Dry suit advice - Hollis FX100 Biodry

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

absolute_mess

Registered
Messages
23
Reaction score
1
Location
Melbourne, VIC
# of dives
100 - 199
Hello knowledgeable divers!

I was hoping I might pick your collective brains for a moment and ask some advice regarding a second-hand drysuit that's been offered to me. I've never owned a drysuit before and have never dived in one either so this is completely new territory for me.

My tech instructor has offered me his second-hand Hollis FX100 Biodry for about AUD$600-700 (subject to a bit of negotiation!). I'm pretty sure he hasn't done more than about 50 dives in it and it looks like it's in good condition. He's also very particular about his gear, so I know he will have looked after it. He's selling it because he's getting a new Fourth Element Argonaut for free. Can't argue with that! He's 6'3'' and says it's a bit tight for him. I'm only 5'11'', although I'm more generously proportioned than he is. :D I've tried it on and it seems to fit although I don't really have anything to compare it to.

I'd be grateful if you guys could let me know if this seems like a good deal and what I should be wary of if I'm thinking about buying it. It seems like a pretty good price to me but I wouldn't want to drop that amount of cash and then find out that there's something I should have considered that I didn't.

Cheers!

AM
 
My rule of thumb when buying anything - if there are a lot of the particular item on sale used, especially after only very slight use, thread carefully.
 
the Hollis Biodry is an excellent suit. I had one. The only problem that I had was that the upper chest cavity area was way too big for me. A large was too small and a XL was too big in the chest. The leg area fit perfect. The material is top notch and something new to dry suits. It actually streaches! Due to the fabric of the material I find it rather hard to get me hoses to slide over it while kitting up. Now I must say that I am using double tanks with all the extras. I was never wet nor cold diving one of these suits.
 
I don't know anything about that particular drysuit, but I bought my drysuit (Viking Xtreme) second hand from a buddy of mine. It was 10 years old, but only had a dozen or so dives on it. He took great care of it and it was in storage most of the time in an environmentally controlled area. I've got over 50 dives on it, using the same seals he had on the original, and it's holding up great. Zipper is in great shape too.

He threw in the heavy-duty undergarment too.

If the suit is in good shape, I would buy it. Drysuits are pretty tough.
 
Bio-dry is a great suit. The shop i work with (technical shop) sells the bio-drys as a stock item. The big deal in making the price worth while is that the suit fits and that the seals fit you properly.

If you have access to the suit where a set of sweat pants and a sweat shirt, with thick wool socks to try it on. Once your in it hold the neck seal out and squat to the floor to force the air out. Next get into the fetal position and see if the suit binds anywhere. Next stand and act like your trying to put on your fins if all this works. Then connect a low pressure inflator and fill the suit with air and see if it leaks from either the wrist or neck seals.

If everything works out buy it. I personally use silicone spray on my neck and wrist seals to keep them soft and prevent them from getting a hole.

T.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Great tips, thanks so much guys. My instructor's away for a couple of weeks but when he gets back I'll try the suit on again with some undergarments, as suggested, and see how it fits. Last time I tried it on, I was wearing shorts and it pulled all my leg hairs out as I slid into the legs of the suit! Glad to hear the suit itself is a good one. With a bit of luck, it'll extend my diving into the winter!
 
Warning, once you start diving dry; you may never want to dive wet agian.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
No what i mean is getting into a drysuit on a 90 degree day in the middle of summer with a tee shirt and thin sweats just because you can.

T.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom