Price: Couldn’t find a price for this model, yet, but it’s likely north of €400…
Flex/Comfort: 4/10
Warmth: 8/10
Overall: 5/10

Tested at: Lahinch, Ireland 12/04/14
Water temp: 12 deg C
Air temp: 11 deg C
Dry weight: 1.93 KG
Did I piss in it? Obviously, yes
Tested by: PE

In brief: Looks awesome, great eco-credentials & durability, but really stiff for 2014.

Brand Overview

Affectionately nicknamed Patagucci or Pradagonia for their uber chic credentials, Patagonia are champions of new cool brand values, bodysurfing, Malloys, rock climbing, beards and wholesome shred folkiness in general. They’ve even championed old kit that lasts via their ‘Worn Wear’ campaign, promoting repairing old gear rather than rushing out and squandering your resources on the ‘new season’s’ crap several times a year.

The Test

Definitely the stiffest and heaviest suit in this test (nearly 2kg!) this is a 3.5mm fullsuit for those whom ‘summer’ is perhaps more of a relative term. 3.5mm might even be a relative term too, it looks mighty thicker than that to me, and my ruler. Anyway, R3 would be ‘summer’ for surfers who live north of the English Channel, around the North Sea, Scandinavia, or a spring/ late autumn for others. I tested the Patagonia R3 on cold day in Ireland in early April and was toasty, and I even spent most of that sesh swimming, usually colder than paddling on a board.

It felt really stiff relative to today’s modern standard, but it isn’t your modern standard, and that’s kinda Pata’s calling card anyway. Not so much the featherweight bodycondom, more like the reusable, stand the-test-of-time condom. Sorry that’s a horrible analogy. Anyway it’s built tough, built to last.

Again, there’s no anti-flush collar over the entry, which was somewhat disconcerting pre-paddle out in the icy Celtic brine. Suits designed for these kind of water temps would typically have one. However, it wasn’t actually an issue on that occasion, and it didn’t flush once. Although having said that, it was 1ft on the sets. I didn’t happen to suffer a wipeout on an o-ring blowing 10ft-er at The Cliffs…

Flexibility/durability is something of a trade off and Patagonia suits will test where exactly your priorities lie. The R3 was the best Patagonia suit I’ve worn yet, I’ve had everything from hooded 5 mils with the merino wool layer to short arm 2mils, and if I’m honest I wasn’t crazy about any of them. My main thought on them was lack of flex and leaky seams, so kinda stiff and cold – the worst of both worlds. This one is taped and sealed inside and out, a massive improvement. The Yulex features as smoothskin stuff on the torso that you don’t see much, usually surf wetsuits double line the chest with nylon to make them more hard wearing. One other glaring improvement was the little popper to keep the zip in place, why they hadn’t done that previously had been a total mystery to me.

Yulex Rubber
The suit is a blend of 60/40 blend Yulex/regular rubber. Yulex comes from the guayule plant, grown with no pesticides and very little water, which is awesome. Check the vid…

In Summary

If you want something that feels like you’re not wearing a wetsuit, the R3 ain’t it. But if you’re feeling flush, want something to last years and years, made responsibly by the sexiest brand in surfing, and that looks fecking cool to those with hipster sensitivities or aversions to garishness, then it’s time to put your money where your Status Updates claim your heart is…

Patagonia Wetsuits