The 2014 Tracks wetsuit test was one of the toughest the Tracks team has ever done. Buckling up and heading down the Great Ocean Road testers, Cahill Bell-Warren, Surf Coast Nigel Muscroft, Gus Hartfield and Nathan Hedge battled the elements and scored somewhere near the Victorian-South Australian border.

There were two separate price categories; over $400 and sub $400 with two testers for each category. They tested suits exclusively in that price category. There was no comparison between suits in different categories.

Testers surfed in each suit for a minimum of 1.5 hours and then gave the suit a score out of 20 in each of the following areas. The score is then averaged to give the final % score.

Flex/Fit/Comfort

Ease Of Entry & Exit

Water Entry

Warmth

This year’s testers had their work cut out and it was a very close race separating all brands. The top wetsuits deemed by Tracks for respective categories was Rip Curl’s Flash Bomb Zip Free taking out best suit of the year for over $400 and Quiksilver’s Ignite Ziperless for best suit of the year in the under $400 category.

For a comprehensive look at all 15 suits tested pick up your copy of the June issue of Tracks on sale now from all good newsagents and stay tuned for our clips to drop from all the testers in action and see what they had to say.