2012 O'Neill Pyscho II Wetsuit

It wasn’t too long ago, that I thought the O’Neill Psycho 2 was a bit over rated, at least when comparing flex vs the Pyscho 1. That all changed with the new 2012 Psycho 2 wetsuits.

So, what changed and what does that mean? Well, the Psycho 2 wetsuit has always been one of the warmest wetsuits you could buy for the thickness, but it was trading off flexibility for warmth. For someone who really wanted the flex, the O’Neill Psycho 2 of old, just didn’t have the flex and was relegated to the colder, windier and snowy beaches, at least for my recommendations. Previous season Psycho 2 wetsuits were better suited for New England winters and Northern Pacific beaches, sure you could wear one at Swami’s or Hatteras, but the old Psycho 2 was better suited for cold water and cold and windy air, because everywhere else, you wouldn’t need that much warmth with the sacrifice of flex.

But that was then and this is now. What had hindered the O’Neill Psycho 2 wetsuit’s flex was was made it warm – double sealed seams. That double sealed FSW seam kept the water out, but cost you flexibility. But the new 2012 Psycho 2 wetsuits have solved that problem in 2 ways.

1. Reduced FSW width. O’Neill decreased the width of the Fluid Seam Weld (FSW) by 60% percent on the new 2012 Psycho 2 wetsuits (3843/3844). This 60% reduction in width has resulted in more stretch in the seams, which is where the stretch is most restricted in all wetsuits.

2. XXXDS Neoprene a new 200% stretch neoprene exclusive to O’Neill wetsuits.

Combine those two benefits, with the new XDS-Air firewall and you’ve got a wetsuit that’s lighter, more flexible and warmer than any Psycho 2 ever made before.

Bottom Line: The new 2012 O’Neill Psycho 2 wetsuit is going to be about as flexible as the Pscyho 1 wetsuit and that’s a HUGE improvement over previous models. I use to recommend to Southern California wetsuit buyers to skip the Psycho 2 and go for the Psycho 1, but not any more. With the new thinner FSW and greater stretch neoprene, the O’Neill Psycho 2 wetsuit is the ultimate in warmth and flex.

Hyperfreak Blue

Pink Hyperfreaks

Rasta Hyperfreaks

Grey Hyperfreaks

They did change the design of the 2011 Hyperfreaks a good bit, as you can see. Some people are really going to like this blocky-fade style and others, as predicted, will not and that’s OK.  Hyperfreak boardshorts aren’t for everyone.

What’s the same about the 2011 Hyperfreaks?
The material is the same, at least it feels the same.  When you stretch and I mean REALLY stretch the fabric, you’ll notice the colors kind of disappear, just like they did with last year’s suits.  As soon as you relax the fabric, the colors come right back.  ANd when I say stretch the fabric, I mean turning a 22″ inseam into a 44″ inseam (big stretch).  The seams allow for that kind of stretch and that’s what makes the O’Neill Hyperfreak boardshorts so popular and so comfortable – they work.

What’s different about the Hyperfreak Boardshorts?
Not much that I can tell.  Remember those little pieces of rubber I was talking about last year on the drawstrings, well, there seems to be a little more of it and that’s a good thing.  Also, as usual, the Hyperfreak boardshort drawstrings are completely removable, in case you didn’t like the rubbery drawstring thing I guess.

So what’s the real difference in the 2011 Hyperfreak Boardshorts?
Not much really.  The main difference is the new styles and the wax scrapper has been replaces with a fin key/bottle opener (in case you left your sandals at home).  But some of the new styles are very nice looking. The Pink HyperFreaks are going to be a huge hit I think and have already been showing up in such far away places as Mission Bay and Pavones.

Get 10% Off O’Neill HyperFreak Boardshorts

2011 Psycho II

I have always liked the O’Neill wetsuits, that’s no secret. But this year, the new O’Neill Psycho II has a few changes that are both amazing and troublesome.

But first, what’s new. New model numbers the 3/2 Psycho II is now the #3679 and the 4/3 Psycho II is #3680. You’ll also notice the XDSAir in the chest, this neoprene was exclusive to the PscyhoFreak last year, it’s crazy light and super warm. New flex firewall too.

