Lavacore stuff.

[islanddream]

I use a Lavacore hood and it keeps my head very warm. I have a Fourth Element farmer Jane and a zip top that goes over it. I tried on both the Lavacore and the Fourth Element and the Fourth Element fit me much better. It's also less expensive than Lavacore. It's fleece-lined and is so easy to pack. I find it nice and warm to temps around 75 degrees. No matter which tropical destination we head to....I always take a wetsuit and my Fourth Element. I HATE getting into a wet wetsuit/Fourth Element if going on a night dive after having done 2 dives during the day. I'm a sissy.

 

[Wingy]

Love my lavacore. I have a hooded vest which is a bit of a PITA to get off and on as lavacore sizing is on the very small side (I think they used a 15year old japanese boy as the model for sizing) but its durable, easy to pack, can be snipped here and there to make adjustments (I found i had to cut the neck a little as I am not a burmese hill tribe woman so the neck was too long and coming up past my chin) and has not frayed. No sun damage or fading. It keeps me a little warmer but more importantly the hood keeps my long hair under control while im diving.

 

[BRT]

I just got in 4 dives with a Lavacore full suit in 80 deg water. I usually dive a 3mm full neoprene suit and am toasty. The Lavacore isn't as warm. I dropped 4 lb of lead. Hoped to drop more but no way. I think if the water got much colder I'd need some neoprene. If I can make Lavacore work I'll save some weight in my checked luggage.

 

[Kharon]

One thing I found about the Lavacore socks that are not true of Tilos socks - regardless of what they claim the socks are anything but odor free/odor repellant - they would gag a maggot after a couple of uses. Washing in vinegar solves that but ... just sayin'

 

[ajduplessis]

I seriously considered using LC as thermal undergarment with my drysuit. I am glad I did not based on some of the comments thus far.

 

[Sieg@VU]

At this point I have approximately 100 dives on my Lavacore jumpsuit and really like it! It is approximately equivalent to a 2mm neoprene suit but without any impact on buoyancy and it doesn't compress or crush at depth so it still gives you 2mm of warmth at depth!!

I have always used just a polar fleece suit by itself for warm water diving and have used suits by Diveskin, Bare, and Henderson. All were pretty good, and up till now the Henderson was my favorite, but since I started using the Lavacore, I have found it to be the best of the lot. What makes the Lavacore different from all the rest of the "Fleece" suits is the membrane layer between the Lycra and the fleece that blocks water flow and wind. Another feature that I have come to appreciate on the Mens Jumpsuit is the two-way "man" zipper! It is also relatively easy to put on and dries fairly quickly. I will say that based on my personal geometry, I usually require a hand from a buddy to help flip it over my other shoulder when taking it off, but not a big deal for me.

However as someone already mentioned, sizing can be an issue since they tend to run about one size smaller than the size chart indicates. But once you get that sorted out it performs very well. I have not tried the socks, but the hood is great and far less restrictive than neoprene. After 100 dives I have noticed some pilling at the front shoulders from constant contact with the BCD, and a little around the waist from the velcro on the cummerbund, but it's just cosmetic and doesn't impact the performance of the suit.

Although I have not tried this personally, many of our customers have used Lavacore (jumpsuit or top) as an additional layer of thermal protection under their wetsuits and they really seam to like it, but the wetsuit must be sized appropriately to allow that additional layer underneath.