to add spot to watch list
About a month ago the water got chilly for about a week and I pulled out my winter suit. When I put it on I noticed there was a hole around the neck and by the end of the week the suit was leaking to the point where I needed to get a new one. Like every other normal person I went to the web and started looking for an unbiased comparison of all the products out there. Guess what – it doesn’t exist.
But I have the advantage of Solspot and so I sat and developed a methodology that removes most of the marketing and will compare the products on their own merits. One quick side note – just like our forecasts there must be some human interpretation of the suit or else you don’t get to showcase the art of wetsuit crafting. The formula looks like this:
- Performance = 60% of score
- Value = 20% of score
- User Evaluation = 20% of score
We have reached out to every big and every small surf wetsuit manufacturer we could find. We sent e-mails, phone messages, and even hand written letters. Not everyone wanted to participate, which is their prerogative. We will be reviewing suits from the following: Rip Curl, Quiksilver, Isurus, Buell, Patagonia, Body Glove, and O’Neill.
So here’s what you can expect over the next month. Every few days we will post a review. The review will be the User Evaluation – based off two 90 minute surf sessions. Then on Cyber Monday we release all the performance based testing data and will crown Solspot’s 2012 Winter Wetsuit of the Year.
