Northwest Dive Club

I am researching new drysuits and want to know if anyone can give me some thoughts on what they feel are the best or worse suits out there and why. I'm looking at suits that don't have to go back for service a lot and if they do have a very short turn around as my current suit takes forever to get it back from the shop. I am looking for a new suit so that I can alway have a spare if they always take this long.

What suit are you currently diving? How many dives do you have on it and why is it requiring service (apparently often)?

What's your budget?

The suit I have is a Bare tri laminate. It is just over a year old (with just over 300 dives on it) and a replacement that Bare shipped me free for one that was delaminating. This one the seal is leaking around the boot. They said it is completely covered by their warranty and they will ship it back in a week, but if I get it back in a week it will be a month without a suit. I like my suit, it is just that when I send it back for service it is a minimum of a month turn around and I need another suit as I hate not being able to dive that long.

As far as price I have been looking at ranges from $ 1500.- $4000. and I just don't see that much difference in them. The trilams seem to be made out of the same material and have the same warranty.

So my questions are... do all companies take about a month for turn around on their suits? One of my dive buddies has a Pinnacle and his comes back in 2 weeks. And who gets the most dives for the least amount of repairs.

All drysuits will require somewhat frequent repair. I am just now learning that the hard way. I put off fixing all the problems with my suit, and they accumulated to the point where it was just not diveable. So instead of fixing the small problems one at a time, I was faced with fixing 5 or 6 cumulative problems, and missing out on diving for a period of time. Even durable suits get worn, especially if you are doing 300 dives a year. My Diving Concepts trilam suit, as previously stated, is totally f***ed right now, and I have about 160 dives for this year. It was nearly brand new before that

I think the real answer is, learn to fix the suit yourself. Most small repairs are an overnight deal, not weeks without the suit.

I have no problem fixing suits on my own. Have done so for years on older suits. If you do so on a new suit that still has a warranty as it can void the warranty. At least this is what Bare told me. They even frown on seals being done by a none authorized dealer.

DUI TLS 350 or Santi

You know, I dove my first Fusion for four years, and about 450 dives, and I had three leaks. One I did when I put in the p-valve, and one happened when I fell off a dive boat in Florida (and I defy ANY suit to have survived that). Only one was the "suit's fault", and that was a tiny pinhole in my right upper arm that was "permanently" fixed with a piece of gorilla tape.

The Fusion has its drawbacks, in that it is not the easiest suit to get on, and the pockets are not the best ones out there. But the fit is forgiving and the suit can be bought with a system that allows user-replaceable seals (with any seals out there, not proprietary and expensive ones), and it is VERY hard to damage. I now own two of them.

If you buy the back zip one, it's cheap, too -- it's retailing at a suggested price of $999. (But that one doesn't come with the replaceable seal system.)

Thanks Lynn, that's the kind of information I was looking for. Have you ever sent it back to have it repaired or did you fix it yourself or local? and what was the turn around?

I do have the Si tec neck and wrist quick change seals so it isn't a problem to change them out at all.

I've got Seasoft Ti5000. It's going on 8+ years and 500+ dives. Zipper replaced last year and wrist seals occasionally. Neck seal still original, but getting a bit stretched out and flabby. Only 1 core suit leak ever in the joint where the calf seam meets the boot top. Same in my wife's. That joint gets stressed a lot pulling it on. My wife's experience is about identical.
Seasoft is local, though the factory is in Canada. I heard he was going to start on site repairs (Auburn). You might check. He's a local call.
Using Bruce (the owner) directly we got a one day replacement once on the wife's zipper. Generally shipping and turn around have been a couple weeks. If they are doing local repairs now it could improve significantly. The suit needs work so seldom I'm not on top of the repair options.

High Tide is a similar top notch suit made on the west side of the Sound. You can probably drop off and pick it up yourself. Talk to Eric. He's a good guy and will tell you how it works. That's his main business so you aren't stepping into a big organization and needing to follow their defined protocol.

These guys both make compressed neoprene suits. If you want laminate, not the way to go.
IMO laminate is great out of the water, good neoprene is better in the water.

I liked my Fusion so much, I bought a second ( I can never pass up a good deal)

About 150 dives, Bullet Skin, only problem was a leaking exhaust valve that Josh at Tacoma Scuba fixed up.

deep diver wrote:Thanks Lynn, that's the kind of information I was looking for. Have you ever sent it back to have it repaired or did you fix it yourself or local? and what was the turn around?

I do have the Si tec neck and wrist quick change seals so it isn't a problem to change them out at all.

Hi,

To answer your question about local repair of Fusions.

They are repaired locally. The turn around time in my experience is about one week, and I believe express service is available.

The suits are amazingly durable. I have seen them used in Surface Supplied Commercial classes. Even when a very large student fell off the ladder in full SSA gear and caught the suit on it, only the sport skin tore and the dry core was undamaged.

When the Fusion first came out, I was verrrryyyyy sceptical, but having owned one for 3 years and dove it constantly, they work.

Best,
Jerry

I like my High Tide. Made locally. The only repair I've had was to replace a wrist seal, and that's expected.

I have found that Gorilla tape does such a good job of a temporary repair on the Fusion, that with the exception of the big rent in the back, I've never even gone on to do a permanent repair job The rent was repaired with Gorilla tape and glue, because the tape wouldn't stick to the seam tape on the suit. It was a big hole and I needed a fast repair. I did it myself. Mike at DRIS, where I sent the suit when the zipper finally failed, was pretty appalled at my DIY fixes

My Bare suit just went back for repairs ... the seams are seeping just about everywhere. It's not bad ... just enough to give me that "damp" feeling when I'm diving. Fortunately, it's a warranty issue and won't cost me anything ... but I don't expect to get the suit back until January.

I have my Santi suit as a backup, but it's got a leak in the chest area that no one has been able to diagnose and fix ... including the Santi factory in New Jersey. That's a worse leak than the Bare, overall ... because it gets me wet to the skin from shoulders to crotch every time I dive it.

Generally speaking, I like both suits ... but it sure would be nice to dive dry once in a while.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. I just think I want to stay with the Trilam suits. I just can't get used to the look and feel of the Fusion even though it does sound like it has a great track record.

I've been looking at the New Pinnacle Evelution 3 as they seem to have a fast turnaround. People I've talked to have had good luck with them and love them.

The Neopreme suits sound warm and toasty, but the weight out of the water after the dive and time to dry is longer than I want since I sometimes dive several days in a row and don't want to have to pack around a heavy wet drysuit.

Yes, Bob... wouldn't it be nice to dive dry once in awhile??

No one's mentioned USIA yet, so I'll throw that out there too. Their suits are well built, affordable, and local (Oregon). My first suit was a used basic USIA model, and I beat the hell out of it with no problems other than routine maintenance. I know a lot of other divers who are using USIA suits and love them. There are a few shops that rent them down here in OR, and I'm sure there are some up in WA, if you wanted to try one out.