How good woorks AirCore in Fusion

[Mike_Eitel]

Hi
I own one of the original Whites Fusion. My main concern is sweating before dive. I wonder if this woud be much better when buying new Aqualung Bullet SLT.

Has anybody expierence with both versions?
Is sweating realy remarkable lesser?

I'm no more the youngest and love the flexibility also it's not the warmest. As my rb stuff is heavy and water cold I'm wet inside when I'm finally under water.

Thx in advance for your expirience
Mike

 

[Zef]

I have a Fusion Bullet Aircore, and although I have no experience with the drycore version of this suit I do have experience with non-goretex and foretex drytops and drysuits for whitewater kayaking.

If the air temp is warm you will perspire...in the Aircore and similar waterproof-breathable fabric suits you will not escape sweating but some of the vapor does escape through the suit adding to a decree of comfort.

In non-breathable fabric drywear, I find that when the air temp is warm or exerting myself that the inside of the suit becomes a micro-climate as the body warms and sweats and that sweat turns to vapor that condenses on the suit and is then absorbed by one's undergarments....I found with kayaking that a waterproof-breathable drysuit is night and day different in comfort than a non-breathable drysuit.

For me though, where I live the spring season is marked by warm air temp but cold water temps, and the autumn it is cold, wet, and grey but the water is still relatively warm....I have switched to a semi-dry for those seasons and will usually only use my drysuit if I am doing multiple dives on a given day....I hate pulling on a cold and clammy wetsuit.

If you are thinking of replacing your Fusion with a newer Fusion, be advised of 2 things:
1. Check that the suit is made in canada....some of the Aircores were produced in Mexico and those are being replaced under warranty due to issues with the seams. Aqualung has stopped production of these suits in Mexico and have moved production to British Columbia Canada. They did not issue a recall of the made in mexico suits but will replace them without hassle if purchasers have an issue and send the suit's core back to them.

2. If your suit's skin is not currently a bullet model, you should know that the neoprene skin of the bullet takes a long time to dry. Aqualung advertises that their "rapid zip" attachment system makes it easy to remove and replace to facilitate drying. The chest area of the skin is attached with zippers but the wrist and ankles still have velcro and one must loosen the valves to remove/replace the skin...this is kind of a pain especially if one uses the fusion boots...the velcro as you probably know is very tenacious. I would recommend looking at the Fusion sport with its spandex skin or the tech with its spandex/neoprene skin, as opposed to the bullet with its full neoprene skin...the only thing the bullet really has going for it over the other 2 models is that the pockets are better...the sport does not have pockets, and lots of tech skin owners have complained the pockets are inadequate.

Hope that helps answer your questions.

-Z

 

[Mike_Eitel]

Thx for this detailed report. If i get you right the outer shell of the bullet SLT is some kind of neoprene?
I have a very strechy material on my todays one witch I like as thats gives in water lower resistance. Does this SLT neoprene also pull this big amount of inner shell together?
A see that Apeks has also a fusion, but for much higher price, maybe as they use a different outer shell?

For the footware, i got to a specialist who fitted normal diving shoes. Ca 200$. Much more comfortable and I intend to do the same if I buy a new suit.
Thx
Mike

 

[Zef]

The skin on all the models of the Fusion suits are designed for 2 purposes:
1. to make the over-sized core of the suit more streamlined to the diver
2. to provide a protective layer to the thin, flexible core of the suit that keeps the diver dry.

The neoprene skin of the bullet does an excellent job of the above 2 tasks. It also has a decent set of pockets on each thigh.

The only downside is that the neoprene takes a while to dry...this can be an issue if one has limited space to store the suit before it is fully dry or is traveling with their suit where the moisture and weight can be an issue.

The stretchy spandex material skin dry quicker than the neoprene skin, but I have heard that because it is very stretchy it does not restrict the movement of the air bubble in the suit as much.