What’s so good? The Psycho 2 is a top of the line wetsuit, make no doubt about it. It’s super light weight, super flexible and warmer than any other suit in the class. It’s amazing really. The neoprene is warmer and more flexible than ever and the XDSAir in the chest, really pushes the Psycho 2 to the next level. It’s a phenomenal wetsuit. Probably the warmest and stretchiest wetsuits you’ll ever own.

Then what’s bad? Durability. All that weight lost comes from adding more air to the neoprene. That air, makes the neoprene warmer and more flexible, but at the price of durability. The Psycho 2 wetsuit is more delicate than in the past. For some people, this is a deal breaker, but it’s the price you pay for this kind of warmth and flexibility.

Bottom Line? If your time in the water is limited and when you’re there, you want the most out of your wetsuit, then the new Psycho 2 may be for you. It’s the warmest and most flexible suit in this class. But if you need a wetsuit to last a long time and are willing to give up some warmth and flexibility for durability, then the Psycho II is probably not for you.

Cold Protection: O’Neill rates the 3/2 down to 50 degree water and I think that’s high. This suit is comfortable into the mid to upper 40s in water temperature. The 4/3 is rated down to 40 degree water temps and that might even be high. I’m not sure as it’s been a while since I’ve been in water below 40 degrees. Also, for those asking, there is no longer a hooded version of the Psycho 2. The model was discontinued.

Available online at:
Hostel Board Company 2011 O’Neill Psycho 2 3/2 #3679 and the 2011 O’Neill Psycho 2 4/3 #3680
Use coupon code “WETSUITS” to get 10% off regular price wetsuits at Hostel Board Company

2011 O'Neill Mutant

When it comes to comfort and warmth in cold water, few wetsuits have performed like the O’Neill Mutant. It’s no wonder the Mutant is back again, and even better. FluidFlex is the key this year, light weight and warm. Good combination.

The Mutant is now only available in the 4/3 (#3647) and a 5/4 (#3648). The 3/2 Mutant has been replaced by the Psycho RG8, the thinking being that if you’re wearing a 3/2 you’re probably not going to be wearing a hood anyway. But back to the Mutant.

You still have the firewall to keep you toasty and there’s still the smooth skin chest to help keep out the wind, but there’s a few little things that are going to add up to big differences. The plasma seals on the suit are better than last season. The plasma seal is now broken into two unconnected seals. There’s also an additional plasma seal on the body where the neck piece connects with the body. This is a serious cold water suit. Good job O’Neill.

The Mutant 4/3 is a cold water suit that’s going to handle almost anything. Good for water temps into the mid to low 40s and maybe even lower. With the hood attachment, you’re going to be warm, even in the coldest of days. This suit should be fine for almost the entire US Pacific coast, even on the coldest days.

The Mutant 5/4 was made with the really cold stuff in mind. We’re talking serious warmth with this suit. This should cover most of the NE, even on the coldest of days. Having the hood be a part of the wetsuit, rather than an addition keep more water out and that keeps more warm inside, where you need it. Should be good for most of the US NE. For protection beyond what the Mutant 5/4 will give you, you will need to be visiting Maine in early February.

The 2011 O’Neill Mutant, the same, but better. And the velcro piece that holds the zipper is now a snap close. That keeps the velcro from piquing the materials. Enjoy your Mutants!

Available online:

The 2011 O’Neill Mutant 4/3 #3647

The 2001 O’Neill Mutant 5/4 #3648

In today’s market, there are about as many types of boardshorts as there are manufacturers and that’s a lot. When you’re ready to retire those old faded rags, there’s a few key factors you’re going to need to keep in mind: material, cut and stretch.

stretch is something ‘new’ in boardshort technology. Yes, technology does apply to boardshorts; more on that later. At first, I resisted the introduction of stretch into a boardshort. Stretch shorts were for grandpas and guys more familiar with the buffet at Ryan’s than a surfboard. No way I was going to be one of those guys with the bunched up waist fabric. The hater in me quieted down when I finally wore a pair of 4-way stretch boardshorts.

