Black Is The New, Well, Black

Answer this: How many times have you walked into a surf shop needing a wetsuit, looked at the arrangement on display and thought, “I’m going buy something with lots of colours that’ll draw attention. Oh, is that Tye-dye?!”

Never. That thought has rarely, if ever, crossed your mind (unless you’re Wilko). And that’s not to say colourful wetsuits are bad, or that having some self-confidence is wrong, it’s just that wetsuits are best left understated. A downplayed piece of neoprene says it doesn’t need any gimmicks to draw a point of difference. That’s because it relies on being a well-manufactured product, aka keeping you warm.

Like this 302 Revolution Tri Bong from Billabong (Creed even wears his in the meat section!). It comes in all black. If it’s a colour good enough for Neiman Marcus, Johnny Cash and Batman, then there’s no problem with wetsuits following suit. Yes, the wetsuit is understated; the advertorial slant of this article, however, is not.