I'm buying a drysuit, whites aqua pro, I could use some advice please...

[TinoD'Voe]

I've been looking into buying drysuit, the places I've been searching have narrowed my search down to a Whites aqua pro or something from Bare.

I'd like to know if anyone could recommend one or the other in terms of quality, warranty or any other aspect.

Also, if there's any websites that sell the aquapro, I'd like to see how their prices compare to what i'm looking at from my LDS.

In terms of investment value, if i'm buying the aquapro, would it be worth the extra cash to get a quadflex or is it better to save the money and go with the bilam.

I'd consider myself a novice, i've completed the advance course and now i'm looking to get as much experience as possible, i don't want to hold out on diving because of the costs of rentals, crappy gear etc. I'm hoping to start with the drysuit/mask/snork/fins and get the rest next year.

any advice will be very appreciated.

 

[Rimp]

Hi Tino.

My buddy and I just purchased a couple of suits Ocean Quest on Canada Way in Burnaby BC. I bought the Aqua Pro. The guys there were great and gave us some great package deals.

http://www.diveoceanquest.com/

Their website is freakin ugly, but a good shop.

My partner and I looked at Bare, but went with Whites because;

1) we liked the quality of the seams. The Bare wasn't put together nearly as well.
2) we had color options
3) quadflex instead of trilam
4) competitive pricing
5) great people selling

It took almost 5 weeks to get my custom suit done, but it fits me like a glove. The best suit i have ever owned. I love it.

There is a pic of mine in my profile. Don't mind the silly grin.. lol

I've been looking into buying drysuit, the places I've been searching have narrowed my search down to a Whites aqua pro or something from Bare.

I'd like to know if anyone could recommend one or the other in terms of quality, warranty or any other aspect.

Also, if there's any websites that sell the aquapro, I'd like to see how their prices compare to what i'm looking at from my LDS.

In terms of investment value, if i'm buying the aquapro, would it be worth the extra cash to get a quadflex or is it better to save the money and go with the bilam.

I'd consider myself a novice, i've completed the advance course and now i'm looking to get as much experience as possible, i don't want to hold out on diving because of the costs of rentals, crappy gear etc. I'm hoping to start with the drysuit/mask/snork/fins and get the rest next year.

any advice will be very appreciated.

 

[TinoD'Voe]

I called that store and they were very helpful. The only problem is whether to fork over the cash for the aquapro or save the money for now and get something less expensive. I usually pay a little more to get the better quality item, especially when we're dealing with something this expensive.

Will the life of a quadflex aquapro, a bilam, or basic nexgen from Bare all last the same amount of time, or will I see a considerable more number of dives by paying extra for the quadflex-a.pro?

 

[diverDano]

TinoD'Voe...you didn't say where you were from. Makes a big difference the water temp you will mostley dive in.

 

[jonnythan]

Where are you from and what is your budget like?

As I'm learning, if you're diving in cold water, you better make a good investment in underwear. Lots of people, myself included, overlooked the stuff at first.

 

[TinoD'Voe]

I'm on the westcoast of Canada where the water is fairly cold. I've been looking into the suits and tried on a whites today. The large was too small in the torso and i was having trouble raising my arms all the way. The next size up will be too long in the legs and the boot size may be too big.

Customizing this suit is going to get pretty darn expensive so I'm looking at other options for suits. any advice?

 

[TinoD'Voe]

Another thing I was going to ask, one shop here that sells the Bare recommends that the underwear-suit should be purchased, raising the price by a couple hundred at least. Another shop selling Whites says that the undersuit is not necessary. So which should I go with? Will I be horribly uncofortable buying just a shell and wearing lots of layers underneath? or will my buoyancy be so out of whack that I should buy the special underwearsuit-thing.

 

[jonnythan]

A drysuit is a drysuit, really. It keeps you dry. The important part is fit. You want it to fit snugly but not interfere with your range of motion. Baggier is worse.. and IMO trilam is the way to go. Neoprene is heavy and just sucks in general.

Budget a hefty chunk for warm underwear and you will not regret it. Diving Concepts, Viking, DUI, and some others make good warm undergarments. Thinsulate is ideal. $300-$400 will get you just about the best stuff on the market.

 

[jonnythan]

Another thing I was going to ask, one shop here that sells the Bare recommends that the underwear-suit should be purchased, raising the price by a couple hundred at least. Another shop selling Whites says that the undersuit is not necessary. So which should I go with? Will I be horribly uncofortable buying just a shell and wearing lots of layers underneath? or will my buoyancy be so out of whack that I should buy the special underwearsuit-thing.

If you want to be happy when diving in water 50 degrees or below, you will be so happy you spent the extra money on warm underwear. Try to get something that is at least 200 gram thinsulate. Bare makes one, the CT-200, which can be fairly inexpensive.. hear they can be stiff though. Try to see what you have locally and get prices.

 

[TinoD'Voe]

My budget is tight, but I'm willing to spend a bit extra to get something that will last as opposed to needing a new suit in a year or two.

At the same time, I want to stretch this cash as far as it will go. So, would you recommend that I spend the extra $250 and get the custom, and invest in some proper underwear later. Or save the cash, buy the stock large-tall with the longer legs (almost 5cm too long according to their charts) and purchase the proper undergarments.