Can The Biggest Surf Brand Of The New Millennium Make A Quality Wetsuit In 2019?

In the Slater days, Quiksilver reached incredible heights, the ultimate expression of their wealth being The Crossing—a 75-foot charter boat wrapped in company colors and sent around the globe for all the world to see.

Since those times, the company has gone through a litany of changes but are in the midst of a vibrant upswing. Now the question is, does the biggest surf brand of the new millennium still remember how to make a wetsuit?

In gloomy shorebreak slappers, we examined their Highline Plus 3/2, which despite a few extra seams in the lower half, proved toasty and protective against sand, kelp, seals, syringes—anything that Central California could throw at us, really—earning an excellent mark in the warmth category. 

Later, atop a bucolic reef in warm afternoon light, we slipped (or rather struggled) into the Highline Limited 4/3, which felt buttery and light against the skin, paddled like a breeze, but offered one torturous fault. 

You’ll have to watch the full video (above) to learn about that, then scroll below for a glimpse of these suits in both their dry and hydrated states.