Prolimit Vapor 5/4 C-zip Frontzip 2027 Wetsuit

Flexible and warm 5/4 winter wetsuit from Prolimit

First session in November, water around ten degrees, and you just want to keep sending loops without your shoulders seizing up halfway through. That is exactly where the Prolimit Vapor 5/4 C-zip Frontzip 2027 falls into place. This is the top model from Prolimit in the thickness that keeps you kiting from October well into spring: 5mm around your core for insulation, 4mm in the arms and legs so you stay free to move.

The first thing you notice when you step into it is how soft it feels. That comes down to NaturePrene2, the rubber Prolimit switched to when they dropped neoprene altogether. It is eighty percent natural rubber from FSC-certified plantations, topped up with recycled carbon black from old car tyres, powder from washed-up oyster shells and plant-based soybean oil. It reads like the ingredient list of a smoothie, but it adds up to a material that is lighter and stretches further than classic neoprene. There are no extender oils in there either, which helps if your skin gets irritated easily.

The outside is V4X, a fabric that gives just as much in every direction. So there is no angle where the wetsuit works against you, and you feel that most when you are hanging deep in your harness and reaching your arm back for a handle pass or a grab. V4X dries fast and lets little wind through, which after a crash is the difference between carrying on and shivering your way back to the beach. Underneath, two layers do the real work. The Thermal Rebound2 lining is borrowed from survival blankets and bounces your own body heat back inside. The Zodiac2 fleece below it pulls moisture off your skin and releases it again, so you are not sitting in a cold wet layer waiting for the next gust.

The seams are triple glued, blind stitched on the inside and covered on the outside with a wide black carbon seal. That Fluid Taping Method keeps water out without making the seam stiff, so nothing pulls across your shoulder blades. The glue is water-based Aqua Alpha, which filters out 99 percent of the impurities and bonds just as strongly as traditional glue. The C-zip frontzip with YKK zipper sits low on your chest and leaves your back free, which you notice straight away when you twist your upper body. On top of that you get KED knee panels that stretch with you when you drop into your knees, drainholes that flush water out after a hard wipe-out, and ankle straps that stop flushing.

Torn between this one and the 6/4 hooded? The hooded is the warmer of the two and handles the bitterest January days. The Prolimit Vapor 5/4 C-zip Frontzip 2027 is the more flexible choice that covers the biggest part of the season, without making you feel like the Michelin man. For most kiters riding cold, choppy water close to home, that is exactly the right balance.

Specifications Prolimit Vapor 5/4 C-zip Frontzip 2027 Wetsuit

• 5/4mm wetsuit | Men
• C-zip frontzip
• NaturePrene2 Oystershell, neoprene-free
• Thermal Rebound2 and Zodiac2 lining
• FTM taped seams
• FSC-certified natural rubber
• Double lined construction
• V4X outer lining, 4-way flex
• Zodiac2 inner lining
• Velvet quick dry lining
• Water-based Aqua Alpha glue
• KED knee panels
• Drainholes
• Ankle straps