Review Seaskin Nova drysuit

[vioch]

clean-looking repair.

Thanks for the advice. But as far as the patches are from the inside I actually care more about waterproofness rather than clean-looking repair. As you can see on the photos it is normal that glue is outside the sealing tapes... just the manufacturer uses more suitable black glue and mine is white (greenish actually))) moreover I have only that width of tape for patches on hand but would like it to be wider.

 

[stuartv]

Should have bought DUI or Bare suit. @stuartv should replace it for you

Doesn't that stand for Dry Until Immersed?

 

[SeaIRL]

For the first test/trial of my Nova, headed to a local pool with a 18ft deep end. The air temp was so hot that I could only tolerate donning the thin Seaskin base layer and still worked up a good pre-dive sweat.

In spite of measuring with my wife's assistance at least 6 times over a few days before placing the order, the resulting suit feels a bit on the snug side and IMO both sleeves could use another 2cm length. Likely a thermal layer would assist in maintaining a more consistent air structure for the suit shell to form better overall, but whether or not the slim fit will work in the wild remains to be tested.

Trim was not 100% ideal, but captured these pics for reference...

FWIW, kit worn:

Dive Rite XT Transpac Large, 35lb lift Voyager wing.
14lb weight (7ea) in side pockets (likely enough for 150 thermals)
15L steel tank w/1000 psi (empty-ish)
Apeks RK3 fins (std, not HD) Large
DUI rock boots.

 

[ADVRider808]

In spite of measuring with my wife's assistance at least 6 times over a few days before placing the order, the resulting suit feels a bit on the snug side and IMO both sleeves could use another 2cm

Curious if you dusted the inside with the talc first or did you stuff it in dry?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Curious if you dusted the inside with the talc first or did you stuff it in dry?

This helps. Especially in the beginning. There is a bit of a break in period with the suit (and experience in and out helps too).

Also (in case you're not used to ds diving) inflate a good bit at the surface and stretch out, it'll help the suit fit right under water.

 

[SeaIRL]

Curious if you dusted the inside with the talc first or did you stuff it in dry?

Pre-dusted only the neck and wrist silicone seals with talc. Also trimmed the Sitech neck seal by 1 1/2 ring markings as the initial try-on felt like my head was going to pop off. Other than that, no dusting of the suit itself.

Other than working up a sweat pre-dive, the suit remained pool dry.

 

[SeaIRL]

This helps. Especially in the beginning. There is a bit of a break in period with the suit (and experience in and out helps too).

Also (in case you're not used to ds diving) inflate a good bit at the surface and stretch out, it'll help the suit fit right under water.

I'll have to try the pre-inflate stretch thing. It should look quite funny... me standing there all ballooned out like a Michelin Man dummy. I'm really not used to new, crispy suits

 

[Boarderguy]

Pre-dusted the neck and wrist silicone seals with talc. Also trimmed the Sitech neck seal by 1 1/2 ring markings as the initial try-on felt like my head was going to pop off. Other than that, no dusting of the suit itself.

Dust the internal surfaces of the suit once it has dried after becoming a human sized sweat bag. I did this the first couple times I used the suit until it broke in. 50+ dives since and no dusting of anything.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I'll have to try the pre-inflate stretch thing. It should look quite funny... me standing there all ballooned out like a Michelin Man dummy. I'm really not used to new, crispy suits

Lol, not that much (although there's apart of me that wanted to let that go with the knowledge that you would one day soon be standing at the waters edge blown up like a balloon).

Get in the water, lay face down and spread out. Over inflate just a touch and stretch out. Reach as far as you can in all directions. Takes 10 seconds to complete, makes all the difference in the world.

 

[ADVRider808]

Pre-dusted only the neck and wrist silicone seals with talc.

All of the seam tape on the inside are tacky and will cause the suit to feel undersized as seams rub and catch against your underlayment.

ETA: here's the video from Seaskin.