Whites Fusion drysuit and Thermal Fusion undergarment.

[Pullmyfinger]

The Whites Fusion drysuit.

I finally bought one and wanted to write down my thoughts about how I arrived at the decision to get one.

I have lived on Guam for the past 3 years, prior to that I lived in Anchorage, AK for a couple of winters. While living in Anchorage I took a dry suit class with Scott Anderson, owner of Dive Alaska. Once I moved to Guam I would fly back to Anchorage once a year, rent a dry suit, and dive. That was my only prior experience with diving dry, a rental TLS350 and the DUI 400 gram undergarment.
I’ve recently moved to Japan and wanted to buy my own dry suit for local diving and travel.
This is where I ran into the same problems every other new dry suit purchaser runs into….how to decide on which dry suit to get? I read every thread I could find on “dry suit” “undergarment” “Fusion” “tri-laminate” ‘crushed neoprene” “p-valve” “condom catheter” “dry gloves” “wrist rings” “DUI” “Santi” “Waterproof” “Pinnacle” “Bare”, etc., etc.

I finally had to break down what was important to me in a dry suit. One important factor for me was the ability to easily repair it myself, since I have lived outside of the Continental U.S. for so long. I didn’t want to deal with shipping a suit back for repairs. I needed to be able to take care of it myself. This made the Sitech user replaceable wrist and neck seals very appealing.

The Sitech SLT system that can be had on a new Whites Fusion for an upgrade price of $250, this was tipping the balance in favor of the fusion suit. I realize the Sitech wrist and neck seals can be retrofitted to just about any suit, but from reading online the cost for that retrofit is around $450.
The Waterproof D7 Pro was a suit I was seriously considering also, since it also comes with replaceable seals. The wrist seals on the D7 are the oval rings, and there’s currently no dry glove system for it yet. I wanted the Sitech Glove Lock system on whatever suit I ended up getting.

I talked myself into and out of the Whites Fusion so many times. That suit certainly has its down sides….pocket issues and sagging are well known problems with the Fusion. Since I was also going to be traveling with the suit, drying time and pack weight were factors for me. The Bullet would win on the pocket decision, but lose out on the drying time. The Tech skin seems like the best compromise all things considered. Of course there is the option of a Sport skin and X-shorts. But for me, the Tech skin would be the choice. Besides, it’s inexpensive enough to add a Sport skin and X-shorts later if needed for travel, or to resolve pocket compromises.

As for shell suits, the Santi was one I was also considering. What finally steered me away from shell suits was fit. I have lost weight over the past 5 months, with plans to continue with what I’m doing in terms of fitness. I didn’t want to buy a shell suit that would end up not fitting me in a year, or not fit me well.

The Fusion won out in this area. I didn’t want to be faced with buying another suit later as I pursue my fitness goals. I needed a suit that would grow with me and one that would best be able to accommodate thick and thinner undergarments.

I watched all the videos I could find about the Fusion, and one that stood out was the one that Mike from Dive Right In Scuba did. He cut his suit with a razor blade and repaired it with a patch and a heat gun in a matter of minutes. That was certainly appealing to me. I want to be able to repair a suit easily, shipping it off for repairs is not really an option.

There are some things about the Fusion that stand out…….the flexibility and its ability to accommodate various thickness undergarments is a big positive one. There are some negatives that stand out when reading about them. Many don’t like the donning of the suit, there are also mixed feelings from users about the boot options, and the pockets are problematic.

I do see quite a few of them listed for sale also, which was a cause for concern.

I started to realize that no matter which dry suit I chose, I’d be taking the good with the bad.
Even with shell suits there are factors to balance out…..such as:

Its real heavy duty vs. its not flexible enough.
Its warm and doesn’t require as thick of an undergarment vs. it takes forever to dry.
It doesn’t fit well vs. I need a custom cut.

The list goes on.

With the Fusion, for me at least, it became a matter of deciding if the upsides were worth the downsides…..could I live with the downsides? Nothings perfect, but I wanted to try and get close.

UPSIDES: Flexibility, fit, it will take different undergarments and still fit well, it has user replaceable seals, ease of self-repair, Fusion boots (these are a downside to some), compatible with Sitech Glove lock system (The SLT system is cheaper as a factory option from Whites), durability (long ago proven by TS&M, FDOG, and other early adopters). Its in-the-water performance as reported by other owners was a major selling point for me.

DOWNSIDES: Looks….seriously…..this proves I value function over form J, pockets/sagging, and donning (I won’t have a problem with it, but users DO report it as a hassle…it is what it is.)

So, I got in touch with Mike from D.R.I.S. while I was in Afghanistan and fired off a LOT of questions to him……I bugged the hell out of Mike, no doubt about it. J I can’t thank him enough for his objective views on the Fusion.
I bounced that against what I read from the posts of TS&M, FDOG, and other (early adopter) Fusion users.
It all lead to me concluding that the negatives about the Fusion were minor enough to me and that I could live with them. The positives about the suit were all worthwhile to me, so I decided to go with the Fusion.

I was still suffering from analysis paralysis on which skin to get. I asked Mark Vlahos about his Bullet skin, since I really wanted more insight on that. I had to decide on whether or not it was worth it to me to get a Bullet. I had travel in mind, and was concerned about the drying time.

