A Wetsuit Review One Year In The Making

Editorial Note: This review was written last year, in the weeks after the Quiksilver Festival. Since durability isn’t usually accounted for in wetsuit reviews, we decided to give this one a proper go for an entire year to see how it fared.

After a few weeks sweating near the equator, I arrived in France with nothing but a couple of boardshorts and a neoprene vest.

The day of my arrival, the stretch of coast where the Quiksilver Festival was about to take place was the kind of sight I imagine one hallucinates before dying, for more reasons than one, but allow me to just mention the glassy, flawless lefts and rights on view as I descended the sand dune.

At 8pm, the air temperature would’ve been around 30°C and despite being a handful of degrees under what I’d grown accustomed to over the prior three weeks, 23°C water still made for a comfortable first surf in boardshorts.

But the ecstasy was suddenly stolen away the next morning. Hossegor was dewy, grey, and below 15°C. What kind of schizophrenia does the Southwest France weather controller suffer from?

With only a few days off and very short windows to surf, I asked around for neoprene at the event site when someone generously pointed toward the Quiksilver store where a brand new Highline 3/2 suit was waiting for me. There, a lovely member of staff kept saying something about Bio, Primaloft, recycled materials, and a down alternative insulation borrowed from their snow program. “Très chaud.”

I nodded politely with a succession of ouais and merci beaucoup but my mind concerned itself with the consequences of being double parked nearby. How light, I thought, when the suit was handed to me in a paper bag.

Within 10 minutes I was sliding my limbs into the Highline under a chilly wind and pestering rain, about to surf La Gravière in the least La Gravière conditions possible.

It pulled on like a second skin. Soft against the body in a way that Big Three wetsuits haven’t been since I started avoiding them two decades ago.

It felt like overkill the moment my arms stroked through the water. My face turned red from the heat. Actual body heat. I did consider going in to change back into boardshorts, but the people walking the beach in wool sweaters, umbrellas, and rain jackets made me reconsider. I surfed for under an hour, then went for coffee and pastries. Because France.

Over the next few days, as the weather cleared and the waves improved, I didn’t need the wetsuit again. Until I drove south.

Aside from the price of diesel (go ahead, judge), the biggest shock when traveling from France to Portugal is the water temperature. What kind of meteorological sadism was god into when he created that country? Fourteen-degree water in the warmest month of the year, despite being closer to the equator than France? 

Back in the suit, I felt no water coming through, which I thought was impressive for something so thin. The stretch is remarkable and I felt no restriction when paddling. I did get that squeezing sensation in my uncovered skull, those ice cream headaches, until I slowly adjusted to the freezing water/warm air combination.

I really dislike the term ‘buttery’ as I can’t see how being covered in butter would ever be comfortable, or even desirable. I did like how smooth and form-fitting the suit felt on land. In the water, it moved like it wasn’t there, which is perhaps the highest compliment you can pay a wetsuit.

Just like it had happened in France, a new day dawned and Ericeira’s fog made for a cold, damp morning. The wind blew from the north, replacing the water on the ocean’s surface with colder water from the depths. Nortada, they call this unfortunate phenomenon. Everyone around me was wearing 4/3s, some in booties, and people who are far from entering middle age complained about how cold it was. I could not find common ground.

As the tide went up, the wobbly beachbreak became a huge gutter, with unbreaking whitewash rolling through to unload into fun shorebreak closeouts. Board pierced into the sand, a fun bodysurfing session ensued. I felt like @badboyryry_ swimming freely and joyfully through Tahitian blue water in those hideous speedos.

There’s a glaring flaw in reviewing wetsuits when they’re brand new: there are rarely leaks, worn seams, or unglued tape during the honeymoon period. A full season is the only fair test. Mine has held up well, taking the shape of my body and softening into a second skin the more I wore it. Now it leaks a little in the lower legs, the tape is sandy but intact, and getting thrown in the same bag as my leash left some minor velcro damage on the lining. Apart from that, it’s a solid suit that hasn’t let me down. I rinse it in fresh water and hang it in the shade after every surf, despite Buck making fun of me for that.

For close to 20 years I’ve been quite loyal to a wetsuit only brand I used to swear by. This Quiksilver felt a lot like something that specialized company used to make. It appears Quik are taking their wetsuit program seriously again, investing in it, and doing proper R&D.

It’s not the cheapest suit on the market, but the Highline performs beautifully out of the box. If you do go for it, you will also be getting their recently released, improved version with a few new design options. Hello, Young Guns era.