BradnerBoy
Contributor
OK, guys/gals, while this has been asked before in other forums, to some degree or another, I wanted to pose the question in "our" forum based on our local diving conditions.
I'm researching a new drysuit and am amassing quite a list of potential candidates. To narrow it down, I'm using a "weighting" system for my specific wants and needs and will assign a weight to each want/need that a given suit meets.
My initial list:
Fit
comfort/warmth
mobility
self sufficiency (don/doff easily)
buoyancy characteristics
durability
built-in pockets
able to accessorize - i.e. "convenience" zipper, dry gloves
The dilemma I keep coming back to is the inability to "try before I buy". Yes, I could rent a suit, dive it and see if I like it, but that's certainly not true for many of the suits I'm considering. I'll probably call around to a few LDS and see what line they rent, but I'm pretty sure the majority will be Whites and Bare. If you know of a store locally that rents, say a Pinnacle Evo2 or Black Ice or a Hollis BioDry FX100, please let me know
I'm very interested in people's opinions and experiences with various types of suits. We have a large contingency of local divers and oddly enough (aside from the tech crew who seemed to have purchased a Costco case lot of Fusions from Whites - yes, I'm looking at you Wet Rookie et posse ), everyone seems to have different tastes in suits.
So, a few questions, if you don't mind:
What drysuit do you currently dive and why?
Did you get to dive your suit before you bought it?
If you could have your choice of any suit, what would it be and why?
NOTE: Some of you may have strong opinions on what makes a good drysuit/bad drysuit, but please appreciate the simple fact that it's only your opinion and it therefore doesn't apply to me or anyone else, for that matter. So, let's try to keep this away from a "split fin" type of fluster cluck and see if we can all play nice.
Thanks in advance for everyone's opinions/comments/suggestions.
I'm researching a new drysuit and am amassing quite a list of potential candidates. To narrow it down, I'm using a "weighting" system for my specific wants and needs and will assign a weight to each want/need that a given suit meets.
My initial list:
Fit
comfort/warmth
mobility
self sufficiency (don/doff easily)
buoyancy characteristics
durability
built-in pockets
able to accessorize - i.e. "convenience" zipper, dry gloves
The dilemma I keep coming back to is the inability to "try before I buy". Yes, I could rent a suit, dive it and see if I like it, but that's certainly not true for many of the suits I'm considering. I'll probably call around to a few LDS and see what line they rent, but I'm pretty sure the majority will be Whites and Bare. If you know of a store locally that rents, say a Pinnacle Evo2 or Black Ice or a Hollis BioDry FX100, please let me know
I'm very interested in people's opinions and experiences with various types of suits. We have a large contingency of local divers and oddly enough (aside from the tech crew who seemed to have purchased a Costco case lot of Fusions from Whites - yes, I'm looking at you Wet Rookie et posse ), everyone seems to have different tastes in suits.
So, a few questions, if you don't mind:
What drysuit do you currently dive and why?
Did you get to dive your suit before you bought it?
If you could have your choice of any suit, what would it be and why?
NOTE: Some of you may have strong opinions on what makes a good drysuit/bad drysuit, but please appreciate the simple fact that it's only your opinion and it therefore doesn't apply to me or anyone else, for that matter. So, let's try to keep this away from a "split fin" type of fluster cluck and see if we can all play nice.
Thanks in advance for everyone's opinions/comments/suggestions.