Stretch shorts are comfortable – very comfortable. I tried the Matix Turbo Boardshort. The first thing I noticed was how much they looked like normal boardshorts. No speedo hammick – normal cut boardshorts. I can’t believe I would ever say this, but Spandex rocks. It wasn’t form fitting, but allowed for a far greater flexibility and range of motion.

styles We’re seeing a greater diversity amoung boardshorts than ever before. There are three main of boardshorts being made today.

• standard boardshorts have a longest inseam. at around 22 inches, standard boarshorts hang at or below the knee. they’re also a very roomy boardshort
• retro boardshorts have a much shorter inseam generally between 16 and 18 inches in length. these shorts are also more form fitting
• modern boardshorts are just inbetween the standard and retro boardshorts in length and fit. slightly slimmer fit than the standard and inseams usually at or above the knee

of course, each style’s main advantage is its style. You’ll find almost any combination of materials within the varying styles. And that brings us to

materials for boardshorts varies from naturally grown cottons to recycled soda bottles. Yep, recycled soda bottles. Billabong has shorts made from recycled water bottles – crazy. Anyway, whether your boardshorts are made from a plant or a water bottle, you need to know which material suits your needs.

• nylon boardshorts seem to have been around as long as nylon. nylon dries fast, lasts forever
• stretch fabrics are usually a poly-spandex blend they’re very comfortable and quick drying
• polyester microfiber has a little stretch, is quick drying and is nearly chaffe free very smooth
• suedes are generally a slightly heavier than the microfibers with a slightly faded appearance

the right material can make all the difference. I’ve found the microfibre boardshorts to be great for wetsuit surfing. It keeps everything in place and provides a rashguard like function that I greatly appreciate. also the fast drying microfibers makes my car’s seat smell less like a musty sponge. but come summer, those 4 way stretch boardshorts are mine.

features are another important consideration before choosing the rightboardshort. seamless boardshorts are sweet. there’s no chaffing at all – none. it’s actually kind of weird at first, you almost feel naked without all the seams reminding you they’re there. another great innovation has been the fly. the stretch fly replaces the velcro closure and keeps you, well, kept in. it works, it’s comfortable. and then there’s the accessories: everything from bottle openers and fin keys to spent nuclear fuel rods. ok, there aren’t any fuel rods, but there are a wealth of gadgets, gizmos and various sundries. I like the waxcomb, bottle opener, fin key combo that came with my Billabongs. There are even waterproof pouches for… things you don’t want to get wet.

It really comes down to want you want, what you need and what your wanting to do. You’ll find the right pair with the right look and the right fit. You can go retro stretch or modern suedes, it’s up to you. While there are a lot of choices available, it only makes the chances of you find the perfect boardshort that much easier.

JS Blak Box

The JS Blak Box isn’t just another board from JS Industries, it’s the board. From coast to coast, the Blak Box has been getting rave reviews. It seems the ideal is to ride about 3 inches shorter than your standard shortboard and with a slightly larger fin setup than normal. In the chest high range, the board comes alive, even on a soft weak summer wave.

Volume. There’s a lot of volume built into the Blak Box boards and that helps you ride them shorter than you would a normal shortboard. It’s really beefy in the chest area which helps a lot when paddling into mushy surf and helps make it around sections. The tail reminds me of the classic Tom Curren Huntington Beach board  tails – wide and thick with a sharp rail right on top of the fins. Enough meat to get you through the flat and enough edge to bury that rail in the lip.

Rocker. Pretty flat rocker, but not super flat. In gutless thigh high surf, this isn’t going to be the magic board. For the really small stuff, you would probably like a Nitro or a Lost RNF better. The Blak Box is more of a performance rocker than pure dribble rider, but it’s fast. Low pull in the tail is another classic design but with a much deeper modern concave to give it a lot of drive, but still lose in the juice.

