THE SUIT
We’ve been seeing Feral Wetsuits a lot lately. The American brand has cemented itself with the ultra core surfing community around San Fran and now are making inroads into the Australian marketplace too. Considering we’ve had a few people ask us about them, we got our hands on a couple of 3/2mm Feral Wetsuits to test for a review.
To kick off and set the tone, here’s what Feral themselves say about this particular model:
“Our 3mm2 is made with the best wetsuit material available—100% Yamamoto Neoprene: stretchier #40 in the upper body for paddling, and #39 in the body and legs for maximum warmth and lightness. Designed and tested by Alex & Buzz at Ocean Beach, San Francisco—FERAL is built to last seasons, not sessions. Best for 56-65 degree water (temperature range dependent on personal burliness)”
For those not in the know, Yamamoto is a Japanese neoprene company generally renowned for making super premium wetsuit material with good insulation and high durability. As an aside, how good is the use of the word ‘burliness’ in their run down. Makes me like them more immediately. Marketing spin aside, here’s what we thought of the offering. This is your Feral Wetsuit Review 2024.
Yamamoto
Japanese Yamamoto Neoprene Throughout Suit
Sealed Seams
GBS, taped seams with ultra clean finish
Graphene
Chest zip entry for flush-free duck diving
WHAT IT’S GOOD FOR
Feral Wetsuits are built for core surfers that are willing to pay a bit more for premium materials, in a look that’s nice and stealth. Outside of the top-level Yamamoto rubber, there aren’t a whole lot of bells and whistles added. GBS Seams, Chest Zip Entry, sturdy knee pads, no internal thermal jersey. You could be forgiven at first blush for mistaking this as a base-level Need Essentials suit with a Feral logo on it. However, on closer inspection you’ll notice extra attention to detail in the seam finishing especially. It’s not flashy, but it is a very, very well put together wetsuit.
THE IMPORTANT STUFF
FIT & COMFORT
Those wanting something that’s going to feel like a gymnastics leotard from the word go will be disappointed here. Instead, the Feral 3/2mm wetsuit is more like a pair of quality leather boots. I found it tight to start for a size large compared with other brands, however it did ‘wear in’ over a few surfs and became more comfortable. Given today’s expectation for high-performance comfort straight away, it definitely took some getting used to. Good over time, but not incredible, one to be patient with. I’m running with a 7.5 out of 10 here.
PERFORMANCE
The Japanese rubber of the Feral 3/2 wetsuit stretches in all the right places without being yoga zen master material. The knee pads are decent. The paneling allows paddle flex where you need it. I could do squat thrusts to my heart’s content until my hips and thighs ran out of steam. Once again, very good without revving up the WSL scale into pure excellence. If you’re wanting a car analogy I’d say it’s a Toyota Camry, rather than a F1 McLaren. Another 7 out of 10 here.
WARMTH
The 3/2 version of the Feral Wetsuit would be suitable for winters in West Oz, NSW and Queensland when talking Australia. I’d suggest anyone in colder states (or those with lesser burliness) bump up into a 4/3mm. It’s warm enough without running into personal jacuzzi territory. Would love to see them add some thermal lining for an extra insulation boost, however that normally comes with a reduction in flex. Always a difficult bargain to strike. 8 out of 10.
VALUE
At $632AUD, this suit is definitely getting up there with some of the more expensive suits kicking around (similar to Vissla’s New Seas wetsuit, which also runs Japanese rubber). In terms of value, everything is going into the Yamamoto neoprene and ultra-clean finishing. No other special additions like thermal lining, innovative entry systems, or fancy seam tech. What you’re paying for, as Feral say, is a suit that ‘lasts seasons, not sessions’. While we haven’t been able to test this suit for multiple seasons, it’s obvious it is built well and should be very durable – which they back up with their warranty. Still, it’s hard to match up dollar for dollar against other high value options we’ve seen this year. 6.5 out of 10.
VERDICT
Tim: “Feral obviously has quite a few die hard fans in the water, loving their straight-foward approach to wetsuit construction in high-level materials. Unfortunately, the suit fell flat for me. It was uncomfortable to start off with, didn’t offer a whole lot of flex compared to other suits out there and wasn’t particularly warm either. Considering the price tag, I’d be reluctant to recommend it to any of my mates. Good if you can sneak a deal with an inside hook up, but if you’re paying full retail I’d be inclined to head toward other options. There’s probably an argument out there that this suit will last longer than others, but I’m not willing to spend multiple seasons in a suit that I’m not stoked with during season one in the first place.”
Lincoln: “
Overall Rating
- High end rubber
- Top level finishing
- Balance of flex, comfort and warmth just isn’t there
WHERE TO BUY
If you’ve got $600 (or thereabouts) Australian spare and we’ve convinced to get an Feral Wetsuit, then hit the below links and spend up. It ticks all the boxes you should be looking for, more so if you’re Sydney north (get a 4/3 if you’re Vicco)
Buy a Feral Wetsuit direct from Feral here.
Alternatively, we’ve pulled together three Winter Wetsuit Buyers Guides if you’re still a little undecided on what to buy:
*Above $550
*$350-$550
*Below $350
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