Review: Whites Fusion Drysuit - say goodbye to cave cut

[TSandM]

DAA, did somebody who knows how to get the suit on show you how? It's a PITA if you have to figure it out by yourself, but I found it extremely easy once the technique was described.

X-shorts are an easy fix for pockets.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Great questions and concerns.....I am by no means an EXPERT on this suit but will try and answer to my ability

For the fit, how thick are your calves? My dad has thick caves too and do to the lycra, it seemed tighter than it really was. When I showed him how much material there really was, he couldnt believe it because it seemed tight...due to the lycra. Im not saying this is the case for you(without looking at your calves in the suit), but he then took it off and tried again, fell in love and is now an advocate of the suit. Im thinking its just getting used to that feeling, and possibly a bit of the jeans getting in the way of comfort

As for puttin the suit on, as TS&M said, it takes a little practice, unfortunately most shops have no clue how to put it on or tell you to. You must start at the bottom and work up, pullin from the inside of the suit, and work it up....Imagine watching your wife, girlfriend, video, etc of a woman puttin on panty hose, this is the same technique :14: Feel free to watch women do this for affect...

Tech skin options will be unveiled later this week or next...I cant wait to see what they came up with!!

As for rinsing and drying, there is velcro at all limbs, so you can EASILY just undo a couple locations, and rinse inside to get everything out, hang and dry...Yes, a bit more work than most likey your current suit, but worth it for the benefits this suit offers.

I have a few people looking at addin the Pee-valve...none on suits that have already gone out. I will be sure to ask them to post a review on what they think of it and how it works.

It does get easier with practice. Remember this is a totally different suit so even just having it on and being tight, takes a bit of getting used to. Read above for tips on your next suit demo...

Hope this helps. Again, this is a great theory and start and this suit will only get better!! Im excited to see it evolve this way and cant wait to see it in a few years....as for the waiting a few years, I love it how it is and will just upgrade later
Now if I can just get some free time to dive ti

I am a 5'9" tall, 36" waist, 47" shoulders sized guy and tried both the XL and XXL.

Neither really fit me in the legs and even the XXL was tight in the calves even with no undergarments (other than my Saturday go to the dive shop blue jeans.) with the result that I could not get my feet all the way into the socks. I like the idea but have a few concerns.

1. Unless they add some diameter to the lower leg to acommodate guys with more leg muscle it is not going to work for me.

2. I like pockets on my dry suits, so I am also on hold until I see a tech cover.

3. I am a bit concerned about the rinsing and drying evolutions with the neoprene tech cover. Trapping salt water between a bladder and cover, especially in a bladder with folds, is an invitation to have salt crystals grind their way through the bladder. My initial impression is that rinsing through a thin and porous lycra cover is much easier than it will be to rinse the suit with a neoprene cover - unless there are ample lycra or elastic panels to improve water flow between layers. But either of those options would seem to improve the odds of the pockets to slip, slide and wander around on the suit, so I am interested in how the two concepts work together.

4. A pee valve is a must have option but again I am concerned how placement is affected by the overly large inner layer and the stretchy outer layer. I'll be crossing my legs in anticipation of a review in that regard.

5. The suit is a bit hard to put on by any dry suit standard, includiing a snug fitting neoprene drysuit. Does it get easier with practice?

On a positive note it is:

1. Assuming the chicken leg issues get resolved, the first non-custom suit that promises to work for the commonly ignored large shoulders but only average tall divers out there. In most other suits to have 47" shoulders you better be over 6 ft tall.

2. The first shell suit I have seen that offers streamlining, air control and general swimability comparable to an uncompressed neoprene suit. It woudl be great to have a shell suit that is non baggy yet allows a full range of motion.

 

[skdvr]

When I put it on for the 1st time yesterday I thought that it was pretty easy... Again, I have very limited experience with drysuits so maybe this is why it was so easy to me because I did not have any other habits to undo. I just worked it on like it was described in post #1 by sticking one foot in and pulling on the suit from the inside and got it up just over my knee, then I put in the other foot and did the same thing. I then stood up then pulled it up over my waist again from the inside and then just straightned out the Lycra cover. For putting it on the 1st time it took me about 3 or 4 min. It was a heck of a lot easier for ME than getting into my hooded vest and 7mm wetsuit. There was a lot less cursing and sweating going on.