Personally, I have been thinking of getting a replacement skin for my Fusion made from the stretchy spandex material, the problem for is that it is an expensive item that is hard for me to justify right now. There are some inexpensive skins on the market but they are all for the drycore version of the suit where the skin attaches at all points with velcro. The aircore suits, as mentioned in my previous post, attaches around the chest area with zippers.

If you wanted to change to a bullet model suit without the expense of buying a new fusion, there are some bullet skins on ebay.com listed at great prices...unfortunately for me they will not work with rapid zip system found on the aircore models.

Apeks is owned by Aqua Lung, they acquired the brand around 1997 (they acquired Whites around 2010)..to my knowledge the Apeks suit is like a Fusion Bullet except the skin is made with kevlar. This is designed to be even more cut and tear resistant than the Bullet's neoprene skin...other than that I believe the suits are the same. The kevlar material makes the suit heavier than all the other models. If you are not penetrating wrecks or dragging yourself through cave passages where the resistance to abrasion and cutting may be useful, then the expense of the Apeks KVR1 Fusion suit is unnecessary.

The major benefit of the Fusion suit is that it is adaptable to different body types/sizes within a certain range for each suit size. In a standard drysuit, if one loses a lot of weight or gains a lot of weight the fit of the suit can be an issue....this is not so much an issue with the Fusion. If you body morphology/weight is stable then you might look into some of the other suits on the market

As an example, another option for a good suit with Kevlar and fitted boots is the Mares XR1. It can be ordered/purchase with the Si-Tech wrist and neck seal system (the same as the Fusion) or with latex wrist and neck seals:
XR1 NTS Dry Suit Kev/XR w Sil-ST Seals
XR1 NTS Dry Suit Kev/XR w Latex Seals

Another option to consider, if your current suit does not already have them, you can have it retro-fitted with the si-tech neck and wrist systems (the SLT neck and wrist systems are just Aqualung's nomenclature/branding of the Si-Tech products they use). For what I consider a nominal amount of money, one receives a great amount of insurance...meaning that if a neck or wrist seal tears, one can quickly and easily replace the seal with zero mess and little fuss. There is no need to take the suit to a shop to have new seals glued in place...I keep a spare set of neck and wrist seals in my save-a-dive kit in case I have an issue at the dive site while getting ready to splash.

-Z

 

[Mike_Eitel]

Thx
This would be my drysuit nr.4, hanging in the garage. ;-)
In my age (64) you have lost a bit of force and flexibility.
The fusion (i think its from around 2015) is easy "movable" and does not restrict me if i try to reach the valves on my diy rb.
Ok, but its cold. So i need warmer underware = sweating. Grrrr.

That is the main reason I consider buying a new one. I do not rough diving with this suit, so wear resistance is prio 2.
Prio 1a and 1b are sweating and flexibility.

Just by some actual circumstances I see no chance to test one before buy. Try to find out if I realy should spend 1.3-2 k. If the sweating is realy reduced remarkable, that would be the convincing safety feature. Just how to judge without testing possibility.
Mike

 

[Marie13]

I found that getting into the AirCore was much easier than the DryCore. The interior of the AirCore is slicker.

 

[Mike_Eitel]

Thx Marie
Sound nice,
Getting in is a bit difficult but you get used to. And having real boots was an remarkable improvement.
The big amount of material around the hips is also not to nice but i can see that you can choose today of 5 sizes...
Mike

 

[Zef]

If the air temp is warm and you have thick undergarments you will sweat. The aircore material does not prevent sweating...it reduces the amount of vapor that condenses in the suit as some will pass through the waterproof-breathable laminate material.

The aircore fabric, in my opinion, does not make a big enough difference to spend as much as an aircore suit costs.

I don't think you will find the aircore to be much warmer. I think for the cost, your money is better spent on base layers that wick your sweat away from your skin, and then a decent insulating layer.

