Wet suits in living color and other colored gear--what's the deal?

[hdtran]

black is slimming...

actually, one reason I've heard is that the black dyes are most stable and last best, while colors tend to fade.

That's pretty much correct for rubber & plastics. The black in them is from carbon black (also in Neoprene, but I don't know about the lycra threads). Carbon black is essentially graphite, which is great at blocking UV. Sunlight (UV) is wonderful at breaking the bonds in polymers, which would degrade rubber/plastics/etc.

If you're underwater, though, the water will block the UV for you

That said, you can easily get very colorful wetsuits if you go to a custom maker (and they're not all that expensive). Liquidfit & Aquaflite (disclosure: I own an Aquaflite) will do colors for you. And no, you really won't look like lunch! Lunch to a shark is definitely not a neon-yellow diver with hot-pink accents! (Now, if you dress in brown to impersonate a sea lion...)

Finally, I should warn you that purple turns into blue at depth. In fact, just about anything (except black) turns into either blue or black at depth

 

[K9trnr]

I like black with blue trim. My wife likes black with yellow trim. Color's just a personal preference thing. I'd heard before that colors can fade, but I have 15 year old fins that haven't noticeably faded. I don't, however, leave any gear out in the sun.

As a side benefit of colors, when at the pool with lots of students, I like the color varieties because it helps everyone keep from mixing up their gear with other students even if they're using the same model fins or masks. There's similar benefit on boats, etc. Plus I initial all my gear with a black sharpie pen, and it shows up well on colors.

 

[Nemrod]

I went on a motorcycle ride that culminated in a huge gathering. I got seperated from my buddies and could not find them, They were in black and so was all the other people, mostly fat old men in black leather--egads--I sold my bike. Now, I went diving in a spring and looked around, everyone was in black, I took off after the wrong buddy, he was not my buddy. For some reason he took his fins off. Later I asked my buddy why he took his fins off and he just looked at me funny. Apparently the buddy my friend had was the other fellows buddy and as confused as me. Oh well, I guess it did not matter except I never did figure out why that strange fellow took his fins off!

In any case--anything is better than black. Black, black, blah, bla. N

 

[K9trnr]

I went on a motorcycle ride that culminated in a huge gathering. I got seperated from my buddies and could not find them, They were in black and so was all the other people, mostly fat old men in black leather--egads--I sold my bike. Now, I went diving in a spring and looked around, everyone was in black, I took off after the wrong buddy, he was not my buddy. For some reason he took his fins off. Later I asked my buddy why he took his fins off and he just looked at me funny. Apparently the buddy my friend had was the other fellows buddy and as confused as me. Oh well, I guess it did not matter except I never did figure out why that strange fellow took his fins off!

In any case--anything is better than black. Black, black, blah, bla. N

LMAO! I never thought about it with regard to leathers, but you make a great point. It's one reason you'll often see divemasters or instructors in red fins. In cold water with suits, hoods, and gloves, and yellow rental tanks, it can be REALLY hard to tell one person from another. But I really must ask...he took his fins off during the dive? Did he adjust the straps or do some kicks without fins or what? That IS really confusing.

 

[DiveMaven]

Not only with Liquidfit make you whatever wild colored wetsuit you want, but Zeagle will make you a custom BC with whatever combo of wild colors you want!

 

[Airborne!]

....a hot grilled stuffed sausage perhaps....

Mmmmm....a hot grilled stuffed sausage....oh ummm well anyway....I wear black because I am a fashion and color moron. Black is the only color I can wear and still look like I was able to dress myself without the help of my Mother.

Trust me, I have seen plenty of crappy divers wearing black and really good ones wearing green neon. Wear whatever makes you happy and you’ll be fine. Nothing worse than an Ocean full of everyone looking the same way because of peer pressure…unless it’s those Zebra suits. Hmmm…although vertical stripes are slimming.

 

[quarry_mermaid]

Obviously where you plan on diving is a major consideration for the black vs. bright debate.

When I first started diving, my husband and I went for all black... we thought we looked really cool! The first time we ended up in dark, low-viz water (typically for local diving in TN), we realized we were morons who couldn't even see each other, much less the other buddy team we were diving with. Nothing disappears faster in 5ft of viz than your buddy's black fins and black wetsuit!

Do I usually wear neon yellow clothes around on the surface? Nope! Do I love my neon yellow "Hi-Viz" ScubaPro TwinJet fins, neon yellow maskstrap cover, neon yellow stripes down my wetsuit? You bet! Not only can my buddy easily locate me, but I'm easily identifiable in photos too! As an instructor teaching in TN, my students always comment on my neon yellow accents (especially the fins) and that they are able to easily keep me in sight, even in low-viz conditions. I took customization a step further, since there are a lot of yellow TwinJets in my area... mine have blue electrical tape wrapped about parts of the blade edges so I'm the only one with yellow fins with blue stripes. There have been some photos where you can only see a part of a fin and my fellow divers always point out, "There's Amanda!"

Don't fear color!

 

[SNorman]

I think all black looks cool - however, like querry_mermaid found that "I can't see S**T!" underwater in low visibility when everybody is black. In one dive, we decended right near another group and I had one heck of a time trying to figure out which two people where in my group as they all looked exactly the same, however my instructor had some read colored stuff on which helped.

 

[tiggrr]

I know I look goofy but, my buddy never looses me.
Besides, bright colors make me feel like a big happy fish.


Check this website out for interesting hoods....

http://www.terrapinwetsuits.com/accessor.htm

I just read this quote and really liked it.... "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind."..Dr.Suess

 

[spectrum]

Unless you only dive in pristine waters some high visibilty colors are not just style, they are safety.

Myself and a frequent buddy have yellow fins and yellow stripes on our DS hoods. More than once we observed how helpful those dashes of color are. Significant high visibility color will be a consideration in my next round of neoprene.

My wife was able to get some significant color even in 7mm in her Atlan custom. 7mm colors are often limited at custom shops.

Pete