Rip Curl Junior Flashbomb 3/2mm GB Zipperless Steamer Wetsuit

Rip Curl Junior Flashbomb 3/2mm GB Zipperless Steamer Wetsuit is the cream of the high-performance wetsuit crop and will change your perspective on how stretchy a wetsuit can be. The combination of their E5 Neoprene, Glued and Blind-stitched seams (GBS) and the exclusion of a zipper ensures the F-Bombis at the frontier. Depending on how you tolerate the cold, this suit will keep your stoked from 15-20C.

What About Growth Spurts?

We get it, you don’t want to buy a $400 wetsuit for them to grow out of it in 6 months, and in clothing you’re correct but this is not the case with top-quality wetsuits. Humans are full of bones, bones don’t stretch they only articulate and, over time, grow. Wetsuit material, neoprene, stretches and elongates a great deal and in this suit, due to its top-tier neoprene and no zip, the stretch potential is VAST (I’ve tried on a Rip Curl kids size 14 with no-zip to test this theory and it works, I’m 6’5 and 85kgs). The reason high-stretch is desirable is to place less strain on your body when you paddle/move. If the suit can stretch so much, how is it that kid’s grow out of wetsuits? The zip! The zip is the only part of a suit that doesn’t stretch and being that is runs along their spine the suit will cease to fit the instant their spine grows, a big problem. Chest Zip wetsuits, and zipperless wetsuits like this, avoid this issue by running the zip on their chest, between their shoulders, or by removing the zip all together.

The Flashbomb series is Rip-Curl’s best offering and that’s saying something when you consider that Rip Curl isn’t only responsible for almost all industry-accepted developments in the last 35 years but have consistently been considered the best in the business.

To get the most out of your Rip Curl Junior Flashbomb 3/2mm GB Zipperless Steamer Wetsuit we recommend washing it with the Australian made Wetsuit Wash and reading our Wetsuit Maintenance Guide.

Rip Curl Junior Flashbomb 3/2mm GB Zipperless Steamer Wetsuit Features

• E5 Neoprene: A contender for the stretchiest and warmest material on the market. Unrivalled stretch, great warmth, supreme comfort and softness are part in parcel to Rip Curl’s top line wetsuits.
• E5 Thermoflash: By engineering two individual layers within their polyfleece lining Rip Curl have effectively created a funnel in which water will move along. The suit is not only warmer because of this but when you stand up any trapped water will flow down through the suit.
• Glued and Blind Stitched Seams: A high-performance seam is one that has a great deal of stretch but is also sealed and a GBS seam ticks both of those boxes. The only downfall is durability but Rip Curl have remedied this with their E5 Tape. Learn more about seams on our blog.
• Tape Reinforced: A neoprene ‘tape’ that is laid along the inside of the seams to increase durability and is super comfy on the skin, much more so than stitching.
• No Zip: The stretchiest variation of wetsuit as zippers are the only part that don’t stretch. Bliss! Learn more about wetsuit entry systems
• Mesh Skin: An external coating that absorbs solar heat but repels water, creating an outside layer that improves heat retention and limits wind-chill.
• Magnetic Stash Pocket: Just like the usual stash pocket but sealed by a magnet, not a zip- zips have historically fused because of the zip is small, therefore the teeth are tiny.

PLEASE NOTE: Wetsuit Warehouse cannot sell Rip Curl products to customers outside Australia at this time.