Hey, What's the difference between the Billabong Furnace Absolute and the Absolute X? All I can see is the X has less Graphine but is more expensive... Thanks!
Hi Tim, Yer thats the biggest difference maybe the seams are more high tech on the more expensive version but the Absolute X in our opinion is a really really well priced suit considering the technology your getting.
Hi Roger, We have only tested this suit the Furnace Absolute X which only has the graphene in the chest and back and it was definitely toasty. Billabong do a suit with the Graphene all the way through which would be their competitor to the Flashbomb but without testing it hard to say. Certainly a chest zip Flashbomb is probably up there with the warmest suit on the market for surfing. Billabong are providing me with a 4/3 full Graphene suit for testing so will get back to you once I have worn that.
I have 654 and 43 flash bombs. The best suits I ever had in 35 years of surfing. I'll surf 37 degree New England in February for 2 hour sessions. This suit looks very similar to flash bombs though so I'd be curious to try it because I've heard Billabong is also the stretchiest.
I’m interested in a billabong absolute or absolute x but Im not sure about sizing, I checked my 10yr old c-skins wetsuit and it’s (ms)but I’m 5’11’ and 82kg. my old suit still fits me and I only wore it 6 months ago and can swim/surf in it easily.
Hi Matt, Best bet would be to check the size charts and go from there. Although your probably more of a Medium in Billabong just going on the measurements you have provided.
Hey Nickolay, I agree that marketing on linings are a little much some times. Certainly thats the case with XCEL and their liners but the marketing we have been fed from Billabong does look pretty convincing. They love a heat camera.... We have worn this suit and defiantly is warm but hard to give it a number I would say without doubt its a step on from Billabongs old linings but whether thats because its a brand new suit or the Graphene actually doing its job its hard to tell.
@@shore Thanks for your prompt reply! Well appreciated ;) I've been working for some time on yarns for wetsuit linings with heat retention/release and IR/FIR conversion to heat... it's nothing but marketing! And that thermal camera test is the gimmick of all gimmicks! You heat a material from short distance with a 500W xenon lamp and it heats up by 1-3°C just a bit faster than your benchmark sample. Polypropylene, on the other side doesn't heat up almost at all, yet one of the warmest wetsuit lining materials to date. What minerals (metal oxides) graphene and carbon (the black fiber pigment btw) do when aded to the yarn (max. 3-4% ) is to convert IR radiation to heat. The issue is that the amount of IR radiation of the human body is so low, that the warming effect is even hard to measure. Not to mention heating up a glass of the cold when your suit gets flushed. It's the yarn type, structure, and finishing that make for a good warm lining. Unfortunately always constrained by cost. Cheers!
Sounds like your the man for wetsuit tech Nickolay. I think a-lot of the problem with the development of suits is that basically only one factory globally produces wetsuits and therefore they are in the driving seat on innovation and technology. Basically getting the brands to bid against each other for exclusive rights to materials for set periods of time. Hopefully this will change over time. Who knows you may even figure out a new wonder material. I am personally surprised there isn't more action with heating elements in wetsuits like the old Rip Curl H Bomb. Have you experimented or tested that technology?
@@shore true that (about sheico)! :) On one hand they have a good efficiency and economies of scale and that drive consumer prices down and keep quality consistant. Some of the new 'green' tech they developed - aqua-α waterborne lamination glue, dope dyed jerseys, carbon black from recycled tyres... a small manufactuer wouldn't be able to cope with the R&D cost. With small exceptions (like RipCurl partly), pretty much every big wetsuit brand is in their hands and the amount of in-house material/technology development has indeed decreased by a lot. The wonder material in my opinion would be a foam very different from polychloroprene (whether oil or limestone) with thermal conductivity (insulation) that changes with the ambient temperature ;). There is an ongoing research in that direction, but our industry is far too small to support it. I was recently asked by a well-known brand - "can you make it"? My answer was - even if I could, you wouldn't buy it, as the suit won't survive 3-4 seasons. And if it does - you won't survive. But until then, we'll have to bear with the current materials and put up with the marketing of the big players. Nowadays you can have a great warm and soft lining with plenty of stretch and quick-dry properties, but that's not enough to sell it well. I too had to come up with materials that tick the marketing boxes. Fit/stretch, least flush and windchill is my recipe for the ultimate wetsuit. And 1+ season durability, if possible... On the active heating - no, I haven't worked on this. Not my area of expertise and I personally don't believe in it outside of the emergency/survival gear where it has to work once to save a life. I look forward to your review of the full graphene Billabong suit, as I will need a new 4/3 soon. Who knows.. maybe I'm wrong ;)
i used a 4/3 here in 12 degree Celsius last winter, really warm really y flexible, durable and I surf everyday, I thoroughly recommend it
Hey, What's the difference between the Billabong Furnace Absolute and the Absolute X? All I can see is the X has less Graphine but is more expensive...
Thanks!
Hi Tim, Yer thats the biggest difference maybe the seams are more high tech on the more expensive version but the Absolute X in our opinion is a really really well priced suit considering the technology your getting.
