would appreciate feedback.
Thanks!
-
SaltWaterDog
- Medium Poster
- Posts: 185
- Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:01 pm
- Local Beach: Copenhagen, most of Denmark and northern Germany.
- Style: Biting off more than I can usually chew.
- Gear: XR5, Fusion 3.
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
0
-
Been thanked:
0
Postby SaltWaterDog » Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:01 pm
I have nothing good to say about Brunotti wetsuits, sadly. They claim to provide all sorts of added padding/protection but what I’ve tried hasn’t been quality considering they want to charge premium prices.
Try this and don’t worry too much about a wetsuit being “kite specific” per se.
https://needessentials.uk/
-
gozokiteboarding
- Medium Poster
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:25 pm
- Local Beach: fort pierce jetty
- Favorite Beaches: fort pierce inlet
hatterass and the florida keys, cozumel
- Style: wake
- Gear: Eclipse 8m,10m, 12m, thruster and 12m kima
- Brand Affiliation: Eclipse team rider
-
Has thanked:
10 times
-
Been thanked:
10 times
Postby gozokiteboarding » Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:02 pm
Hello,
I would recommend the Recon 32 from NP surf, it is designed for kitesurfing very stretchy and plenty warm.
https://www.npsurf.com/collections/reco ... llsuit-3-2
This is perfect for Florida winters.
-
ELI
- Frequent Poster
- Posts: 274
- Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:30 am
- Local Beach: ELI
- Style: Surf
- Gear: Cabs,Sling and Custom
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
23 times
-
Been thanked:
16 times
Postby ELI » Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:36 pm
Ck.Pro Motion, Gorge based
-
John Doe
- Medium Poster
- Posts: 183
- Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 4:46 am
- Gear: The cheap kind.
-
Has thanked:
4 times
-
Been thanked:
19 times
Postby John Doe » Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:50 pm
I've been buying & using wetsuits for 30 years. Surfing, windsurfing & now kitesurfing for a total of 30 years buying & using windsurf specific, surf specific wetsuits.
There's no difference except that the surf suits are better. Kitesurfing is surfing. I've never had a wetsuit wear out in any areas from a harness or anything. Go with the best surf suit you can get for your money and IMHO for a 3-2 it's the O'neill Hyperfreak. They even make a 2 mil fullsuit, which i own, and it is AWESOME!!!!
You don't need a kite specific suit.
-
SaltWaterDog
- Medium Poster
- Posts: 185
- Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:01 pm
- Local Beach: Copenhagen, most of Denmark and northern Germany.
- Style: Biting off more than I can usually chew.
- Gear: XR5, Fusion 3.
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
0
-
Been thanked:
0
Postby SaltWaterDog » Tue Apr 24, 2018 1:04 am
What John Doe said!
Just to add: provided you have a quality harness that fits you well combined with a quality wetsuit (doesn’t need to be expensive and yes, surfer suits with windchill protection are the best), you should not experience considerable wear or damage. The marketing implies that if you don’t get a ‘kite specific’ suit it will come apart or you’ll have to buy a new one relatively soon. That’s complete BS. Lots of good brands out there if you don’t like the link I posted. But I’m not a fan of Brunotti suits. Had one delivered that clearly wasn’t glued properly followed by another with a deep cut I n the chest panel. So I lost patience..
-
JakeFarley
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 919
- Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:54 pm
- Kiting since: 2001
- Weight: 92kg
- Local Beach: Florida Left Coast, USA
- Favorite Beaches: Any that are not crowded.
