Patagonia Wetsuit Sale

Buy 2 xcel's instead. Take my word for it.

I agree with KoK. I have and Xcel and a Pat. Xcel is way more gooder!

That wool lining is super nice and it's a great suit for about a year. After that, the crotch seam started leaking on mine. Chilly currents right where you don't want them.

I have an Excel and a Pat. I love my excel, so stretchy and comfortable. My Pat is a bit stiff and not as flexy. But damn, when it gets cold, it's hellaaaa warm!

Great feedback. thanks

Look, the Xcel suits are less expensive a very comfortable. But they only last for one year, max. Save up and get an Isurus. You will not be sorry. No wool lining to hold water and add weight. They dry out in half the time and the closed cell neoprene lasts twice as long. They cost more than the Xcell but less than a Patagonia. A locally based company delivering real value and no, I don't work for them.

Price?

Just pulled the trigger. Hope I don't regret it.

Pat suits SUCK. they trap TONS of water. so heavy with the wool nonsense. get an isurus. yeah, people have talked about it tons on here. its all true, all the hype, etc. spend a couple extra nickles. there is no suit sold in the US that comes close for the money. look at AXE from japan, thats a similar suit for $1200 with a small handful of stores in the US carrying it.

I'm surprised to see the negative posts about the Patagonias. I've used Excels for years, bought a Patagonia on an Oregon trip last year, and will never ever go back. All other wetsuits feel like toys to me by comparison.

And there's a reason most people in way north surf towns pretty much all wear Patagonias... I'm always wondering when exactly they installed a hot tub at OB?

@dsx2000 and @wrybread- thanks for your comments. Now it's all much clearer...

squid. ask around how much a fully wet PAT suit weighs vs a fully wet Isurus. if you dont mind carrying around all that extra water. go for it. doesnt change the fact that the PAT suits are crap. what does wool do? absorbs water, a LOT of water. why would you want a suit that soaks up water like a sponge? anyway..... when you get your PAT suit, weigh it dry and then soak it in water for 15 minutes and then see how much it weighs.

I have an Isurus and have zero complaints. When I bought it I was upgrading from a $150 4/3 offbrand suit and it was like night and day. The suit has lasted for over a year and is still in amazing condition. All that said, I picked up one of these Patagonia suits because some friends have said good things about them and, on sale, they're cheaper than an Isurus. I'll post my thoughts on both after I've used the Patagonia suits a bit. If I had to buy full price suit it would be an Isurus, no hesitation or questions about it.

I have a patagonia tent from about 1981 that smells like shit. Just let me know if any of you want it. I have a wet suit from a guy named O'Neil. He put the zipper on the back so I always have to make friends in the parking lot of beach in order to get the thing zipped up. Next time you see O'Neill, let him know his suits last and my balls are still warm but the zipper is a pain in the neck. No zippers next time.

@dsx- yeah, I've heard the same from a few folks but I'm trying to get away from my regular suit over the past 7 years- O'Neill. They fit great and are warm, especially the 5/4 Mutant full hood, but I get blow out or stretched out areas every 12 months- to the day... My current Mutant is swiss cheese at both knees, and I ripped out the ankle (my fault, couldn't contain my pre-session stoke) but great from the thighs up. It won't make it through the winter. Priced things out and the Pat is $20 more than a new Mutant without the Bob Wise May special. Thought I would give it a shot. I hope I don't have the Scottish fisherman thrown overboard feeling once I get it in the water. If I do, 18 months from now I'll go Isurus...

squid. any new suit will feel better than an old used one. the biggest problem with these suits is that people think you are talking apples vs apples, when they are really comparing apples and oranges. Oneill, RipCurl, Xcel, et al use CRAP neoprene and have production costs in the double digits. yeah. you are spending 400 for a suit that costs 50 bucks to make. How do you think they can spend $$$$$ on sponsorships, ads, marketing, etc. etc. etc.

you shouldnt compare an Isurus suit to any of the mass market suits. including Pat suits, even though they are slightly different, they suck (literally) in a different way, because of that silly wool lining. we are wet, not mountain climbing! but i digress.

Isurus uses yamamoto neoprene. VERY expensive stuff. Matuse uses the same but rebrands it, Axe in Japan, Seventh Wave in NZ and a handful of other foreign brands use it. An Axe suit cost well over $1200. YES, $1200 for the same rubber Matuse and Isurus use. Matuse has some design flaws, too many panels, etc which tends to cause their suits to breakdown sooner than they should, which in turn makes some people think the neoprene is the problem, which its not.

anyway. google is a great tool. and this is a dead and bloodied horse.

@dsx- I agree, dead and bloodied. That said, I appreciate your passion and information. Get some, it was big-foam fine out there today...

@squid - hey so I got my Patagonia R3 and to be honest I'm planning on returning it. First it fits well except for the neck which feels like it's choking me. That's the major issue. Second, I had a look at the new Isurus suits today in the shop and realized that they have fewer panels than the Patagonias. The Isurus suits also have this material they call 'aerodome' or something like that which basically has air bubbles blown into the neoprene. I have no idea if this actually keeps you warmer as they claim, but I know that it will help you float and on big days I'd rather know that I'm wearing a wetsuit that provides some added buoyancy than a wool suit that is going to weigh me down.

bluefish, the neck on the Patagonia will loosen up nicely after a few sessions. I think that Isurus might be my next suit too.

@bluefish: interesting about the air bubbles, but do you really feel that your patagonia suit "weighs you down"? I feel noticeably more buoyant in my R3 than my old Excel. And I have a pretty big neck and I'm not choking at all in mine. And my suit doesn't feel any heavier than any other suit I've ever had.

And to the person who said "what's with the wool, we're surfing not mountain climbing", trust me when I say wool keeps you just as warm in the water as when you're mountain climbing. And no, it doesn't make you any heavier than a regular wetsuit.

In a nutshell I have no idea what any of the critics here are talking about, it almost sounds like they're just freaked out about the concept of wool in a wetsuit without ever actually experiencing it, but you actually have one and think that too, so I'm basically stumped.

But man I sure do love my Patagonia.

That said I'll give a serious look at an Isurius when it comes time to buy a new suit, but mostly because they're local and the little guys compared to Patagonia.