ION FW27 — Seek Amp, Amaze Amp and the All-Carbon Spectre Harness

British winter is the season ION actually design for, and the FW27 range has landed. Wetsuits from 3/2 up to 6/5, plus three harnesses — two of which are properly new rather than a colour change.

The Spectre is ION's first harness with a fully carbon shell. The Jam is a harness designed to stash a parawing. Start there.

Spectre — ION's first fully carbon shell

The headline is the Carbon Fusion Plate: maximum stiffness at minimal weight, which is the whole argument for carbon in a harness. More back support and a faster reaction when you load it, without the weight penalty a stiff shell normally brings. It weighs 1050g and uses fully moulded Hydro_Cush foam that doesn't absorb water — so it weighs the same at the end of a session as at the start, which is more than can be said for a lot of harnesses.

Riot Light — 950g, and you stop noticing it

Where the Spectre chases support, the Riot Light chases absence. A laser-cut CURV composite shell balances flex against stiffness so you stay locked in but keep a full range of movement, and at 950g in size M it's one of the lightest in the ION line. It runs the Spectre Bar 2 spreader bar — slim outline, a lot of flex. If you're a freerider who finds hard shells restrictive, this is the one to try.

Jam — a harness for parawinging

This is the genuinely novel one. The Jam lets you stow a parawing and bar around your hips without tangling the lines, so you can go from winging to riding the swell without a fight. It rotates front-to-back smoothly, with separate bar pockets, and it exists because parawinging has gone from a curiosity to a thing people actually do in about two seasons. If you've been improvising with a waist belt and a bungee, stop.

Seek Amp and Amaze Amp — the cold-water suits

The Amp line is the warm end of the range: ION's most flexible lining combination, mostly recycled, with improved heat retention and Max_Flex panels. Seek Amp for men runs 6/5, 5/4, 4/3 and 3/2, in back zip and front zip, with a hooded 6/5. Amaze Amp for women covers the same spread including a hooded 6/5 front zip.

The thing worth understanding about the Amp suits is that the flexibility is the feature, not the warmth. Any 6/5 will keep you warm standing still. Being able to sheet in and turn your shoulders in a 6/5 in February is the harder problem.

Seek Core and Amaze Core — natural rubber, sensible money

The Core suits are the value line and they're the ones most people should be looking at. Clean, no-fuss design, seam sealed, Hot_Stuff 2.0 lining for warmth without killing the stretch — and built from 100% neoprene-free FSC-certified natural rubber, oyster shell powder, plant-based oil and eco carbon black. Men's Seek Core runs 5/4, 4/3 and 3/2 plus 2/2 and 3/2 shorties; women's Amaze Core covers 5/4, 4/3 and 3/2.

The rest of the cold-water kit

Extremities are what actually end a winter session. There's the Lobster Mitten 4/3 and the warmer Arctic Mitten 5/4, Feelgood Socks 4/3 with an internal split toe, and the Water Jacket Storm Coat for the beach either side of it. Plus the Slash Amp and Slash Core helmets — the Amp uses a 360° Fit headband that wraps the whole head rather than just pressing on the back, which is a real improvement if helmets have never fitted you properly — and the Session Bag.