TKB REVIEW: MANERA X10D 5/4/3 “super comfortable materials with added flexibility”

For us the decision is clear. With water temps hovering in the low to upper 50s, the 5/4/3 X10D does an excellent job of keeping us warm while adding a significant amount of flexibility. This extra stretchy feel encourages you to move and you feel this freedom when suiting up at your car, reaching down to grab some rail or paddling back out at the end of a long but warm session.

Source: The Kiteboarder Magazine

Sizes Available: XS, S, M, ML, L, XL, XXL
Sizes Tested: M

Manera Says:

Get the ultimate warmth from a light and flexible wetsuit! This is our newschool guys favorite for winter sessions.

The Meteor X10D is the ultimate performance wetsuit. In addition to excellent thermal protection, the X10D fleece interior gives flexibility and lightness while providing great comfort. It is perfectly adapted to any discipline where you need maximum flex because of its ability to follow the body’s movements.

If you are looking for lightness and freedom of movement, this is the wetsuit you need.

Visit for more info: www.manera.com/en/kiteboarding/wetsuits/men-meteor-x10d-steamer-543.html

TKB Says:

Typically the Meteor Magma, Manera’s cold water suit, has been the right fit for Santa Cruz, with summer upwelling keeping the water cold year-round, but the technology and feel in the X10D makes this a hard choice. The X10D boasts super comfortable materials with added flexibility that give you  5/4 thickness protection against temperature loss while still feeling extremely flexible for high performance kiting and surfing.

The key technology in this wetsuit is the SD2 taped seams that are butted together and sewn with overlapping tape for an unnoticeable seam that keeps the suit nice and dry. The X10D plus fleece is probably the key material that gives you extra heat without feeling bulky or water-absorbing. Manera uses special 3D software to get the cut right, and it does feel exceptionally comfortable, but that also has much to do with the high quality of triple-layer materials (Triplex) that form the wetsuit’s outer and inside skins. The front zip entry keeps the suit extremely warm; getting in and out is a little bit more work because this is a 5/4/3 wetsuit, but with the flexible materials, it’s well worth having the right fit with no room in the chest or shoulders when you dive headfirst into cold water. A huge feature we like is that the front zip comes pre-zipped, meaning the zipper carriage is already loaded with the two tracks and all you have to do is pull it out towards the end of the flap and snap the flap lock. There’s a bungee with a little plastic tensioner that makes it easy to add some extra tension to the closure flap and release it when you’re done. There are three vent holes in the chest, that spurt out water in the not so common occurrence that it gets past your neck flap. The water stays trapped between layers of neoprene in a pocket below and the water and never makes it to your skin. The suit comes with Velcro cuffs which we didn’t need to use and nifty water strainers at the ankles for letting water out so you don’t get water bulging in your legs. You get rubber seals at the openings of your arms and legs to keep those openings nice and tight, not just in the near term but over the long haul.

For us the decision is clear. With water temps hovering in the low to upper 50s, the 5/4/3 X10D does an excellent job of keeping us warm while adding a significant amount of flexibility. This extra stretchy feel encourages you to move and you feel this freedom when suiting up at your car, reaching down to grab some rail or paddling back out at the end of a long but warm session.