Rip Curl Womens Heatseeker 3/2mm Chest Zip Steamer Wetsuit

Rip Curl Womens Heatseeker 3/2mm Chest Zip Steamer Wetsuit is the most technically advanced cold water wetsuit ever. Featuring heat-generating materials, super quick-drying and superior design provide the ultimate cold water wetsuit.

As per the Flashbomb range, you can rest assured knowing you’re getting the best neoprene, tape sealed seams, chest zip and a full internal thermal lining.  These elements are key to any high-performance and cold-water wetsuit.

How does the Heat Seeker seek heat?

The Heat Seeker works on two fronts, firstly by heavily mitigating wind-chill with their Liquid Mesh Torso and Sleeve linings and secondly by the heat generating capabilities Rip Curl tout their new Flex Energy neoprene to have. We are not privy to how Rip Curl achieves this heat-generation but we can tell you that George Beuchat, one of SCUBA’s founding pioneers, invented the Isothermal Wetsuit back in the 50s and the principles seem similar, except Rip Curl’s version actually generates heat, doesn’t just work to keep heat static. This may sound crazy, but there are dozens of complex textiles on the market today that can somewhat magically modulate their insulation and air-flow.  Some work on ambient temps, others with movement or moisture content (lets say humidity is high, the textile will contract, to increase air-flow, therefore reducing heat retention of your garment: because you’re in high humidity)  So yeah, we’re not surprised Rip Curl, the company responsible for more advancements in wetsuit tech than the test combined, managed to get these textiles into their lining.

The Heat Seeker’s Liquid Mesh External Panelling takes a fresh look into smooth-skin external linings, something we’ve seen fading away from high-performance mens surfing wetsuits in recent years, because of connotations with low-stretch.  What the Heat Seeker searched for was a highly flexible and hydrophobic elastomer that is durable enough for use in the high-stretch seams without de-laminating. In achieving this goal the Heat Seeker is the undeniable champ when it comes to mitigating wind-chill and is here to say. Because this lining is hydrophobic, it repels water, which means these panels are always dry, therefore avoiding cold-water wicking – a cold surface wicks heat ~25x faster than a dry surface, so being dry is important.  The reason we see none of this elastomer in the legs panels of the Heat Seeker is because more often than not you’ll be sitting upright on your board and the elastomer is designed with wind-chill in mind, not chill of the water. 

To get the most out of your Rip Curl Womens Heatseeker 3/2mm Chest Zip Steamer Wetsuit we recommend washing it with Wetsuit Wash and reading our maintenance guide. 

Rip Curl Womens Heatseeker 3/2mm Chest Zip Steamer Wetsuit Features:

• Heat Seeker External Panelling: A modern improvement on our most effective mitigator of wind chill: smooth skin.  Get more info on this above
• Flex Energy: Rip Curl have dropped their insane Flex Energy neoprene which touts a core-foam that induces heat through your physical activation of the suit, the more your move the more is generated.  Isothermal wetsuits have been around for a while, but have not been practical to the surfing industry until Rip Curl figured it out this year
• 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 Flash Lining: 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
• Chest Zip: Once you go front zip you’ll never go back!  That’s because the chest zip fixes a fundamental flaw of the back zip, which is that it limits your ability to curve your back! Get the goss on zips
• 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
• 3/2 Liquid Tape Seals: 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
• Lock Slide Closure: Adjustable closure that helps seal the shoulder entry of the Zipperless Flashbomb
• 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