What do you think about wetsuit sold at Sams Club?

[jsmharley]

My girlfriend and myself have one of these shorties. Never had a problem with the in the rock quarry last october. did fine water temps in 80's, but going thru the thermocline was a bit much lol, held up good and will probably use the devil out of it this summer :snorkle:

 

[tlessard]

Stitching makes the biggest difference in what you feel under a wetsuit...water transfer is the biggest problem. But with a 3mm shorty, you're gonna have water transfer constantly...so I disagree that you'd be able to tell much of a difference at all (unless the nicer suit has seals of some sort). 3mm of any kind of neoprene is thin and won't offer much thermal protection...even the fancy stuff with the reflective heat layers in it...although that does help somewhat. Everyone needs to keep in mind that the only thing about neoprene that keeps you warm is the bubbles that are in it and it's ability to reject water transfer. Those bubbles are subject to the same laws of physics as the gas we breath underwater...the deeper you go, the smaller they get (or in the case of breathing gas, the more you use). Once the bubbles are compressed, you've lost most of the suits ability to retain heat. That's the same for any type of neoprene on the market today. So, while some thicknesses and types may crush more than others, once the bubbles are mostly gone, so is the ability to reject thermal transfer. Differences between 3mm neoprene won't be much, because there just isn't much to start with...

-T

 

[craborn]

One the differences in the suits we sell in the shops and the sam's suits is the stitching.... the ones from sam's are not stitches as well but they will last for a few years with me diving in them every week.....

 

[Jethroish]

Although not an O'Brien, I had a shortie from Sam's until about 6 month ago. I sold it on Ebay. It shrunk or something. It was too tight on me. Anyhow, it was fine and I never had a problem with it. For $30 you can't really go wrong.

 

[Gary D.]

I think you mean 3 mil thick, and they are fine if all you are doing is surfing and water skiing. No, they are not suitable for diving, they are designed for skiers.

I'm glad you told me that because I only get around 10 years out of them. I have a full 3mil and a shorty 3mil and they both do a fine job diving. At around $4.00 a year that's hard to beat.

Gary D.

 

[rawls]

Hi everyone,

I know that I should not expect high quality from cheap product.

There ya go. You answered your own question...

 

[mstevens]

For heavy suits take a look at Divetank.com

For that matter, look at Divetank.com for lighter suits, too. We got a bunch of really nice Bare Velocity 3/2 fullsuits there for cheap.

 

[fishoutawater]

I just did a search for Obrian wetsuit and couldn't find anything. Must be an off brand.
Not to be confused with http://www.oneill.com/, who've been around for years and years.
I wear my Oneill sometimes for riding my Waverunner. I've taken a few 40-50mph spills with it and it's held up fine.
But I don't know anything about Obrian.

 

[detroit diver]

I just did a search for Obrian wetsuit and couldn't find anything. Must be an off brand.
Not to be confused with http://www.oneill.com/, who've been around for years and years.
I wear my Oneill sometimes for riding my Waverunner. I've taken a few 40-50mph spills with it and it's held up fine.
But I don't know anything about Obrian.

Try this spelling: Obrien

 

[detroit diver]

I've been using a waterski 3 mil shorty for around 5 years to dive with. Water temps as low as 73 (I'll admit, that temp is a bit chilly). Works great. Showing a bit of wear now, so I'll have to replace it. I woudln't hesitate going the same route over again.