I ended up going with the Tech skin.

I just wanted to write down my thought process in my decision while it was still fresh in my mind. Being able to tap into the posts here was a big help to me in deciding on what suit to buy. Hopefully this will help someone decide for or against a Fusion themselves.

So, I got a full set up of dry diving gear......Fusion boots, SLT replaceable seals, Sitech Glove Lock dry gloves, Light Monkey p-valve, extra seals, and a Thermal Fusion.

Why the Thermal Fusion?.........Because Lynne has (tested) one and says it's good!

Thanks again to Mike at Dive Right In Scuba. You are awesome Man!
I can’t thank you enough for everything you've done!
I appreciate you making yourself available when I only had a crappy Skype connection in Afghanistan! It means a lot!!!!!!

Take care,
Mitch

[swamp diver]

Mitch, if it is any consolation I went through the same thought process and came to the exact same conclusions. I had been diving a Bare trilam HD Tech Dry for a few years now which is a great suit but once loaded up with heavy undergarments mobility became an issue plus it was heavy for air travel.

I rented the Fusion Bullet for two weeks and loved the fit but was not keen on the dry time plus its weight when damp approached that of the Bare HD Tech Dry. I need something that will dry overnight and can be packed into a duffel the next day for air travel.

Biggest draw for me with Tech Fusion was dry time, lighter weight for travel, ability to accommodate thick undergarments and still retain mobility, and ability to accommodate my weight fluctuations. Sure the look is a little 'different' to say the least but function is what matters to me. The replaceable seals are a huge plus as often I'm diving away from a repair shop. I like the idea of being able to use any available seal on the market and not being tied into a proprietary brand.

Getting the Fusion on and off was no problem once one learns how to do it as shown on the White's video.

Good choice!

[ElGaucho]

Exactly the same process with me. I ended up choosing on the Tech skin also. I also live abroad. I had the same concerns as you.

I also contacted Mike at DRIS, and he is the man. I am now a DRIS fan.

[TSandM]

Just one correction . . . I don't own a Thermal Fusion. Yet. I dove Jax's, which she graciously provided to me for testing. I need to sell my Halo before I buy the TF; I am seriously becoming the Imelda Marcos of undergarments.

[Aqua-Andy]

Just one correction . . . I don't own a Thermal Fusion. Yet. I dove Jax's, which she graciously provided to me for testing. I need to sell my Halo before I buy the TF; I am seriously becoming the Imelda Marcos of undergarments.

Whites should be giving you a commission on every suit that is sold because of your recommendations, I don't know how many it has been but it has to be a bunch (including me), I was going to wait until you chimed in on the TF before I bought one but could not pass up the DRIS black friday deal.

[Lemna]

That's funny! I bought a Fusion Tech + Thermal Fusion yesterday after going trough the same deliberations: Waterproof D7 vs. Santi e.space vs. Fusion Tech, and selected the fusion for the same reasons. Whites might find some useful info here...

I did not get the SLT seals though: that is a 200 euro/$270 upgrade :-(. I might get it when the latex seals break. Right now I have serious 'neck seal trim anxiety'. It seems tight, but how tight is too tight? I'd hate to trim back too much or nick it.

[Pullmyfinger]

@ Swamp Diver and ElGaucho:
It took me awhile to "paint or get off the ladder" on deciding on which dry suit to buy. :-)
It was a complicated decision which wasn't helped by not being able to see on in person.
All things considered, that Tech skin seemed to be the way to go.

Thanks,
Mitch

[Pullmyfinger]

Yes, I went back and forth between all of those suits for the longest time. The Waterproof D7 Pro already comes with replaceable seals, but I didn't want to wait for a dry glove system to be developed for the oval wrist seals. I could have had them changed to the round rings.....but I was still concerned about future fit issues with a shell suit. Ultimately, the Fusion won out. Too many good testimonials on the forum about how great the fit and flexibility are. :-)

On the neck seal tightness......I'm still reading up on that one myself. :-)

-Mitch

That's funny! I bought a Fusion Tech + Thermal Fusion yesterday after going trough the same deliberations: Waterproof D7 vs. Santi e.space vs. Fusion Tech, and selected the fusion for the same reasons. Whites might find some useful info here...

I did not get the SLT seals though: that is a 200 euro/$270 upgrade :-(. I might get it when the latex seals break. Right now I have serious 'neck seal trim anxiety'. It seems tight, but how tight is too tight? I'd hate to trim back too much or nick it.

[Doomnova]

I got my TF and Fusion tech after spending the last 6 dives in a fusion through the U of Victoria Scuba club honestly I love the suit and fits me just fine. Also I mayself am getting back into shape and last term in 4 months I dropped 12lbs and will probably drop another 10 or so ( I'm at 175 at 5 10 right now). The club is headed upto Barkley sound druing reading break for a bunch of diving and I can't wait having all my own gear now and the SLT's are really nice along with silicon seals with how many people in my family have latex allergies.

[Ulfhedinn]

Those of you who dive with the thermal fusion Undergarment. What do you wear under it if anything?