any Whites drysuit owners? pro or con

[Wayne_Sargent]

we have no drysuit experience yet... just a couple check out dives...

Whites is the most affordable suit we've found via internet, new $718 with underwear, suit, boots, bag, hose.. and the local dive shop cheapest is 1000 just for the suit, so can't afford the difference... renting might be the best for us, but if these whites are acceptable, maybe.....

i was told that dealing across the border with canada might not be a good idea for suit problems/warranties... anything else?

do you think you would just rent if you had to go the cheap route?

thanks... for any advice

 

[PacNWdiver]

4-5 years ago we had some quality control problems with them. About one in ten suits was coming back with leaks and other problems. We stopped selling a lot of thier suits as a result.

However, last year they came out with the Nexus package you are talking about. We tried a few and they have worked out real well. No bells and whistles on these suit, just your basic bag. But, reasonably well constructed and a pretty good bang for the buck with the boots, undie and bag included.

I'd say this is a fine choice for a first drysuit and you won't have to take a 2nd mortgage.

 

[japan-diver]

Dive a Whites suit myself and love it (Catalyst) and have a few Nexus's in our rental fleet and they are holding up great and the customers love them. Have had no problems with leaks or anything. (Have only had the suits for 2 seasons but they seem to be doing great)

 

[vnp514]

I've got the Aqua Pro. I had some QC problems with it when I first got it(2001)-wrist seals.

vnp

 

[Wayne_Sargent]

thanks... sounds like you've both had some experience with them... we tried our custom [made in Okinawa when we were stationed there in mid-80's] fitted 7mm suits [near Hoodsport, WA] and that was way too cold...

from research... some suits dry in minutes, some take days... which is this?

also re: valves, the one i used last weekend automatically exhausted and a counterclockwise turn allowed it to exhaust more... and pushing the button released air also... our SSI book says there are other types... would you assume the whites valve would be different, only a pushbutton, or only able to turn it to vent??

also, we both wear about size 8 or 9 shoes, and the suits we wore had about 3 inches of extra length that we just crammed into the boots... not too comfortable, but we figured we aren't walking in them much, so didn't know if that was a big deal or not... i assume that if we order a medium suit it will have a one-size fits all, and we will be cramming extra length into the boot again... is this ok? any advice?

 

[ADoublediver]

I have owned 2 whites dry suits, both of them have been great! one of my suits is a white SAR suit, the other is similer to the nexus. I have purchased both suits from the factory more or less. I have met Frank White and he is a very helpful person, who tokk great care of a friend I took to the factory to purcase a mil spec suit! I recommend whites suits and most of my dive buddies all wear whites suit here in Victoria

 

[Garfish]

"White's" a great drysuit!

I have owned and have been diving with a custom Whites polarflex 11 for about 2 yrs now. I found that the custom fits to a "t" and consider it to be a excellent quality divesuit. No leaks as of yet.
The only downfall is that they must get pretty busy at times and ordering could take awhile.
For the price of the suit, i was real pleased overall.... I think you won't go wrong..

Dive Safe.....
Sam

 

[jonnythan]

I've seen the cheap White's suits and they're OK. The main problem is that they're a bilaminate design, which means they're a urethane backed nylon. This material doesn't have nearly the life span of a trilaminate, which consists of layers of rubber sandwiched between two layers of nylon (or between nylon and polyester, or something similar).

I've seen a few of Bare's Nex-Gen suits, and I've been quite impressed. They're well tailored, very inexpensive, and seem to be very tough. I can't quite tell what the material is exactly, but it feels almost like a very thin crushed neoprene. Maybe someone who has one can comment. The guys at Dan's Dive Shop in Ontario (www.dansdive.ca), as well as several other Canadian based shops, and even Leisurepro sell this suit for not much money. The price at LP seems to have gone up recently (from under $500 to $540), but it's still a great deal. The guys at Dan's are on the ball, too.. I bought my Bare ATR HD from them last year. Couldn't be happier.

In any case, give the Bare Nex-Gen a look.

 

[jonnythan]

i was told that dealing across the border with canada might not be a good idea for suit problems/warranties... anything else?

Nonsense. I had a leak in my suit soon after I started using it, so I contacted Dan's on a Saturday. They had assured me I could send it back to them and have it completely taken care of, but by that time I had already found the leak (that I inflicted myself) and repaired it. Don't worry about buying from Canada.. the drysuit prices are insanely low there.

In October, I asked for a quote on a Nex-Gen because a friend was interested in getting one.. he told me he had a size Large right there in the shop he would sell me for $550 *Canadian*.

Email them with the info that you can buy a White's package for $718 and ask what they can do with a Nex-Gen package. You'll probably be surprised. And be sure to ask them about warranty issues.

 

[Wayne_Sargent]

I'm going to dive British Columbia at the Sechelt Inlet this Fri.Sat.Sun. so I will look for a dealer and get a price. With all of the dive trips we have planned, I think we will take our chances with the Nexus to save the scuba-bucks for air fills and air fare...
Whites with undwr $718 + $718 = $1436...
USIA $970 +$970 + $226 undwr = $2166...
Cha-ching $730 scuba-bucks for ??? [hopefully not repairs]