Mares Flexa 5mm Men's Wetsuit

The Mares Flexa 5mm Men's Wetsuit is one of the best-performing one-piece 5mm suits available in Australia, delivering outstanding flexibility and warmth that will satisfy serious divers — provided you can stomach the $737 price tag.

## Overview

Mares has positioned the Flexa as their flagship one-piece wetsuit for cold and temperate water diving, and the engineering reflects that ambition. The ultrastretch neoprene, trilastic panel placement, infrared-reflective lining, and fully glued and blind-stitched seams represent the current state of the art in wetsuit construction. At $737 AUD, it competes directly with premium suits from Scubapro, Fourth Element, and Waterproof, and it needs to justify that price through tangible performance advantages.

After extensive use across conditions ranging from 22-degree summer dives at South West Rocks to bracing 13-degree winter immersions at Rapid Bay in South Australia, the Flexa delivers. The stretch is remarkable for a 5mm suit, the warmth exceeds what you would expect from the thickness alone, and the construction quality suggests a suit that will hold up over hundreds of dives. Whether that performance is worth nearly three times the cost of a mid-range 5mm suit depends on how much you dive and how much you value comfort in the water.

## Key Features

- **Ultrastretch neoprene**: The entire suit uses a high-stretch neoprene formulation that moves with the diver rather than resisting movement - **Trilastic panels**: Strategically placed panels of ultra-thin, highly elastic material at key flex points including shoulders, underarms, and behind the knees - **Infrared reflective lining**: An interior lining that reflects body heat back toward the skin, supplementing the insulation provided by the neoprene itself - **Glued and blind-stitched seams**: All seams are bonded with adhesive and stitched only partway through the neoprene, preventing needle holes from creating water channels - **Back-zip entry**: Full-length rear zip with a gusseted flap to minimise water entry along the spine - **5mm neoprene thickness**: Consistent 5mm throughout the torso and limbs for even insulation coverage

## The Good

- **Flexibility is genuinely outstanding**: The combination of ultrastretch neoprene and trilastic panels produces a 5mm suit that moves more like a 3mm. Reaching overhead to grab a mooring line, finning hard against current at Fish Rock, or twisting to photograph a passing eagle ray all happen without the resistance and fatigue that standard 5mm neoprene creates. This is the single biggest advantage the Flexa offers - **Warmth exceeds the thickness on paper**: The infrared lining makes a perceptible difference. In direct comparison testing against a standard 5mm suit at the same site and depth, the Flexa consistently felt warmer, particularly during longer dives where core temperature begins to drop. For 60-minute dives at Bushrangers Bay in 16-degree water, the Flexa kept testers comfortable throughout - **Seam construction prevents cold spots**: Glued and blind-stitched seams eliminate the water seepage that plagues flatlock-stitched suits. There are no cold lines running down the legs or across the shoulders, which makes a real difference during repetitive dive days in cooler waters - **Build quality inspires confidence**: Every aspect of the Flexa's construction — the neoprene bonding, zip quality, seam finishing, and panel alignment — is precise. This is a suit that looks and feels like it will last through years of regular use without seam separation or neoprene degradation - **Back-zip gusset works well**: The flap behind the zip creates an effective water barrier. Back-zip suits always allow some flushing compared to chest-zip designs, but the Flexa's gusset minimises this to the point where it is barely noticeable in practice - **Good range of sizes**: Mares offers the Flexa in a broad range of standard and intermediate sizes, making it more likely that divers can find a close fit off the rack without resorting to custom ordering

## The Bad

- **Price is a significant barrier**: At $737, the Flexa costs more than many divers spend on their entire exposure protection setup. For recreational divers who dive a dozen times a year, the performance benefits over a $300 mid-range suit may not justify the outlay - **Back-zip is not as watertight as chest-zip alternatives**: While the gusseted flap helps, a rear zip inherently allows more water entry than a front or chest zip. Divers who prioritise absolute warmth in cold southern waters may prefer a chest-zip design, though fewer options exist in this configuration - **One-piece lacks the torso doubling of a two-piece**: Divers accustomed to the double-layer core warmth of a long-john and jacket combination will find a single-layer 5mm suit less insulating across the chest, even with the infrared lining. For winter diving below 14 degrees, a two-piece or 7mm suit may be more appropriate - **Ultrastretch neoprene compresses more at depth**: The same properties that make the neoprene flexible also mean it compresses more readily under pressure. At 30 metres, you may notice reduced insulation compared to denser, less flexible neoprene formulations - **Not suitable as a standalone suit for the coldest Australian conditions**: Winter diving in South Australia, Tasmania, or southern Victoria often sees temperatures between 10 and 14 degrees, where even a premium 5mm suit needs supplementation with a hood, gloves, and potentially a vest underneath - **Requires careful rinsing and storage**: Premium neoprene and sealed seams last longest when rinsed thoroughly in fresh water after each dive and stored on a wide hanger away from direct sunlight. The investment demands proper maintenance

## Verdict

The Mares Flexa 5mm Men's Wetsuit is a premium suit that earns its reputation through genuine performance advantages. The flexibility is in a class above standard 5mm suits, the infrared lining adds measurable warmth, and the sealed seam construction eliminates cold spots that cheaper suits cannot avoid. For divers who are in the water regularly across temperate Australian conditions — think Sydney to Adelaide, year-round — the Flexa makes every dive more comfortable and less fatiguing.

The price will rightly give many divers pause, and the one-piece design means it cannot match a two-piece for raw torso insulation. But if you can afford it and you dive often enough to justify the investment, the Flexa is one of the finest 5mm one-piece suits you can buy in Australia.

**Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars**