5mm: gold core vs merino vs others; waterproof disapoints

[theundertow]

Hey all,

i'm in need of a new 5mm. had a gold core for about 4 or 5 years, loved the ability to keep the suit on the whole boat trip on a chilly day, the lining dries so quick while wearing it and you can stay warm topside.

after that died, i got a waterproof lynx. beautiful suit, fit great in the store (not local) but the stretchy inner arms just ballooned up the first time in the water and became suction pumps, making the suit worthless. oddly enough, i met someone on the dive boat last week putting on a brand new lynx. on his first dive had the exact same problem.

so now its Gold Core vs the Pinnacle Merino everyone raves about. opinions? are either warmer? i've avoided stretchy suits so far as they'll compress & wear out quicker.

merino users: how's the suit between dives? the wool supposedly sucks up a lot of water so my guess is it would get quite cold topside. when its chilly i'll often wear my suit all day on the boat. i may replace my 3mm, which is falling apart, with the merino......

do any other manufacturers make a lining like the gold core?

cheers,

chris

 

[Doc Harry]

Harveys makes a nice smooth inner surface that dries very rapidly (Kobalt wetsuits). They are a bit pricey and, although I love the Harveys materials, their finishing details don't match that of other companies. Forget about getting accerssories like "pockets," they're worthless. I really love the Harveys wetsuit material but I send the wetsuits off to get some features fixed, like the ****ty collar.

I'm not a fan of the stretchy wetsuits like Henderson Hyperstretch. Millimeter-for-millimeter, they aren't as warm as traditional wetsuits. And, as you discovered, they really stretch when wet and actually become harder to don than traditional wetsuits.

Sorry to hear about your experience with Waterproof, they look like great wetsuits, didn't know they were stretchy.

 

[redacted]

I have both suits in 5mm. The gold core is a little easier donning, but the ME is warmer during the dive and between dives. I think it stays warmer between dives because wool is still a great insulator even when wet. My only complaint with the ME is the difficulty getting the zipper closed overt the 10mm spine pad. (May be my problem due to age and limited flexibility.) I'm sure I could come up with a rig to overcome the problem but I just use the GC when diving solo for now and avoid the colder waters while solo.