Having bought a few big name wetsuits which were by no means perfect I thought I'd try one of the cheap, no frills options. Crusader sell direct from their website or on ebay. The ebay option works out cheaper most of the time and the delivery is pretty quick.
The suit itself is nothing special to look at; standard black with red or blue trim. There are no pre-bent elbows or knees here, just thick, standard neoprene.
Movement is restricted by this suit moreso than in a more expensive brand, but not by a great deal.
The fit isn't great, the torso having no contouring to it. Buy one for a guy with a big chest and you'll find a little too much loose material around the waist. The other problem with these standard sizes is that taller people will struggle. There is no extra tall option so you may find yourself going from Large to Extra Large to get the height, which leads to too loose a fit around the rest of the body.
These things aside, performance in the water is pleasantly surprising. Put simply, this is a warm suit. The titanium layer is supposed to reflect body heat back in, and it seems to work. The neck, wrist and ankle seals are simple rubber and are reasonably effective at preventing cold water flushing through, Crusader also sell wrist and ankle straps to tighten these seals and make them that much better. I have had no problems with neck rash from the rubber although I imagine souls with more sensitive skin might.
The seams are all glued and blindstiched, making them pretty much water tight, but it's all let down slightly by the back zip which lets icy cold water through like a seive.
If you use this for surfing you may find problems with the knees. There are no patches of any description so when popping up I find that, if my knee catches the board, it sticks to the wax like glue. The lack of protection also means that the knees wear much more quickly. On a general protection note, you'll find no added protection anywhere to increase the durability of the suit for pursuits such as sailing, jetskiing, kite surfing etc.
Overall, it's not a bad effort considering the low cost. It's warm and basically does the job, you will miss all the little extras - smooth skin seals, super stretch neoprene, knee inserts, pre-bent limbs etc. But let's face it, for the money involved you can't complain.
If you're a novice or not particularly serious water sports enthusiast, then go for it - it's better than not being able to go in the water over winter, but you will want to spend a lot more the next year. Serious types, give it a miss.
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Price
£50-£75
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