I'm trying to decide on a dry suit. I've read the manufacturer data and have come up with a couple different models that I like: Whites Fusion Sport, Bare Next Gen Pro Dry, and Pinnacle Evolution 2. I'm leaning toward the Pinnacle, but would like to hear any thoughts on all of them. One big question is why neither Bare nor Pinnacle have created a Fusion-type suit. Leaves me wondering if the style is flawed in some way.
Drysuit models pros and cons
- Thread starter Armymutt25A
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
The Fusion is a relatively recent innovation, and I wouldn't be surprised if some or all of the concept was protected by patent.
I have had a Fusion for 3 1/2 years, and I about 90% love it. The concept works -- having the large inside bag gives you excellent mobility, and having the Lycra skin on the outside keeps the suit from ballooning and gives you really good streamlining, for a dry suit. I have been amazed at the durability of the Lycra. After about 450 or so dives on my suit, the piping on the front is coming apart, and I have a run in the Lycra where I put the P-valve in. Otherwise, it looks faded, but intact, and it still works fine.
I love the fact that you can turn the suit easily inside out for cleaning and drying. I love the lightness of it, and one result of that is that I now dive dry EVERYWHERE, even in the tropics, because the suit isn't any harder to pack than my 5 mil wetsuit.
I did not and do not like the fact that you can't really put pockets on the Sport skin (I use X-shorts, which work perfectly, so long as one doesn't forget to put them on). And I couldn't find any footgear option that worked for me, so I put Turbosoles on the suit. (The current semi-attached boots weren't available yet when I did that, so I don't know if I would have liked them.)
Overall, of the three dry suits I've owned (laminate, compressed neo and Fusion) I like the Fusion the best.
I have had a Fusion for 3 1/2 years, and I about 90% love it. The concept works -- having the large inside bag gives you excellent mobility, and having the Lycra skin on the outside keeps the suit from ballooning and gives you really good streamlining, for a dry suit. I have been amazed at the durability of the Lycra. After about 450 or so dives on my suit, the piping on the front is coming apart, and I have a run in the Lycra where I put the P-valve in. Otherwise, it looks faded, but intact, and it still works fine.
I love the fact that you can turn the suit easily inside out for cleaning and drying. I love the lightness of it, and one result of that is that I now dive dry EVERYWHERE, even in the tropics, because the suit isn't any harder to pack than my 5 mil wetsuit.
I did not and do not like the fact that you can't really put pockets on the Sport skin (I use X-shorts, which work perfectly, so long as one doesn't forget to put them on). And I couldn't find any footgear option that worked for me, so I put Turbosoles on the suit. (The current semi-attached boots weren't available yet when I did that, so I don't know if I would have liked them.)
Overall, of the three dry suits I've owned (laminate, compressed neo and Fusion) I like the Fusion the best.
garyd54220
Contributor
Wow...you sure have picked 3 very different types of suits. The Bare is a bilaminate construction. Light and flexible but less rugged than a trilaminate. I had a Viking X-treme and liked it but it started to leak fairly heavily after about 5 years of heavy wreck diving use. My wife had much the same experience with hers. A friend of ours who is an instructor of tecch, cave, and rebreather levels and dives about 300 times a year dives the X-treme and gets about 2 years out of one. I currently dive an Evolution II and have been for about 4 years. Pretty much bullet proof! BUT it is VERY heavy duty cordura trilam construction and as such is a bit stiff, heavy and slow to dry. In between those 2 suits I had a Andy's trilam with a lighter construction which was less rugged but again more flexible and faster drying. Didn't last as long though. I have never worn a Fusion but have certainly seen them. They look like they would be very comfortable and seem to be easy to repair. I've seen the Bare as my LDS carries that brand. My inpression is that it was somewhat heavier than the Viking but a bit less than the Andy's I had. Certainly nowhere near as rugged as the Evolution. Have you checked out the Pinnacle Evolution? It is more rugged than the Bare but less restrictive than the Evo II. My wife dives it and loves it.
Gary
Gary
OP
Is the Evo less restrictive because it's thinner than the Evo 2? I felt an Evo 2 and it seems rather durable.
boat sju
Contributor
Since you're talking about Pinnacles check out their Freedom 2 if you can.
I have the Pinnacle Evolution 2 and I am happy with it. Granted it is much heavier and stiffer than some of the alternatives, but I wanted the durability of the Cordura. I think that the difference between the Evolution and the Evolution 2 is the Evolution 2 has a front entry, the Evolution is rear entry.
NJScubaSteve
Registered
I have a Pinnacle Evo II, used it for the last 3 years. It is a good suit, heavy duty and a good price point. No real complaints except mobility suffers when I pile on the undergarments early in the season and it felt baggy when I had lighter undergarments as the water warmed up.
In June I did a demo dive in the Fusion Bullet and ordered one right away. I love the mobility and the light weight. To me it almost seemed like i was diving a wet suit instead of a bulky dry suit. The suit expands or contracts to fit whatever undergarments you are wearing. I did not want the boots that velcro on so i got the Whites Evo 3 boots. I like them but found them to be really big and I got tired of trying to find fins to fit. I bought a pair of Converse All Stars and they work fine. The pockets on the Bullet skin work well for me but I don't put a ton of stuff in my pockets. Some people say the Fusion is hard to put on but I am not having any problems and I have geared up a couple of times when the boat was really rocking.
All in all I like the Fusion better, the Pinnacle is now my backup. But the truth is I could recommend either suit. They are very different suits, you should try to do some demo dives to see which one you like the best.
In June I did a demo dive in the Fusion Bullet and ordered one right away. I love the mobility and the light weight. To me it almost seemed like i was diving a wet suit instead of a bulky dry suit. The suit expands or contracts to fit whatever undergarments you are wearing. I did not want the boots that velcro on so i got the Whites Evo 3 boots. I like them but found them to be really big and I got tired of trying to find fins to fit. I bought a pair of Converse All Stars and they work fine. The pockets on the Bullet skin work well for me but I don't put a ton of stuff in my pockets. Some people say the Fusion is hard to put on but I am not having any problems and I have geared up a couple of times when the boat was really rocking.
All in all I like the Fusion better, the Pinnacle is now my backup. But the truth is I could recommend either suit. They are very different suits, you should try to do some demo dives to see which one you like the best.
Similar threads
