Seaskin trilam drysuit purchase simulation

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H1 Seaskin Undersuit High Wick Thinsulate 250 £134.40
H2 Seaskin Undersuit High Wick Thinsulate 150 £120.00
H3 Seaskin Shorty Undersuit -Thinsulate 150 £69.00
H4 Undersuit Suit Option - Name Badge £6.12
H5 Undersuit Suit Option - Pee Valve Hole £5.10
H6 Seaskin Knee High Sox – Thinsulate 150 £29.00
H7 Seaskin-Mesh Gear Bag 72cm x 46cm £11.99
 
These would be the seaskin options also for the undergarment or undersuit as they call it on their website
 
So it would be 2,7% import duties + 2% VAT difference (22% Italy vs 20% UK) total additional costs 4,7%
So for example in the simulation above it would be 34,35 pounds on top of the price, still not bad anyway
If any of you in countries like Switzerland or US (if understand well) can get a VAT tax refund it's even cheaper
If you order it shipped to a non-EU country, they will not charge you VAT at all so you don't have to get a refund
 
I am calculating very carefully the convenience of used neoprene vs new Seaskin.
I would say used neoprene can be found for about 300 euros. Still, the drysuit could be old (even though used few times), or it could have hidden problems, etc.
If I buy Seaskin I should use whatever clothes as undergarments in spring and autumn sea dives in Liguria (where actually a semidry suit would be enough) and buy a used crappy but still good undergarment for lake dives in winter.
Then I should budget not more than 700 euros all included for the drysuit. In case I don't really use it often or I stop diving for whatever reason, I should still be able to resell it second hand for let me say 300 or 400 euros.
Considering the worst case getting tired of diving, it still would be more or less the same expense as buying a second hand neoprene and ditching it after few years. While it would be a new trilam suit if I go on diving as planned
 
So, I generally have a rule of NEVER buying a used drysuit unless I get it for a stupid deal. Reason being, a bad zip and you’re already in it for too much money. Add new socks or turbo soles and a set of seals, now you’re at the cost of a Seaskin.

On occasion, you’ll get an awesome deal. My backup suit is a DUI that I got for 100 bucks US in a dudes medical fire sale. I had to put new seals on it. If I had to put new seals, a new zipper, or any other significant work, it wouldn’t be worth it.
 
The main issue with dry gloves is that they are not very tactile. Yes you can still open small boltsnaps etc, but it's alot more 'numb' compared to using wet gloves.

These are the rubber gloves that I fit to my Kubi rings:

Ansell G17K Black Heavyweight, size 10-1/2 87-118 | Zoro.com

They are the exact same rubber gloves that came with the Kubi rings originally, from the factory. My first pair of them lasted a full year before I finally wore a pinhole in the end of the thumb on one. They are not as robust as, say, some of those Showa gloves I see some people using, but they are infinitely better tactility. If I am diving somewhere where I expect to have to hold on a lot and expecting sharp edges (e.g. a wreck, in current, covered in zebra mussels), I will put a very thin pair of gloves over the dry gloves, that have a tough PU coating on the palm and fingers. They hold up really well and protect rubber dry gloves from cuts.

Polyurethane Coated Nylon Work Gloves Medium

The rubber dry gloves are 30 mil thickness, which is way thinner than my 3mm wet gloves. They give FAR better tactile function than my 3mm wet gloves - even with the wool glove liners I normally wear under them.

I use my dry gloves on any dry dive except in water that is so warm that I am only diving dry to have the redundant buoyancy. I.e. if the water temp is below 70F/21C and I am diving dry, then I use my dry gloves. Bonus: I can use dry gloves and still have wrist seals in place, so I have redundant protection against my suit flooding.

The Kubi ring system is very nice but I have been told by folks that use it here in belgium that they unanimously do not recommend using it with silicone seals....the thickness of the silicone seals is slightly thicker than latex and tends to become compromised/ruptured when used with the metal Kubi rings. Of course experience varies. I use the Waterproof Ultima DGS system with the si-tech oval rings.

I have been using Si Tech silicone wrist seals with Kubi rings for almost 2 years now, I think. I replaced one of them after the very first dive. My suspicion is that it got nicked by a fingernail or something when it was being installed. It tore on the first use. I haven't had to replace one since. My Kubi rings are 80mm. I suppose the ring size might affect how well the seal holds up.

