THE SUIT
Florence Marine X haven’t been around long, but the team behind are industry stalwarts who have done it all before. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when they launched and launched wetsuits straight out the gate. And in an interesting difference to the majority of the market, they’re only offering one range of suits. No price points, no entry/mid/premium levels here. It’s their push towards sustainability, which is different to others, with making the warmest, most comfortable, most long-lasting wetsuits possible. Which is crafting their suits from 100% premium Japanese neoprene, building each suit by hand, one at a time. There’s a lot going into their suits, but lets get into it…
Here’s what they say about the suit:
“We worked with a small crew in Japan to create a wetsuit from the most quality, supple, long-lasting neoprene available. The majority of wetsuits are made in the same factories using the same materials just given different marketing names.”
We tested the suit to see if Florence delivered on that promise. Here is your Florence Marine X wetsuit review for 2023…
Neutral position patterning
Minimizing bunching and allowing for a noticeably better fit.
Japanese Neoprene
High quality, supple, long-lasting neoprene.
Hand Built
Creating a water-tight seal that eliminates the need for interior tape.
WHAT IT’S GOOD FOR
The 3/2 full-suit from Florence Marine X is great suit for those who have a little more disposable income, or are looking for a suit that should last a couple of seasons. Even the surfers who love being first (guilty) of grabbing product from new brands will find something here at FMX.
If you’re wondering where location wise it suits, it should be more then enough for Sydney and cover you in in the chillier waters with boots further south. Something like 11-16 degrees C water temp as a great window.
THE IMPORTANT STUFF
FIT & COMFORT
Fantastic fit. For a brand dropping their first wetsuit collection, the fit is wildly dialled in. Extremely comfortable, easy to get on and off and non of that weird bunching or random seams anywhere. The more I wore it, the more impressed I was with it. The soft feel of the premium Japanese rubber is elite as well. The only that bugged me was the chest zip entry set up, for some reason the zipper head is on the top zipper line (and this is probably more user issue then design) which makes wildly harder to connect the zipper together vs if it was on the bottom line, in my experience anyway. But if that’s all I can complain about, we’re looking at a pretty damn good suit.
A rock solid 9.5 out of 10 here.
PERFORMANCE
The performance of the Florence Marine X fullsuit was one of the bigger surprises. I had a feeling it would be warm, I had a feeling it would be great construction (although no pin leaks really blew my mind), but to add all those together and still have an amazing performance to it was amazing. To make it easier to understand, a comparison would that it’s not at the flexibility of a Ebomb, but it’s as warm as a Heatseeker and much more flexible. It’s a suit that is every bit as good as just about any other suit on the market when it comes to stretch. Super flexible. Great cut leaving full movement when you need it.
An easy 9.5
WARMTH
This thing is a cooker. It was WAY TOO HOT on the Gold Coast and just south, you’d be super warm around Sydney and I reckon you could pull this off easily in Vicco with boots. It’s not labelled as a cold water suit, but it’s beyond a mild water suit thats for sure. The most surprising thing for me were the seals, there were no pin leaks on this suit. None. I’m 20+ surfs deep in it, and am still not getting any when walking out. I was getting some flushing around the entry, but nothing annoying just noticeable.
Have to give this a 9.5 out of 10 for warmth.
VALUE
At $1000 for one of these, and running a limited 1yr warranty, I can’t with all honesty say it’s the greatest value. You could pick up two Rip Curl Ebombs for the same price and not put on a wet wetty for the season. The Florence Marine X sits at the very top of the point end of the price tree, BUT there is a very good chance this is a suit that will last you a couple of seasons. I don’t know yet, only worn it 20 or so times, but if it does last a couple of seasons (which is why FMX put so much effort into the development of it) then the value goes up. If you’re wanting to spend a little more to save the planet, and still get something with epic performance, this is your suit. If you’re wanting change from your weekly paycheck though, there might be better options.
7.5 of 10 here.
VERDICT
I’m like a kid on Xmas day opening new presents anytime a new brand in the market sends over product to test out. I love it, always will, part of being a brand nerd I guess. But the suit, the Florence Marine X suit, it’s a winner in my eyes. It’s expensive, but it’s such a solid suit across performance, warmth and comfort that I found it hard to fault.
For a new brand in a heavily competitive category to come out with such a banger of a suit on debut is impressive. The fact they haven’t used any techno-jargon that the industry can be guilty of using, they’ve just built a rock solid suit with premium Japanese materials and partners is a flag in the sand moment for wetsuits and wetsuit production. Durability will be the key here to really seeing how well they can do at the current price point
I guess my bottom line thought is, if you can afford it then get it. I can’t see you being upset about your purchase. If there was a poster child for the word ‘value ‘not being the same as ‘cheap’, it’s this suit from Florence Marine X.
Overall Rating
- Very warm and flexible
- Eco-minded materials
- Excellent fit
- Expensive
- Could be a wait if there aren't any in stock
WHERE TO BUY
If you’ve got $1000 Australian spare and we’ve convinced to get an full-suit from Florence Marine X, then hit the below links and spend up.
Buy a Florence Marine X full-suit from :
⋅ Florence Marine X Australia
⋅ Florence Marine X USA
⋅ Florence Marine X Stockists
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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