Drysuit opinions sought

[elan]

WOW. That is like my story with less dives. I have a pinnacle evo tri-lam and do not like it. No flexability. I dove a whites fusion and am completely shocked at the difference. Night and day. I dove a few diff DUIs and still love the whites. On that note, where are you getting a whites fusion tech for 1k???

I have never understood no-flexibility comment about a dry suit. the suit is not supposed to have any flexibility. Especially trilam, They have zero flexibility, they do not stretch. You either have your suit and undersuit cut right or you do not. Dry suit model has nothing to do with flexibility . You have it cut right you can do the things and you can reach places you need. If you have proper cut you have the reach and you do not bubble up. Did I mention the proper cut?

The whites just makes the situation easy for them as they do not have to make many stock sizes as they intentionally put excess material that wrinkles under pressure of the external suit and the water. It is the same as cutting an XXL DUI TLS350 suit and put it on an L person. The material will shrink under water pressure. The difference is that Whites just put and outer layer that covers that shrinkage and it looks like a solid suit. (Sorry Whites lovers ) So you get no extra flexibility, it is just the suit that is cut many sizes bigger than it supposed to and then you have a big "gator" wrapping you all over fixing those fit problems. I know some people that had the Fusion and they sold it after getting well cut TLS350 and they say it does not even compare.

At least here on the east of Canada at this moment the Fusion does not make any sense as just paying a bit more once you can get a custom cut Bare or DUI and you do not have to deal with that excess plastic fore the rest of your life.

But what do I know It's just my personal limited view....

 

[Bryan]

I just bought a Seaskin Nova from here: Dry Suits from Seaskin Custom Drysuits home page

Made to measure suit and undergarments for less than you'd pay for just the suit from most other North American vendors (even when you factor shipping and import duty).

 

[akirawut]

Shame to order one of those suits if you screw up measuring yourself. Does no one in North America do a reasonably priced custom order drysuit?

 

[Julian55]

I have a custom fit suit from DUI and have found it BIG from day one, so that theory is out the window. No there is no one that does a reasonably priced drysuit!

 

[Bryan]

Shame to order one of those suits if you screw up measuring yourself. Does no one in North America do a reasonably priced custom order drysuit?

Seaskin is actually a manufacturing house that makes suits for several of the "big name" drysuit vendors, I'm told.

The markup on namebrand suits is pretty amazing.

 

[a22shady]

Sounds like a good deal. Personally Because I have seen so many messed up orders and stories here on scuba board I would not have ordered from over sea's only if it comes not right then your going to wait even longer and now be forced with even more shipping expenses. I have never done bussiness with them or heard of them but wish the best of luck and hopefully everything works out for you. Post back and update once you recieve the suit.

 

[Bryan]

Mine arrived a few weeks ago... the workmanship was great... hand-rolled seams, fit perfectly... both the undergarment and the suit.

If you guys plan to order one, my advice would be to add a little to the body hoop measurement so it is easier to get out of the undergarments... they fit perfectly in the shoulders, but can be difficult to wiggle out of after a dive.

 

[Darnold9999]

I have two suits, a Whites Catalyst and a Fusion. Both good suits, but I found the Catalyst hard to get in and out of solo and quite restrictive in terms of reaching valves, etc. Since I bought the Fusion I have not used the Catalyst at all.

Don't have any issues getting in and out of the suit at all, love the way it fits in the water more importantly how it swims. The difference between the Fusion and the Catalyst is night and day in terms of the energy required to push through the water and your flexability in the water.

Both suits are as warm as the undergarments you wear. I have been in 42 degree water and been cold - add another layer and the same water is comfortable.

I also have the dump valve on the wrist - the shoulder worked just fine in the Catalyst but did not work at all for me in the Fusion. I take a lot of pictures and the valve would dump constantly. With a camera in hand adjusting the shoulder valve was a pain wrist is easy, but not for everyone.

Tried a neoprene suit before I bought the trilam and found I had to carry way too much weight. Also very restrictive. Believe it was an ONeil, but I am not sure.

Suggest you at least try the Fusion out. Believe Ocean Quest rents them.

 

[rob1967]

OK, here is my 2¢ worth.

I started with a White's Fusion, based on recommendations on this site, and also because many of the LDS think it's great. Advantages are that it made on the Island (not too far), and fitting is not too much of a problem, because there are only 4 sizes to fit all. I guess it would be good for rentals in that respect.

