2015 O'Neill Psycho III Wetsuit Review - Techy Buttery Goodness

When I bought my first O'Neill Psycho III wetsuit in the fall of 2013, I was stoked.
In the past I had some issues with cheaper wetsuits... the necks would "rot" from my sunscreen or whatever reason, or something else on the suit would fall apart.

But now I could finally afford a top-of-the-line wetsuit.

After plopping down $500 or so at the surf shop, I was in heaven.

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But after surfing almost every day for a year in the Psycho III, its end was near. The rubber seams were basically destroyed, cracked all over. It was actually starting to get painful to surf, because the cracked seams would be pinching my skin while I surfed.
Nothing else was wrong with the suit, no holes, no rips, it still kept me warm. Just the cracked seams.

Pretty disappointing after dropping all that cash on a suit that I thought would last for years.

The 1 year anniversary of me and the wetsuit was approaching, and I remembered something about a 1-year warranty.
I headed to the surf shop where I bought it, and they helped me fill out the warranty form. Normally you write what area needs repair, but the whole wetsuit needed to be repaired.

So I'm not sure what the guy at the shop wrote, but 3 weeks later I had a brand new wetsuit! And it was the 2015 model!

I want to thank O'Neill for honoring their warranty without any hassle. Very cool.

The 2015 Psycho III has sexy blue seams, and again is the best wetsuit I have ever used. I have the 3/2 version, but it keeps as warm (or at least close to it) as my 4/3 suit!

The best part is how light and flexible it is. I can definitely feel myself getting tired faster with a thicker wetsuit. With my 4/3, it's crazy how fast my arms get tired. With the 3/2 Psycho III, it's almost like I'm surfing in boardshorts. Definitely an improvement over the 3/2s I've had in the past.

I've had the new suit for about 5 months now, and the seams are starting to crack again, as you can see in the picture. Nothing bad yet, but I'm guessing it will probably end up like the previous one.

I think it's pretty sucky that an expensive wetsuit falls apart like this, but I guess with the more delicate materials, it's to be expected.

I talked to the guy at the surf shop, and he said that if I'm surfing every day I should just get a mid-range wetsuit. It will be cheaper and probably won't fall apart as fast. The downside of course being that it won't be as light/flexible/warm.

Anyways, for now I'm happy with my Psycho III, and summer is coming up anyways, so pretty soon I won't even need to wear it!

What wetsuit do you have, and how do you like it? Leave a comment below!

UPDATE (September 3rd, 2015)

So I've had the 2015 version of the Psycho III for about a year now, and the seams are horrible. They are all cracked, and probably half of the seams have completely fallen off. This allows a lot of water into the wetsuit, which obviously doesn't keep me as warm.

You can see what I mean in this quick video:

For my next wetsuit I'm thinking about a Patagonia. My friend has had one for probably 4 years and he loves it. Doesn't look like it has worn out at all.

Or I might buy a mid-range wetsuit, around $200-$250. My theory is that the seams won't be as stretchy, but they will be more durable.

I love O'Neill, and still might get a mid-range suit from them, but I can't justify spending $500 on a wetsuit that falls apart in less than a year.