I do not think that there is any one suit out there that will work for everyone, but I do think that this one will work for a much larger percentage than most suits will, and you are not paying a ton extra for custom sizing. The mobility of the suit from what I can tell on the surface is just incredible. So much better than being in my wetsuit, and much better than the neo drysuit I had dove before.

Phil

 

[DA Aquamaster]

...Tech skin options will be unveiled later this week or next...I cant wait to see what they came up with!!

As for rinsing and drying, there is velcro at all limbs, so you can EASILY just undo a couple locations, and rinse inside to get everything out, hang and dry...Yes, a bit more work than most likey your current suit, but worth it for the benefits this suit offers...

...I have a few people looking at addin the Pee-valve...none on suits that have already gone out. I will be sure to ask them to post a review on what they think of it and how it works.

I was shown the ropes by the owner of a Fusion who also works in the shop - and who is also female and I assume familiar with the panty hose thing so I got a pretty good inservice on how to put it on.

A large part of the issue may have been the snugness in the legs. On my current XL trilams the legs in both get snug about half way up the calf, so the snug legs are by no means unique to the Fusion. To be sure though, I'd need to try it with the undergarment and with the outer detached and pulled up to rule out any bunching or folds that may have been taking up space. Worst case, in the XXL there was still ample inseam lenght so it appears it would just be a matter of cutting a few inches off the leg cuffs and attaching the neoprene socks a few inches higher up.

Pockets are important as I am not a real X shorts fan and a pee valve can make things even more interesting both in terms of valve placement and also in terms of any restriction that the additional waistbands, etc can impose on the plumbing. Back pressure is not a good thing to have with a pee valve. :11:

The retail price of the suit is a real attraction and a few hundred more for pockets and a tech cover would not be excessive and would still leave it very competetively priced.

If you feel the need to have someone field test one with a tech cover and pee valve in both caves and wrecks feel free to send it my way.

 

[dsteding]

The p-valve report will be soon-mine is coming into the shop today or tomorrow, then I need to get up there and mark locations for them to put it on. I'm anticipating using a soldering iron to put a hole in the lycra layer, and I'll do the same for my x-shorts.

 

[tkornechuk]

Thanks for that review.

I just went out and bought one and am looking forward to my first dive with it next Saturday.

One question, given that I'm new to dry suits period, would you suggest that I wear more than just the whites undies that come with the suit for my first dive or will it be enough for 40 degree water (Puget sound, WA)? I figure if it is enough to keep me from freezing it would be good not to over do it and be too warm. I don't like that feeling of sweating in a dry suit either. (I've only dove twice with DUI suits and found I was very sweaty).

Thanks again for a great review.

TDK

 

[dsteding]

Thanks for that review.

I just went out and bought one and am looking forward to my first dive with it next Saturday.

One question, given that I'm new to dry suits period, would you suggest that I wear more than just the whites undies that come with the suit for my first dive or will it be enough for 40 degree water (Puget sound, WA)? I figure if it is enough to keep me from freezing it would be good not to over do it and be too warm. I don't like that feeling of sweating in a dry suit either. (I've only dove twice with DUI suits and found I was very sweaty).

Thanks again for a great review.

TDK

Depends on which set of undies came with it. I got the warmest set, the MK3, if you are using thinner, then yes, I would suggest a something more than just a thin base layer. FWIW, I always use a thin base layer anyways-keeps the undergarment fresher over the long run.

What undergarment did you get with it?

Mine is getting the p-valve installed this weekend. Maybe a short dive Monday evening, otherwise for sure next weekend. I'm looking forward to it-it is an interesting setup.

 

[Sonofasailor]

heres an idea, would you be able to use this suit in the summer in warm South FL diving with no undergarments (just a pair of shorts or bathing suit), and not get burned up? Maybe you would have suit squeeze? I have very limited experience in drysuits.

 

[Gombessa]

Yep. A lot of people wear trilams in pool sessions without insulating underwear, and some of these pools are heated to 85+. Chances are you would wear light UGs and still not feel too hot. You'd probably want to unzip quickly and catch a breeze during the SI though.

 

[tkornechuk]

I believe it is the MK3 that I got with it. There is also a jacket with removable sleeves that transforms into a vest.

I'll keep that layering suggestion in mind.

I'm hoping to dive on Saturday with the Fusion.

Thanks.