Width. A 5’11″ is 19.75″ wide and that’s pretty wide for a small board, but that also makes it really stable and adds volume. It’s really easy to paddle for the size and is still easy to turn.

What size? Well, Occy rides a 6’0 and weighs around 185lbs. Parko rides a 5’8 and weighs 175lbs. Jordy rides a 6’1 and weighs 190lbs. A lot depends on where and when you’re going to surf your Blak Box and if you’re going to be wearing a wetsuit and how good the waves are.

Overall. It’s a really great board, but not for super small surf. If you’re looking for something that is fun in the thigh to waist range, there are better boards, but if you’re looking for waist to head+ high, the JS Blak Box is the one. If you’re looking for a shortboard to surf some of that summer windchop or south swell, the JS Blak Box will make you really happy and you won’t regret riding one.

Where to get the Blak Box. Your local shop is the easiest, but you can find a Blak Box online with free shipping for around $660 which comes out about the same as in the shop once you add taxes. The Future fin models are pretty hard to come by, so if you see one, you might want to go ahead and grab it.

O'Neill RG8 wetsuit entry system

I’m pretty interested to see exactly how this zipper entry will work. As you can see in the picture, this O’Neill wetsuit uses a chest zip entry where the zipper is always attached. That many help eliminate on of the things that made the O’Neill Mutant hard to get into sometimes. If you’ve worn the Mutant, you know that when the zipper came undone, which you had to do to get into the wetsuit, it’s sometimes difficult to get the zipper back together. It didn’t help that the zipper was right below your chin and it was like trying to look at your neck. Well, the Psycho RG8 should eliminate that problem. THe zipper will always be attached and all you’ll never again have to try and line them up, just get in and zipppp! Nice.

However, this awesome RG8 zipper system isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. For people with wide shoulders, getting into and out of the Psycho RG8 could be hard. It’s not going to have as much room to enter the suit as the O’Neill Mutant wetsuits. That could end up being a pretty big deal for some people. If you have problems getting into your Mutant, then you will want to try on an RG8 before gettting one to make sure it’s the right fit for you. If you wear Rip Curl chest zip wetsuits, you’ll have no problem getting into RG8 and you’ll notice a lot of similarities.

As for comfort, you’ll love the Psycho RG8. It’s going to be made with O’Neill’s new neoprene. Usually, a first year wetsuit is something you might want to avoid, but this is an O’Neill wetsuit and the rules are different. O’Neill is making this their flagship wetsuit and replacing the Mutant 3/2 with the RG8 3/2. There is a lot of expectation behind this suit and you better believe O’Neill is going to make sure their first year RG8 wetsuits are the best. Don’t let this rookie year suit hold you back, I’m willing to bet it’s going to be the wetsuit of the year, probably for many years to come.

There are a few sites prebook selling the O’Neill Psycho RG8 wetsuits. Some of them have a pretty good deal too. For 10% off the O’Neill RG8 wetsuit, check out Hostel Board Company, they’re about one of the only sites I’ve seen with any information about the new O’Neill wetsuits.The O’Neill Psycho RG8 is going to come in a 3/2 and a 4/3 version.

XCEL, the new big boy in the lineup. For years, XCEL has had a small presence in the water. Having a wetsuit company headquartered in Hawaii isn’t exactly what you would expect from a wetsuit company, but then again, XCEL has been changing the way people think about wetsuits for a long time. Bamboo fabric linings, environmentally conscious products and some of the warmest wetsuits made today, that’s XCEL and I believe this is going to be a banner year for XCEL wetsuits, both in the US and abroad. XCEL makes a colorful suit and has one of the more unique sizing charts for wetsuits I’ve seen, so be sure and check your measurements before ordering a wetsuit. You’ll save yourself a lot of time knowing your XCEL size in advance.

O’Neill, as usual, you should expect good things from O’Neill wetsuits. O’Neill has made a lot of changes this year to their wetsuits as well as adding some new wetsuits to their wetsuit line. The O’Neill RG8 is going to be the suit of the year I predict. There’s an all new foam in this suit and I’m supposed to be getting my wetsuit this Tuesday, so I’ll update the Psycho RG8 review at that time. It’s a take on the O’Neill Mutant, that should be even better for some situations. The Mutant has changed as well, there’s a whole new item number, my Mutant should arrive tomorrow, so expect a full update on the new Mutant soon!