If I were not using Kubi, the Scubaforce Thenar rings and the Waterproof Ultima rings are what I would be deciding between. I like the Kubi better than the Ultima, but I'm not really 100% convinced the Kubi are worth the extra expense. I think they are better, just not sure if they are THAT much better. The Thenar are unknown to me with regards to quality. I have not seen a set in person. But, the idea of them seems really nice. They are anodized aluminum, like the Kubi rings, but appear to have a better shape for being able to be streamlined, compact, and easy to fit between your body and stage bottles when trying to reach into a pocket.

Seaskin is nice, but there are very good Italian drysuits made by Rofos and Divesystems for example. With all the options a Rofos probably doesn't cost that much more.

But, if it costs more, what are you getting for the extra money? Seaskin Nova suits are not just "good for the money", they are "good", period.

Some items not yet discussed here. Pocket options, bellows or expedition? Which one are closer to current Santi or Ursuit pockets (with emphasis on handling with thick gloves)?
Would you still take all the reinforcements? Which would be your optimized minimum viable reinforcements for someone who wants to keep the suit light and flexible without compromizing durability.
I see you also opt for TLS torso. Can you comment on that more?
How did you take the measurements? I have been wondering should I pay for a tailor to get the measurements to get them right.

After having other suits with velcro-flapped pockets, I got the zippered pockets on my Seaskin and could not be more pleased with them. Now that I've had them, I definitely prefer zippered pockets to velcro flaps. I put a loop of thicker bungee through one zipper pull on each pocket and tied it with a double overhand knot. That makes it very easy to open and close them, even with gloves on.

I got the shoulder and elbow reinforcements and the Kevlar knee pads on mine. I think the PU reinforcements don't seem to make any difference to the suit's flexibility. The Kevlar doesn't really, either, but it's just on the knees. Bottom line for me: I would get just the same setup again.

I got the TLS and would do it again.

For measurements, I printed out their form and instructions and got my girlfriend to take the measurements. Worked out fine for me.

I also really like that I was able to order 1-pc coverall-style undergarments that were also made to the same measurements as the suit. My body shape needed a made-to-measure suit. I don't know why any drysuit maker would think that a MTM suit would be okay with off-the-rack undies.
 
I am about to pull the trigger finally...
I have one last doubt about. Should I take "Allowance for extra thick undersuits"option or just leave the drysuit as it is?
https://www.seaskin.co.uk/acatalog/N...PTTHICKUS.html
For sure I will use very thick undergarments in the alpine lakes. I am planning to buy a 490gr undergarment this one Subgear 490 gr
SUB GEAR - SOTTOMUTA STAGNA 490GR - - PASSIONESUB PARMA
I could also buy the Seaskin garment, I am still undecided. Anyway I would like to get a suit compatible with this sort of heavy undergarments. Seaskin gives the chance of getting the
That's some extra space in specific parts of the drysuit. Some people seem to use it without this option even with very heavy undergarments because the average size of the Seaskins tends to be large and a bit baggy
 
I am about to pull the trigger finally...
I have one last doubt about. Should I take "Allowance for extra thick undersuits"option or just leave the drysuit as it is?
https://www.seaskin.co.uk/acatalog/N...PTTHICKUS.html
For sure I will use very thick undergarments in the alpine lakes. I am planning to buy a 490gr undergarment this one Subgear 490 gr
SUB GEAR - SOTTOMUTA STAGNA 490GR - - PASSIONESUB PARMA
I could also buy the Seaskin garment, I am still undecided. Anyway I would like to get a suit compatible with this sort of heavy undergarments. Seaskin gives the chance of getting the
That's some extra space in specific parts of the drysuit. Some people seem to use it without this option even with very heavy undergarments because the average size of the Seaskins tends to be large and a bit baggy
I didn’t choose this and with the Fusion undergarment it barely fits. Still fine but can’t imagine using the very thick undergarments without that extra space
 
Good o know thanks for the feedback
 
Sorry for the kind of off-topic slip. I have been looking at Seaskin for a while, but they don't seem to have a breathable material. I am looking for a very light suit to use in warm waters mainly for redundant buoyancy, and comfort in longer dives. Something similar to the Waterproof EX2, which is so far the closest to what I have in mind. Any suggestions? Seaskin seems way too heavy for warm water.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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