If the airtemp is warm and you enclose yourself in a suit of any type of material and then exert yourself you will find that you will sweat. Some of your sweat will be absorbed by your undergarments, and some will become vaper in the suit....with the aircore, some of that vaper will pass through the membrane of the suit, some will still condense on the inside.

I have fusion thermal undergarment that I have only used a couple of times because it provides too much warmth in and out of the water for the climate where I am (Belgium).

On days that it will be warm that I will be wearing my drysuit, I try to dive earlier in the day when the air temp is cooler. I will setup all my gear, and lay out my fins, mask, and hood on the top of my car so I can grab them and go. The last thing I do before putting on my backplate is put on my drysuit, and then I make sure everything is absolutely ready before closing the zipper. If I am at a site that has a long walk from the car to the water, I will carry my gear to the water's edge and go back and put my suit on but leave the top open until I arrive back by the water and my gear.

I also recommend having a garden sprayer with cool water...that way if you need to you can spray yourself with cool water after putting your suit on in an effort to keep cool:

or
View attachment 621242
-Z

 

[Zef]

If the air temp is warm and you have thick undergarments you will sweat. The aircore material does not prevent sweating...it reduces the amount of vapor that condenses in the suit as some will pass through the waterproof-breathable laminate material.

The aircore fabric, in my opinion, does not make a big enough difference to spend as much as an aircore suit costs.

I don't think you will find the aircore to be much warmer. I think for the cost, your money is better spent on base layers that wick your sweat away from your skin, and then a decent insulating layer.

If the airtemp is warm and you enclose yourself in a suit of any type of material and then exert yourself you will find that you will sweat. Some of your sweat will be absorbed by your undergarments, and some will become vaper in the suit....with the aircore, some of that vaper will pass through the membrane of the suit, some will still condense on the inside.

I have fusion thermal undergarment that I have only used a couple of times because it provides too much warmth in and out of the water for the climate where I am (Belgium).

On days that it will be warm that I will be wearing my drysuit, I try to dive earlier in the day when the air temp is cooler. I will setup all my gear, and lay out my fins, mask, and hood on the top of my car so I can grab them and go. The last thing I do before putting on my backplate is put on my drysuit, and then I make sure everything is absolutely ready before closing the zipper. If I am at a site that has a long walk from the car to the water, I will carry my gear to the water's edge and go back and put my suit on but leave the top open until I arrive back by the water and my gear.

I also recommend having a garden sprayer with cool water...that way if you need to you can spray yourself with cool water after putting your suit on in an effort to keep cool:

or

-Z

 

[Zef]

If the air temp is warm and you have thick undergarments you will sweat. The aircore material does not prevent sweating...it reduces the amount of vapor that condenses in the suit as some will pass through the waterproof-breathable laminate material.

The aircore fabric, in my opinion, does not make a big enough difference to spend as much as an aircore suit costs.

I don't think you will find the aircore to be much warmer. I think for the cost, your money is better spent on base layers that wick your sweat away from your skin, and then a decent insulating layer.

If the airtemp is warm and you enclose yourself in a suit of any type of material and then exert yourself you will find that you will sweat. Some of your sweat will be absorbed by your undergarments, and some will become vaper in the suit....with the aircore, some of that vaper will pass through the membrane of the suit, some will still condense on the inside.

I have fusion thermal undergarment that I have only used a couple of times because it provides too much warmth in and out of the water for the climate where I am (Belgium).

On days that it will be warm that I will be wearing my drysuit, I try to dive earlier in the day when the air temp is cooler. I will setup all my gear, and lay out my fins, mask, and hood on the top of my car so I can grab them and go. The last thing I do before putting on my backplate is put on my drysuit, and then I make sure everything is absolutely ready before closing the zipper. If I am at a site that has a long walk from the car to the water, I will carry my gear to the water's edge and go back and put my suit on but leave the top open until I arrive back by the water and my gear.

I also recommend having a garden sprayer with cool water...that way if you need to you can spray yourself with cool water after putting your suit on in an effort to keep cool:

or

-Z