anyone have experience with front zip neoprene drysuits ?

[rick00001967]

hi all
i have been tossing and turning about possibly buying a new drysuit. currently using a bare nex gen pro. for those that may not know, that is a rear zip laminate suit.
many divers in my area (cold water - great lakes) use 7mm dry suits and i am considering getting one for various reasons.
however, one of the main reasons i wanted to get a new suit was because i thought having a front zip would be a nice feature. but i am concerned about the possible difficulty of donning the suit. i assume that compared to a laminate front zip that has a telescoping body, the neoprene would be quite difficult to get into.
does anyone have any advise on this ? perhaps someone has had both types and got to compare ? any info appreciated.
thx

 

[stuartv]

I have a Bare XCS2 Tech, which is a "compressed neoprene" front zip. It's not as easy to get it over my head as my other suit, which is a telescoping torso tri-lam. But, it's not that hard, either. I've never needed any help getting it on or off.

Personally, I would be disinclined to get a regular (i.e. not compressed or crushed) neoprene suit. Especially for really cold water. It will compress at depth and affect buoyancy and have reduced insulation. Compressed or crushed neoprene is the way to go, in my opinion - if you want a neoprene suit.

I really don't use mine anymore since I got a tri-lam. My normal cold water diving is in my local quarry where it's 37 - 39 degrees on the bottom all year 'round.

 

[ffdiver]

Take a look at the Otter suits like the Mako telescopic or the Otter extreme. Both offer front zip and come with either Brass or plastic zippers and are compressed neoprene just in different thicknesses.

As far as getting the suit on and off with a front zip on a neoprene suit, my experience has been positive and not tremendously different than on a trilam suit.
I would personally never buy a back zip suit since I like being able to gear up unassisted. I hate most wetsuits for the reason that I need help zipping them up.

And according to your tag you are an instructor, Otter offers instructor pricing on their suits. Hit us up if you want more info.

Full disclosure our company Good Life Divers is an Otter Dealer.

 

[rick00001967]

Personally, I would be disinclined to get a regular (i.e. not compressed or crushed) neoprene suit. Especially for really cold water. It will compress at depth and affect buoyancy and have reduced insulation. Compressed or crushed neoprene is the way to go, in my opinion - if you want a neoprene suit.

the 7mm suits are very common around here. no extreme depths to be concerned with so they work well here. i am not convinced the "compressed" neoprene suits are any better to use here than a laminate suit. unless it is a true "crushed" material, you will still get a loss of some buoyancy and insulation value. so if that is the case, why not just stick with a laminate. the XCS2 is a great suit though. i have seen only one in person. very nice.

 

[rick00001967]

Take a look at the Otter suits like the Mako telescopic or the Otter extreme. Both offer front zip and come with either Brass or plastic zippers and are compressed neoprene just in different thicknesses.
I would personally never buy a back zip suit since I like being able to gear up unassisted.

interesting. this otter suit is the first telescoping neoprene one i have seen. thx for that info. unfortunately i would never be allowed to use it here as we are not a dealer for them.

 

[ffdiver]

Ah, that's too bad.

 

[tech3324]

Personally, I would be disinclined to get a regular (i.e. not compressed or crushed) neoprene suit. Especially for really cold water. It will compress at depth and affect buoyancy and have reduced insulation.

I've wondered about that, do neoprene drysuits really compress at depth? Isn't there just a few psi of pressure differential between inside and outside of a drysuit at any depth? Shouldn't be enough to compress neoprene.

Do neoprene drysuits get stiff and less stretchy as they age, like wetsuits do?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I've wondered about that, do neoprene drysuits really compress at depth? Isn't there just a few psi of pressure differential between inside and outside of a drysuit at any depth? Shouldn't be enough to compress neoprene.

If that were true, a wetsuit would not compress at all as there is zero pressure differential. The important factor is the pressure relative to the surface. Hold a piece of neoprene, foam, whatever, between your hands and press together. What happens? It compresses.

 

[tech3324]

The important factor is the pressure relative to the surface.

Yes, I see that now. Thanks.

 

[CryHavoc]

Take a look at the Otter suits like the Mako telescopic or the Otter extreme. Both offer front zip and come with either Brass or plastic zippers and are compressed neoprene just in different thicknesses.

As far as getting the suit on and off with a front zip on a neoprene suit, my experience has been positive and not tremendously different than on a trilam suit.
I would personally never buy a back zip suit since I like being able to gear up unassisted. I hate most wetsuits for the reason that I need help zipping them up.

And according to your tag you are an instructor, Otter offers instructor pricing on their suits. Hit us up if you want more info.

Full disclosure our company Good Life Divers is an Otter Dealer.