Anyways, I didn't really like it. It was a hassle to don, and I had to use a big puffy undergarment (MK-3) to stay warm, but I was still getting cold, especially in winter, especially in my feet. Also, that big puffy undergarment traps a lot of air, which means I had to dive with a lot of weight. I initially had to dive with a murderous 41 lbs (AL rental tanks)! Yikes! Once I bought steel tanks, I was able to drop to 34-35 lbs, but I was still getting cold, so I had to add more layers of underwear beneath my undergarment, which means I ended up diving with 37 lbs.

Plus, all that air in the undergarment expands on ascent, and it took me a while to get the hang of controlling that. I never felt totally comfortable, I had to always concentrate on venting excess air fast enough so as to not risk an uncontrolled ascent. I was carrying a lot of weight, and still getting cold. I tried getting the big puffy MK-3 socks, but I could not even get them to fit in the suit. I just felt I was trapped in a spiral of increasing the undergarments and increasing the weight.

So finally I got a Pinnacle Black Ice crushed neoprene suit. Much better! I was able to switch to a much lighter undergarment (MK-2), and get rid of all those layers of underwear underneath. The suit is easy to don. I also really like the neoprene neck seal. Nice and warm, no leak, no skin irritation. Now I dive with 30 lbs, my buoyancy is easy to control, I feel comfortable in the water, and I never get cold in the water, at all! Totally toasty! Plus, I don't overheat when diving on a warm day, while waiting to get in the water (which was happening in the fusion).

So overall, I strongly believe that a crushed neoprene suit is the way to go in our local BC waters. The trilams may have the advantage of greater flexibility, if you are diving in waters of different temperatures, and it packs light (except not when you include that big puffy undergarment). But, if your dry suit diving is mostly local, I strongly recommend a crushed neoprene suit. Neoprene neck seals are awesome too!

 

[MarkH]

OK, here is my 2¢ worth.

I started with a White's Fusion, based on recommendations on this site, and also because many of the LDS think it's great. Advantages are that it made on the Island (not too far), and fitting is not too much of a problem, because there are only 4 sizes to fit all. I guess it would be good for rentals in that respect.

Anyways, I didn't really like it. It was a hassle to don, and I had to use a big puffy undergarment (MK-3) to stay warm, but I was still getting cold, especially in winter, especially in my feet. Also, that big puffy undergarment traps a lot of air, which means I had to dive with a lot of weight. I initially had to dive with a murderous 41 lbs (AL rental tanks)! Yikes! Once I bought steel tanks, I was able to drop to 34-35 lbs, but I was still getting cold, so I had to add more layers of underwear beneath my undergarment, which means I ended up diving with 37 lbs.

Plus, all that air in the undergarment expands on ascent, and it took me a while to get the hang of controlling that. I never felt totally comfortable, I had to always concentrate on venting excess air fast enough so as to not risk an uncontrolled ascent. I was carrying a lot of weight, and still getting cold. I tried getting the big puffy MK-3 socks, but I could not even get them to fit in the suit. I just felt I was trapped in a spiral of increasing the undergarments and increasing the weight.

So finally I got a Pinnacle Black Ice crushed neoprene suit. Much better! I was able to switch to a much lighter undergarment (MK-2), and get rid of all those layers of underwear underneath. The suit is easy to don. I also really like the neoprene neck seal. Nice and warm, no leak, no skin irritation. Now I dive with 30 lbs, my buoyancy is easy to control, I feel comfortable in the water, and I never get cold in the water, at all! Totally toasty! Plus, I don't overheat when diving on a warm day, while waiting to get in the water (which was happening in the fusion).

So overall, I strongly believe that a crushed neoprene suit is the way to go in our local BC waters. The trilams may have the advantage of greater flexibility, if you are diving in waters of different temperatures, and it packs light (except not when you include that big puffy undergarment). But, if your dry suit diving is mostly local, I strongly recommend a crushed neoprene suit. Neoprene neck seals are awesome too!

I had pretty much the same experience with the combo you got. In the winter, any dive over 45 minutes and I'm shivering. I have to wear 45 lbs with mine. I really do like neoprene better. I only had to wear 28 lbs with my old neo suits and was much warmer.