Cold Water Drysuits??? What should I be looking for?

[Hawkwood]

I gotta agree with Tom.

I've been diving a Fusion for about four years now. Before that I was using a Nexus II - the bulkiest suit ever (sorry Whites). Goodness, if there ever was a suit where you had to fight the bubble, that was it.

The biggest advantage for me personally with my Fusion has been the flexibility. With my students the biggest advantage with the Fusion has been in the fitting.


Bill

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

TC - What brand(s) are you carrying at Diveseekers Wayne?

Over the years, we have offered Bare, Santi, DiveRite, Oceanic, Hollis, Waterproof, DUI, Diving Concepts & Whites so I have had an opportunity to dive a lot of different suits. I was just giving an opinion (which I forgot to mention no suspenders and otter shell falling down in between dives) of the suit after my 50 dives (not one of two). If you noticed I still recommended that he demo the suit. Realize this is why you have Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry and last I saw, he was looking for peoples opinions.​

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Whites made a number of changes to the Fusion over the years:

1. They made the calf portion of the legs a little roomier, which makes it a little easier to get into.

2. They changed the inner surface of the bladder to a gray material that is a lot slicker than the older black inner material - but as noted above, spraying the inside with Sailkote every 20 dives or so works well on the older black bladders.

3. They improved the suspenders.

4. They they changed the direction of the outer zipper so it runs the opposite direction of the inner zipper (prevents you from accidentally unzipping the inner zipper slightly when you close the outer zipper).

5. They changed to Apeks valves (not a plus in my opinion, but inevitable given that they got into bed with Aqualung).

6. They made some changes around the ankles in terms of retaining the outer cover and accommodating attached outer neoprene boots.

7. They've produced the sport, tech, bullet and a couple other skins for the suit.

8. They've addressed an issue with the velcro for the outer cover around the zipper coming loose from the suit.

The end result is that the system has evolved a bit to address user concerns, so some of the issues pointed out by early users are not as valid as may otherwise appear to be the case.

I have upwards of 250 dives on mine - an early Fusion - almost exclusively in wrecks and caves and it has proven to be very durable. I have not holed the bladder and the couple small holes I put in the tech skin were repaired in about 5 minutes with an iron and some Ironmend wetsuit repair fabric.

The seals use a heat tape system and you can change them in the field in about 15 minutes for the wrist seals and about 15-20 minutes for the neck seal using a butane powered soldering pencil and something to roll on top of the tape to ensure good adhesion (soda can, hockey puck - small roller - pretty much anything you can roll and apply pressure with. If you're not in the sticks a heat gun does even better with less finesse needed. The tape system was designed for military use and it's very effective - and avoids the expense and bulk of the zip seal system used by DUI.

I like the tech skin pockets, but as noted above, you can use a pair of shorts from Highland Mills, Scubapro or the original X shorts to get dual pockets on the suit if you use the sport skin or a tech skins sans pockets.

It is a little harder to put on than a trilam, but it gets easier when you understand the technique and the extra effort is worth it in the water, where the suit is truly superb.

 

[TSandM]

I've never had any problem parking gas wherever I needed it in a Fusion. I've been diving the suit for about four years now -- I had one of the early ones, and now I have two of the recent ones. I swear a little when I have to wear the bulkiest undergarment I have, because then the suit seems hard to get into. With the Thermal Fusion I'm diving now, it's not an issue. I have no other complaints about the suit -- Fusions are incredibly hard to hurt, and easy to fix if you manage to do so. I'd like stiffer flaps on the pockets, but that's really nit-picking. Overall, the ability to have a suit that's easy to dive and not critical on fit, that allows user seal replacement with generic seals, that's light enough and trim enough to roll up in a suitcase, and that's very resistant to leaks, is enough to sell me. I'm a Fusion owner for the foreseeable future.

 

[WHITES Justin]

TC - What brand(s) are you carrying at Diveseekers Wayne?

Over the years, we have offered Bare, Santi, DiveRite, Oceanic, Hollis, Waterproof, DUI, Diving Concepts & Whites so I have had an opportunity to dive a lot of different suits. I was just giving an opinion (which I forgot to mention no suspenders and otter shell falling down in between dives) of the suit after my 50 dives (not one of two). If you noticed I still recommended that he demo the suit. Realize this is why you have Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry and last I saw, he was looking for peoples opinions.​

Yes Wayne, people do come to these forums to get unbiased opinions which is why as a general rule manufactures, distributors and dealers stay clear unless questioned directly.

This is what makes this forum so great! Over 90% of consumers trust peer reviews and only 14% trust advertisements or manufacturer/distributor direct information, making this forum the single best place for consumers to get unbiased information (besides from their dive buddies).

Just checking your website and you certainly do have allot of Santi gear and you also work the Santi booth at trade shows.

It's difficult to give an unbiased opinion when you have a vested interest in selling the product in question. I would like to come on here and say that the Fusion is the most streamlined, flexible and easy to dive Drysuit ever! But would I really have credibility as a manufacture? This is why we have a Whites only forum in the manufacturers area and we are more than happy to answer any questions we receive in a clear, concise, no spin manner.

By the way, all of our Drysuits come with a deluxe suspender system included

 

[mdb]

I agree with WHITES Justin that this forum, with a world wide presence, is a great place for divers to get information from all members of the dive community.

Posting on behalf of Apollo, in the general forums, I try to just provide information on our choices and encourage the OP to solicit opinions from all the active divers posting.

Specific Apollo questions, we handle in the manufacturers area.

We have Dive store owners, manufacturers, distributors, Instructors, long time experienced divers, a rich mix of information. We generally all get along.

 

[ddmattos]

Typed words lack tone. I intend these typed words to be soft spoken. After reading through this thread, Wayne was only trying to help. Wayne was not bashing the other suits. Iv'e known Wayne for many years and he only tries to help and speak from personal experience and feedback from customers. Yes he is a dealer, but he can sell you any suit.

I've owned a Bullet fusion suit with the grey liner and wrote as to why I switched on this site. After test diving a DUI Flx-Extreme and Santi E-Lite. I chose the Santi. I suit up just as fast as a wetsuit diver and am able to use the suit for any water temp. Others have posted great info on the types of drysuits and I found a Trilam or Bilam to be the best choice based on the pros and cons. Just get the right undergarments.

As Wayne stressed, do at least two test dives in each suit before buying. Also, use the search function on this board about each suit.

As for suspenders, Wayne was speaking about the outer shell of the fusion lacking suspenders keeping the outer shell from sagging. The deluxe suspender on the inner shell are robust though. I found the outer skin sagged sometime during a dive and always on the surface when I had the pockets filled with items needed for a dive.

All the companies mentioned are great so just be sure to test dive the suits before buying.

 

[adamp69]

i've had 4 dives in the past couple days. the weather here is getting colder. air temp is 5 degress celcius, and the water at around 6. and i'm come to a conclusion. I NEED A DRYSUIT ASAP! lol. i had a look at the guys fusion. it needed a couple seals, so i didnt get to dive it. i think id much rather buy new anyway. i intend to test dive a fusion, trilam and a bare cd6 over the next few days. unfortunately, those are the only suits available to me to test.

 

[Ozwald]

I do a lot of diving in Manitoba where the water in the summertime is cold. I dove a fusion Bullet and hated it for a few reasons. I now dive a Bare HD Tech and love it however if I was to get another I'd get it custom fit.

 

[chs8084]

I just got a Santi e*motion mtm and am loving the fit and flexibility. I was diving a bare nex gen that never really fit right.