Help to undersuit - Santi BZ200 vs Flex190

[DiveMads]

Hello fellow divers.

I've been rocking my trilam drysuit for about half a year with borrowing some FE from other divers and i am now looking to buy some undergarments myself. I've tried looking around and my eyes have been stuck on these two (BZ200 and Flex190) from santi. However i hear that the Flex190 is for neoprene diving while others say it is for trilam.
BZ200: BZ200
Flex190: Flex190

Diving in Scandinavian waters and i am pretty warm compared to other divers.

Does anyone have experience with these suits and wanna share their thoughts on their undersuit.! I am kinda stuck on which one to get. So all help is very much appreciated.

Best Regards!

 

[Ulfhedinn]

I would say that since Santi doesn't sell neoprene dry suits suits I'm pretty sure they will work perfectly for trilam. I might be wrong. Have you tried either of them on?

 

[Degenerate]

The Flex190 is really nice IMO, haven't tried the BZ200 so can't compare the two unfortunately.

 

[TheCoolBeans]

i have both of these suits, and i also have their thinner flex80 too.
I'm a UK cold water diver 99% of the time. I spend most of my time in a Santi drysuit too.

The biggest things to note between the two you mentioned...

The BZ400 traps a lot more air, therefore getting rid of it takes longer than with the Flex190, You must allow extra time to dump air on ascents otherwise you are going to be taken for a ride.
The Flex190 is a really smooth material on the outside so it makes it faster to slip in and out of a drysuit on a whim if needed.
The BZ400 takes around 25hrs of diving to compress down a little bit to stop being 'fluffy', allow a little extra weight for this time until it settles down.
The BZ400 can make valve shutdowns more of an effort to do compared to the thinner Flex190, Worth noting before you use a brand new BZ400 before also doing a tech course on new gear like i did (d'oh!).

I dive my BZ400 in waters below 7ºC for durations longer than 90mins and i'm toasty.
I'll dive my Flex190 in 6ºC water but i get pretty cold after 45mins. With an extra thin skiwear underlay i can manage an hour but my hands/feet might feel a little numb if i push this.
In the UK our inland waters regularly get below 7ºC in the winter so out comes the BZ400.

This weekend i've been diving the English Channel and the water was a warm-ish 14ºC and the Flex190 was PERFECT for this kinda temperature. (Ive got friends who will dive the Flex190 in Dahab in January when its 21ºC water although i feel that that's more for comfort on extra long tech-dives with deco rather than a necessity for warmth.)

Weightwise...
You will need an extra 2-4kgs when using the BZ400 compared to the Flex190. Especially whilst its extra fluffy and new.

Out of the water, If the sun is out then you will hate the BZ400 as its too warm in-between dives and kitting up.

I did a dive last week and it was 24ºC and sunny on the surface, but 6ºC at depth. Don't allow yourself to get sweaty before the dive in your 400 otherwise it's still a cold dive.

10ºC is my decision temperature. Below this and im in my BZ400, Above this and im in my Flex190.

Hope this helps!

Edit.... I can't believe i wrote this whole comparison and then only noticed you were seeking a comparison against the BZ200 not the BZ400.... now i feel a right tw@t lol

im still leaving this up here though as it might help someone else

 

[Ulfhedinn]

@SammyW I appreciate it

 

[DiveMads]

@Ulfhedinn i haven't tried either of them, only a Flex80 due to the diveshop not having any of the others in stock. But it should feel much like the Flex190 in sizing they said.

@SammyW Still much appreciated! This is the kinda knowledge that is hard to get otherwise someone like you shares it with us newbie divers

Since i am rarely in the water more then 70mins, i'm thinking a good baselayer under it during the winter might be enough (been diving this winter with Merino skinwear + FE Xerotherm and a fleece on top over).

Thinking im leaning on the Flex190, after all it is the new model that is supposed to be better and maybe not as hard to compress as @SammyW mentioned with the BZ400.

Thank you all for the feedback! Helps alot on a decision like this

 

[Lorenzoid]

BZ200 or BZ400? You asked about the 200, but @SammyW wrote about the 400, which is obviously thicker than the 200.

I have been diving a BZ200 for years because the Flex 190 hadn’t been developed yet when I bought it. I recently switched to a Fourth Element Arctic, which, being fleece, is a LOT easier to manage as far as arm mobility and enabling air to dump faster.

 

[bravokiloromeo]

I don't dive the Flex 190 but I do dive the BZ200 and BZ400 regularly depending on my location. Both BZs are extremely similar in behavior so I agree with everything @SammyW mentioned, just scale the temps back for the 200.

In the colder midwest quarries I've dived (~13C/55F and occasionally dipping below), the BZ200 is perfect, if a little on the warm side. The BZ material traps more air which means you'll stay warmer for longer - can easily do 3 dive days or hour-long dives at those temperatures. I'm typically much warmer than my buddies wearing the corresponding Fourth Element stuff too. The downside is that you'll need to wear a bit more weight and venting can be a bit tricky, especially when the suit is new.

The folks I know diving Flex 190s typically are using it for summer dives in Seattle (also 13C/55F), but a lot of them also wear the Santi BZ vest underneath if they plan to do longer dives at that depth or dive in the winter (hits around 7C/45F).

I've been diving my BZ200 now in San Diego (this week, about 21C/70F on the surface, but 11C/52F beyond 18m/60ft) and it's way to f**king hot with the long beach walk/surface swims we have to do, so I'm very seriously contemplating a Flex 190 (came across this thread looking for info ), if that helps you make your decision at all. The BZ200 feels so good down at 30m/100ft, but we're only there for maybe 15 mins on most dives.

And to back up what SammyW said about the BZ400 - don't even think about wearing a 400 above 10C/50F, it is waaay too warm for that. It is, however, the perfect undergarment for dives in very cold waters - was beautiful for long winter dives in Seattle or deep wrecks in the Great Lakes.