Northwest Dive Club

I'm going to hit Underwater Sports to see their selection, but based on the site they have 2 models. Therefore, I'm wondering where else I should go to try and eventually buy a wetsuit.

Thanks,

JD

thats a tough one because im in the same delima for a 5mm and a 5/4 for tropical diving ... As much as i want to give my money to the local shops , they dont have much... so i had to turn to the internet for dive suits, tropical suits... not cold water ..
most 7 mil to 5 mil are around 299 and up.... the internet is cheap ive found 5mil full suits for 139.00

If as a last resort you can't find a shop in Seattle that has one in stock or will bring one in for you I bought my wetsuit from Sierra Trading post. They are close out an discontinued models but still good products. Good luck!

I would drop by UWS in Federal Way. David cut me a nice deal on a shorty.

I am very fortunate because I have found a dive shop that is out of an industrial spot. He is open when he says he's going to be, and he has beat every price on the internet. He orders me whatever I want. He's not in Seattle though.

I picked up my Aqualung 5mm wetsuit through Underwater Sports in Bellevue. It was a special order, but it was the wetsuit I was looking for (and I'm very happy with it).

Whichever is your main dive shop, they should be able to order the one you want for you.

Underwater Sports on Aurora carries the o'Neil Sector Firewall suits. I use the 3mm full suit and add a Lavacore base layer for cooler water. The Lavacore really works.

The point is to try the suit before I order it. If the store has to special order a suit, there's absolutely no advantage in going local. And I want a 5mm.

A 5mm for local diving??

No - it's for the Red Sea, in April.

The 5mm will have the same fit as a 3mm, just a bit stiffer to pull on. If the store only has 3mm in stock, you could try that on, then order the 5mm in the same size.

another +1for underwater sports.

I had scubapro 5mm suits ordered and LOVE it.

There are plenty of retailers around offering water-sports equipment that aren't dive shops. Dive suits don't work particularly well for sports on the surface like paddling, surfing, windsurfing, kite boarding, etc. but suits for surface sports frequently can be fine for diving if they fit well (fit is everything in a wet suit). You'll find that the suits for surface use are more likely to use neoprene that is slick on the outside in places where abrasion isn't expected since it doesn't cause as much evaporative cooling. These suits will also be cut with thinner material in areas where flexibility is important which means they may not be quite as warm below the surface. Finally suits for surfing have tight cuffs on the forearm to keep water flushing through while suits for windsurfing, kiting, and other sports where one grips an object are cut a bit looser in the forearm to keep from causing fatigue from compressing arm muscles.

Take a look around, in addition to specialty shops for the waterski crowd and kayakers there are lots of surf shops around town now. I've had long term positive experiences with Urban Surf across from Gasworks Park, Wiley's Waterski Wharehouse in South Park, and Northwest Outdoor Center on Westlake.

SHAMELESS PLUG - There's a Shoppe in Auburn that has 1, 3, 5 and 7mm suits in stock. I don't feel bad about giving the shameless plug, since very few of the Northwest divers have been into our shop. We also can direct ship any of our items to your home at any speed you'd like, which means the longest you'd have to wait for anything with free shipping is 5 days...um...and I believe that matches or exceeds Leisure Pro's shipping terms.