- Style: Dinosaur style (Velociraptor)
- Gear: Kites: Flysurfer Speed5 21m, Soul 12m, Cabrinha 16m Xbow, 11m Xbow, Best 14m HP Nemesis, 9m Yarga C Hybrid
Boards: Crazyfly 135 x 46 Pro, Cabrinha Spoiler 140, 6' custom surfboard, 122 x 46 custom twintip
Wing foil: Naish Hover 110l, Slingwing 6.4m, F-One CWC Strike 8m, Slingshot Hover Glide Fwing (Infinity 99), Slingshot Phantasm 926 and E 990
- Brand Affiliation: None
- Location: Pearl City
-
Has thanked:
187 times
-
Been thanked:
144 times
Postby JakeFarley » Tue Apr 24, 2018 1:17 am
My 2 cents worth - do not buy online. Different brands are "cut" differently. I bought two 4/3 wetsuits online and both felt like they were strangling me when I tried them on. Had to pay return freight both times. So go to a local shop and try them on. Btw I am still looking for a good suit, but it is getting warm here and I will not need it till fall.
-
RadDrDuke
- Frequent Poster
- Posts: 269
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:18 pm
- Kiting since: 2001
- Weight: 75kg
- Local Beach: Stuart, Florida
- Favorite Beaches: Cabarete
- Style: Surf > Foil > TT
- Gear: Duotone Unit 5m V2, OR Glide Hybrid 5m, Airush Ultra 9m, Axis Foils, LF Moon patrol TT, Wainman kite surfboard, Fanatic 75L wingboard
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
4 times
-
Been thanked:
33 times
Postby RadDrDuke » Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:38 am
Try on the newest and best Rip Curl flashbomb and then the newest and best Oneill Hyperfreak and buy the one that fits you.
Those are the best wetsuits available for surfing/kitesurfing etc, they each fit a different body type though so you have to go to a surf shop and try them on and just buy the one that fits. Also they are super expensive, like $400+
-
Turbaani
- Frequent Poster
- Posts: 210
- Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:18 pm
- Gear: -
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
23 times
-
Been thanked:
25 times
Postby Turbaani » Tue Apr 24, 2018 4:15 am
+1 for flashbomb.
Flashbomb is for skinny profile. My friend who is maybe L size is using XL or XXL flashbomb and is happy with it. Im a bit skinnier type and using M(MT?), according to flashbomb charts and its snug fit, good and warm. Mine is 6-5-4mm wintersuit and it is still quite flexible. Cant imagine how good the thinner sizes are.
-
magnusod
- Frequent Poster
- Posts: 203
- Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2005 12:41 pm
- Local Beach: West coast Sweden
- Favorite Beaches: Le Morne, Phan Rang, Kingfisher
- Style: Waves
- Gear: North Charge, Duotone Fish SLS, Gong Allvator Curve, Naish Slash, Naish Boxer
- Brand Affiliation: None
- Location: Sweden
-
Has thanked:
55 times
-
Been thanked:
34 times
Postby magnusod » Tue Apr 24, 2018 3:58 pm
John Doe wrote: ↑Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:50 pm
I've been buying & using wetsuits for 30 years. Surfing, windsurfing & now kitesurfing for a total of 30 years buying & using windsurf specific, surf specific wetsuits.
There's no difference except that the surf suits are better. Kitesurfing is surfing. I've never had a wetsuit wear out in any areas from a harness or anything. Go with the best surf suit you can get for your money and IMHO for a 3-2 it's the O'neill Hyperfreak. They even make a 2 mil fullsuit, which i own, and it is AWESOME!!!!
You don't need a kite specific suit.
I agree if you're only considering wear and the O'Neill suits are super comfortable...BUT...even though they are so comfortable I was so annoyed about getting water flushed up in the legs that my next wetsuit was a kite specific wetsuit with integrated velcro straps and aqua vents.
I also bought seperate velcro straps to use with my O'Neill suit but after a while they slide out of place and I still get elephant legs.
This problem remains with all surf specific wetsuits as far as I know. If you ride with booties it's not a problem.
I use both Mystic and NP wetsuits now and even though the neoprene is not as comfortable as the O'Neill I still prefer them over the O'Neill as it's much more uncomfortable riding with elephant legs.
Return to “Kitesurfing”