Having owned Billabongs, Rip Curls & Excel suits, well.....

“Having owned Billabongs, Rip Curls & Excel suits,...”

Written on: 17/04/2012 by Waveslave

The O'Neil Pyscho 2 (specifically the physcho 2 5/3mm) is the best Winter surfing wetsuit on the market in my opinion because:

It is easy the most flexible (very), easy the lightest and easy the warmest winter suit I have ever had in the water. Most importantly, it slips on and off easier than any other suit I have ever tried both wet and dry.

The back entry is excellent so you can put it on & take it yourself without assistance. And it does not leak as much as any other back entry suit due to the extra internal neck seal system.

Excel top end 5/3's despite being very warm are very heavy which impacts your fitness and ability in the water. They are also almost impossible to take off once you have them on without help. No use whatsoever if you ever plan to surf alone.

Billabong Winter top ends are quite flexible but leak a heck of a lot, plus the arms get very cold for some reason. They don't get as heavy as an Excel when wet but are still no match for the Oneil P2.

Rip Curls high enders are very warm don't leak but are inflexible and heavy. They are second best to the O'neil. Although haven't tried the new flashdry yet...

I have wasted more dosh on winter wetsuit experimentation than you can shake a stick at and have learned my lesson through cost unfortunately.

I am not reviewing Summer suits here, only Winter. I will never experiment with any other suit again. The O'Neil P2 is the absolute best on the market bar none. Its better than the O'neil psychofreak which is good also but slightly heavy when wet. Plus cheaper !

Expect your p2 to last two years if you surf a lot and are very heavy on suits. If you are a weekend warrior- four years.

Theres a lot of rubbish reviews below from people who clearly haven't tried a lot of suits which is a pity if you are in the market for a p2. They are just the biz - aloha Phil