O'Neill Wetsuits at Hostel Board Company - Low Prices Free Shipping No Tax

RipCurl: You know Rip Curl is going to be doing the H-Bomb again and you can be sure the E-Bombs and F-Bombs are coming back but the big (better) news is the Rip Curl Fireskin wetsuits. The Fireskins will have the “bat wing” on the suits again – hoorah! If that ends up being the case, then I will reinstate the Fireskin wetsuit as the best value midrange wetsuit. Let’s hope they do what the book says.

The Reef Vision Sandal

Reef Vision Sandals are the newest sandal from Reef and I have to say, I love ‘em! Not because they give me a pair to try, because they don’t (I would be more than will to accept a free pair). No, I just love these.

It’s a new look for Reef, but I’ve seen this look in a sandal before, but I like these, because they’re about $30 cheaper than the Nike sandals they look like. I got the gray pair, but the red look better in pictures and I think most people will like the red better, so that’s the picture I chose. Anyway, now on to the review…

The Reef Vision Sandals have holes all the way through the sole. It does look cool and that’s the first thing that made me like them, but what really impressed me was when I tried a pair on – whhhuuut!  Oh, they’re comfy, as comfy as any sandal, by any brand, at any price I’ve ever worn. They’re cushy! They have a lot of spring in the step and a pretty durable sole similar to the Fanning sandals. The sole has a lot of detail, you can see it in the pics. While this is nice for a lot of things, it also means they will hold a lot of sand and dirt in the tread, so they may not be the best sandals for a day on the beach, but they should be great in a boat or on land.

Comfort comes at a price and the price these sandals are going to pay is durability. They look great and feel great, but the foam foot-bed is so soft that it probably won’t last more than a few years. Yes, they are comfy, yes, they do look great, but be aware, they probably won’t last as long as the Mick Fannings. I don’t have any proof and I have done any scientific testing, but that’s the feeling I get.

You can pick up a pair of the Reef Vision sandals online for about $45 a pair. I’ve seen them from $49 – $43 from various store.

For those of you who haven’t owned a pair of the O’Neill HyperFreaks, here’s the skinny: they’re the best boardshort ever and the 2.0 Hyper Freak boardshorts are the best. They’re light, fast drying, lots of stretch, excellent style and no seams. The ‘seams’ are welded, so while there are seams, the seams aren’t sewn together, you get no rub burns.

But before you buy these, you need to know, these shorts are thin! They’re not going to take a lot of abuse and that’s going to have a limited audience for these. If you’re use to the thicker nylon or polysuede boardshorts, you’re going to notice these are much thinner. That’s not a bad thing, unless you’re planning on spending more time sitting on the sand that on your board. These aren’t really lounging, hanging-out boardshorts, these are function boardshorts and while they do look great, dry fast and feel wonderful, they’re not the best option for a day on the beach drinking cold beverages.

The O’Neill HyperFreak 2.0 boardshort is a core boardshort and really not intended for much more than surfing.

Also, don’t ever put them in the dryer! The neoprene (O’Neill’s HYperprene) is going to be destroyed by putting them in the dryer. This same materiel is very stretch but will melt if you get petroleum based insect repellents on them! Yes, I found that out the hard way. Maybe you don’t play gold in your boardshorts, but I do.

If you’re looking for something that’s not quite as expensive, you might want to try out the regular O’Neill HyperFreak boardshorts. They do have sewn seams, there’s no expensive HyperPrene neoprene and they have some really great styles and colors already available. More colors will be showing up in the following months.

UPDATE: O’Neill HyperFreak 2.0 for 2011

O'Neill HyperFreak 2.0 for 2011

That Hyperprene material is gone from the 2011 O’Neill HyperFreak 2.0 and I couldn’t be happier!  For more details, check out the new O’Neill HyperFreak 2.0 boardshorts.