Test locations: Central Coast NSW to the Gold Coast.
Test duration: May – July
Wetty price: $299.95
Colour: Ash
Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL


If you’ve ever owned a shortarm, chances are it’s your favourite wetsuit. Not just because it’s that much more flexible (and therefore comfortable) than a full-length steamer, but because of when you wear them: Autumn, when cold water is still kind of novel (and not too cold), and your surfs are more likely to be in clean groundswells than windblown summer chop.

Shortarms are associated with good times, so even before I tried this wetsuit on I had a good feeling towards it, which the charcoal grey colour also helped - always stoked when a wetty manufacturer goes out on a limb to produce something that isn’t black or blue, without resorting to some lurid colour-combo you’d be too embarrassed to wear.

Taking delivery of the test suit in early May on the Gold Coast meant giving it a couple of months of wear (and a couple of road trips south in the name of research) to properly assess its qualities (ie. waiting for the water to get cold enough to wear a wetty: I know, I know. Sucks to live on the Goldy, huh?).

As well as feeling out how warm the suit was, giving it an extended period of solid wear meant really testing its durability, and I diligently washed myself across the Angourie surge rock and got bounced across several points and reefs to help assess the suit’s ability to absorb wear and tear. I’m happy (and slightly incredulous) to say that the Jetpilot looks pretty much as good now as it did when I picked it up two months ago.

A big reason for this lies in the beauty of the suit’s seams. Wetsuit manufacturers are notorious for making up bizarre names for their construction methods, so while I was always going to be sceptical of a suit that claims to be “90 per cent Majic Stitched”*, the JetPilot Capsule’s construction is genuinely impressive, and among the best and most durable on any wetsuit I’ve ever seen.

Perhaps the biggest thumbs-up for the suit’s construction is that all seams are sealed, which is bloody rare in a wetsuit priced as keenly as this one. If the term “sealed seam” is meaningless to you, allow me to translate: Sealing the inside of a wetsuit’s seams means less water seepage and extra reinforcement on a suit’s stress points.
In short: sealed seams = tough + warm.

As the water got colder I was especially grateful for the sealed seams as it allowed an extra month’s worth of wear from a suit I’d thought would otherwise be too cold to do the job towards the middle of winter. And I really did want that extra month’s worth of wear, as this is the comfiest suit I’ve worn. The short sleeves mean you’re losing minimal paddle-strength, while the long legs keep you warm.

JetPilot aren’t the biggest name in core surfwear, and for this suit they’ve stripped it back to basics. There aren’t any bells or whistles, it doesn’t have a chest-zip or a water-wicking inner lining. But it looks good, it’s extremely comfortable, it’s warm, and it’s built to last.
At this price, and for a suit you’re going to be wearing at your favourite time of the year, that’s all you could possibly ask. Two thumbs up.

 

Design: 3.5/5
Durability: 4/5
Functionality: 4/5
Value: 4.5/5
Total: 16/20