Great review Henry! Billabong Furnace vs Rip Curl Flash Bomb - which is warmer for a given thickness of suit?
Hi Roger, We have only tested this suit the Furnace Absolute X which only has the graphene in the chest and back and it was definitely toasty. Billabong do a suit with the Graphene all the way through which would be their competitor to the Flashbomb but without testing it hard to say. Certainly a chest zip Flashbomb is probably up there with the warmest suit on the market for surfing. Billabong are providing me with a 4/3 full Graphene suit for testing so will get back to you once I have worn that.
I have 654 and 43 flash bombs. The best suits I ever had in 35 years of surfing. I'll surf 37 degree New England in February for 2 hour sessions. This suit looks very similar to flash bombs though so I'd be curious to try it because I've heard Billabong is also the stretchiest.
I’m interested in a billabong absolute or absolute x but Im not sure about sizing, I checked my 10yr old c-skins wetsuit and it’s (ms)but I’m 5’11’ and 82kg. my old suit still fits me and I only wore it 6 months ago and can swim/surf in it easily.
Hi Matt, Best bet would be to check the size charts and go from there. Although your probably more of a Medium in Billabong just going on the measurements you have provided.
hey question what temp is this suit rated for I will be surfing low 35 degree -50
Hi Connor, so thats around 1 degrees C so very very chilly. Your gonna need a 6/5/4 hooded suit and some 7mm boots and gloves.
Great review! I'm 6'4 180lbs 32waist . Think the MT size will fit me? Or should I go bigger?
Hi Felix, Whats your chest measurement and what t-shirt size do you usually wear?
Shore My chest measurement is 38in and I usually wear L t-shirts and occasionally M, depending on the brand
Nice wetsuit! Surely very warm too. But this graphene marketing BS comes a bit too much.
Hey Nickolay, I agree that marketing on linings are a little much some times. Certainly thats the case with XCEL and their liners but the marketing we have been fed from Billabong does look pretty convincing. They love a heat camera.... We have worn this suit and defiantly is warm but hard to give it a number I would say without doubt its a step on from Billabongs old linings but whether thats because its a brand new suit or the Graphene actually doing its job its hard to tell.
@@shore Thanks for your prompt reply! Well appreciated ;)
I've been working for some time on yarns for wetsuit linings with heat retention/release and IR/FIR conversion to heat... it's nothing but marketing! And that thermal camera test is the gimmick of all gimmicks!
You heat a material from short distance with a 500W xenon lamp and it heats up by 1-3°C just a bit faster than your benchmark sample. Polypropylene, on the other side doesn't heat up almost at all, yet one of the warmest wetsuit lining materials to date.
What minerals (metal oxides) graphene and carbon (the black fiber pigment btw) do when aded to the yarn (max. 3-4% ) is to convert IR radiation to heat. The issue is that the amount of IR radiation of the human body is so low, that the warming effect is even hard to measure. Not to mention heating up a glass of the cold when your suit gets flushed.
It's the yarn type, structure, and finishing that make for a good warm lining. Unfortunately always constrained by cost. Cheers!
Sounds like your the man for wetsuit tech Nickolay. I think a-lot of the problem with the development of suits is that basically only one factory globally produces wetsuits and therefore they are in the driving seat on innovation and technology. Basically getting the brands to bid against each other for exclusive rights to materials for set periods of time. Hopefully this will change over time. Who knows you may even figure out a new wonder material. I am personally surprised there isn't more action with heating elements in wetsuits like the old Rip Curl H Bomb. Have you experimented or tested that technology?
@@shore true that (about sheico)! :) On one hand they have a good efficiency and economies of scale and that drive consumer prices down and keep quality consistant. Some of the new 'green' tech they developed - aqua-α waterborne lamination glue, dope dyed jerseys, carbon black from recycled tyres... a small manufactuer wouldn't be able to cope with the R&D cost. With small exceptions (like RipCurl partly), pretty much every big wetsuit brand is in their hands and the amount of in-house material/technology development has indeed decreased by a lot.
The wonder material in my opinion would be a foam very different from polychloroprene (whether oil or limestone) with thermal conductivity (insulation) that changes with the ambient temperature ;). There is an ongoing research in that direction, but our industry is far too small to support it. I was recently asked by a well-known brand - "can you make it"? My answer was - even if I could, you wouldn't buy it, as the suit won't survive 3-4 seasons. And if it does - you won't survive.
But until then, we'll have to bear with the current materials and put up with the marketing of the big players. Nowadays you can have a great warm and soft lining with plenty of stretch and quick-dry properties, but that's not enough to sell it well. I too had to come up with materials that tick the marketing boxes.
Fit/stretch, least flush and windchill is my recipe for the ultimate wetsuit. And 1+ season durability, if possible...
On the active heating - no, I haven't worked on this. Not my area of expertise and I personally don't believe in it outside of the emergency/survival gear where it has to work once to save a life.
I look forward to your review of the full graphene Billabong suit, as I will need a new 4/3 soon. Who knows.. maybe I'm wrong ;)
Nickolay Dobrev if this suit is good enough for you then I’m sold 👍🏻