Is This The Best Wetsuit Money Can Buy?

Based out of San Diego, with their premium wetsuits coming from Japan, their team includes ambassadors such as Tosh  + Joel Tudor, JoJo Roper, Harrison Roach, Greyson Messier, Kolby Gilchrist, and Zack Flores to name a few. Essentially, they have a team that is impossible to ignore and a product that is hard to beat.

I couldn't help but notice the logo infiltrate the local breaks and I had grown more and more curious to try one out. I grabbed a medium off the rack and hit the dressing room--it fit like a glove. Lucky for me the stock size felt like a custom fit. The shop employee told me how much he loved his, “once you’ve tried one you won’t go back”, that plus the 15% off was enough to seal the deal, I pulled out my card and got myself an early Christmas gift. 

If you’ve never tried premium Japanese rubber just know that the difference truly is incredible, almost a night and day difference from a standard suit for the American market. Where the standard here is to mass produce everything for a cheaper price, the Japanese way is to custom make units that are built to last. This does mean a considerably higher price and a far superior product. 

The shop guy was right in that, after wearing my Moonsuit, my other suits took a backseat to my new kit. Sure, it was nice to have other options to back it up and not have to put on a wet suit on a cold morning but one of the amazing things was just how fast my Moonsuit dried. I could surf it in the morning and then be back in it by the afternoon with only a few hours in between and that was without letting it torch in the sun (which is a big no-no for wetsuit longevity). 

Every time I put it on, I was stoked, there was never a session where something disappointed me or felt weird. No excess leakage, no discomfort, no stiff shoulder, no worries. A comfortable and warm fit every time. I reckon I’ve now worn it at least 500 times: it’s been my daily driver for two San Diego winters and has been with me on trips to NorCal and Portugal. 

I’ve worn it in water as cold as 55°F and been just fine. When it comes to warmth, a lot comes down to your personal preference and depends on your disposition. For me, it was good enough for all but the coldest mornings–if the air temp and water temp was in the low 50s and the waves were slow, eventually I got chilly. If you’re the type that runs cold you can add a thermal layer to the 3mm or go with a 4/3 or 4mm all around. 

With Japanese rubber comes a few tricks to really making them last and therefore be worth your hard-earned dollars. First is proper sizing, if a suit is too tight, the seams will start to wear and leak in a much shorter amount of time. When putting it on, and taking it off, you shouldn’t yank and pull too hard. That means you shouldn't step on it with one foot on the concrete and then yank out the other leg. If it’s well sized, none of this is a problem, you can slip in and out easily.

While mine is a straightforward chest-zip, they make back zips and U-Zips, both of which will grant you more ease getting it on/off in case you’ve got broad shoulders, a bit of a belly, or limited mobility. 

Another way to care for it and make it last is to regularly rinse it with fresh water. This is fairly common knowledge, as well as not letting it rot in the sun for too long. Remember, wetsuits aren’t supposed to get hot–don’t put it in the dryer! The uplevel from fresh water rinses is to add a bit of hair conditioner to the rinse every few weeks, this will help keep the rubber soft and supple. 

All this is to say, if you’re been curious about a Moonsuit–go for it, they’re worth it. Take care of it and it will take care of you. Find them here or in select stores like Hermosa Surf in La Jolla and Prooflab in Marin.