Are Rip Curl wetsuits worth the inflated price tag?

When should you shift from Need or Project Blank and into the stratified realm of the high-cost corporate wetsuit?

I mentioned this Rip Curl wetsuit in my most recent board review. A 2mm long-sleeved springsuit purchased in their recent online fire sale. At fifty percent off it was cheaper than wholesale, if my memory of wholesale costs serves me correctly.

Maybe it doesn’t.

I hadn’t bought a Rip Curl wetsuit in ten years or so. Not through any specific distaste for them. I’ve just been swinging back and forth in recent times between basic and premium wetsuit brands.

You gotta give Need, and to a lesser extent Project Blank, credit for the niche they’ve created. Upon purchasing my first Need, which was probably around the time I wore my last Rippy suit, I swore I would be a customer for life. Good-enough quality, drastically reduced prices. A brand ethos I could get behind. Even the all-black design was a major selling point.

But wetsuits are one of those things like mattresses or seafood. Sometimes it’s worth paying a premium price to ensure you get a premium product. Need and PB just haven’t quite got there yet with matching the top-end performers. Perhaps it isn’t in their interest to do so. I dunno.

They’re a damned good suit for those on a budget, and I don’t want to dissuade anybody from copping one if they’re looking at suits in that price $200-$400 range. They still can’t be beat.

But I started drifting back to the premium side a few years ago. A Zion 2mm steamer which I still use as a backup. An O’Neill Defender steamer purchased last winter, which I surfed in every day for six months and which is still holding up admirably.

The extra stretch and water protection was immediately noticeable when compared to my Needs and Project Blanks. And this was only a mid-range O’Neill suit. For those cooler winter and autumn mornings, when a certified cold wuss like myself wants as much protection as they can get without sacrificing flexibility, you can’t go past the top-end performers.

It was to my delight, then, when I saw the Rip Curl wetsuit fire sale.

As I mentioned in my previous article, I didn’t really need a new suit. Around my neck of the woods you can transition from boardies and vest to steamer without too much fuss.

Plus I already had a long-sleeved springsuit. A Need, funnily enough, which served four seasons of intermittent use. But it was ready to go. The material was deteriorating so that every time I surfed I had a ring of black nylon/glue around my neck. The fabric in the derriere was one wide legged swing away from ripping open completely. Not a pretty sight.

Cue the Rippy fire sale.

Derek had posted the link at the height of the Sasha Jane Lowerson controversy. You remember it well enough. Rip Curl first published a post supporting their relationship with the famous trans surfer, before subsequently deleting the post and apologising for any offence it had caused.

A quick note on this in defence of RC: they did indeed shit the bed with their back and forth. SJ left hung out to dry. Both sides of the argument alienated.

But from what I see on the ground, Rip Curl still do a lot for grassroots surfing. Many kids around here get their first nose sticker deal through RC. I see them out and about supporting boardriders clubs, hosting events. Being part of the community. The Sasha debacle was a PR misstep, and something they will no doubt learn from. But their overall core cred is still there with me.

Anyway, on to the wetsuit itself.

You may remember I had actually put this Rip Curl wetsuit up on Marketplace to fund a board purchase. As new. With tags. Cost price plus a little extra for the obligatory online haggle. But after ten days or so the post had received no bites, and on the first cool-ish day of late summer/early Autumn I decided to wear the fucken thing instead.

It’s a beauty.

There’s a few little design issues with RC chest zips, an under-neck guard that stubbornly refuses to go over my shoulder. Zipper teeth closing in the wrong direction. Key cord that’s too thick for my key. But the thing is ridiculously warm, even as a 2mm, and within a couple of surfs it had adequately stretched into the unique undulations of my bodily contours.

Of course, the day after wearing it I copped three enquiries on Marketplace asking if it was still available. But it only took that one surf to know I had made the right decision.

That endorsement, however, comes with one caveat. Rip Curl wetsuits, while stretchy, are notoriously flaky when it comes to durability.

I shall report back in one year to see how it’s holding up.

What’s your take on long-sleeved springsuits? Do you thrill in the ultra-hip sleekness of long arms and short legs? The buttock firming qualities of the neoprene pull? Or are you a short arm steamer, meat and potatoes type of gal?