Best bang for the buck wetsuits?

[tkaelin]

I have a Henderson Neosport shorty that was half the price of most shorties and had hundreds of dives over ten year. Held up well.

 

[Dan]

IMO, the best bang for the buck wetsuit right now is the Henderson AquaLock. It is not a cheap suit, but Henderson has "fixed" the 4 most common wetsuit problems with it. I manage westuit ordering for staff and volunteer divers at a public aquarium. I have been doing this for about 10 years. In that time, wetsuits fail for 4 typical reasons - neck wear, zipper issues, knees wearing out, and seams fraying. This has been true accross brands with some models fixing one or two of these, but still failing on the others. When Henderson introduced the AquaLock they fixed all 4 of these issues. I have been diving mine for the last 3 years and have over 300 dives on it (would have been more but I also have been testing some other suits). The only flaws that it has after that use are a small, round patch that covers the end of a seam on the inside is loose and there are a few tiny cracks in the seam tape on the inside upper thigh.

Whether this suits fits you is a seperate issue. If a suit doesn't fit well, it doesn't matter how durable it is...

YMMV,

Jackie

I like Henderson too. I have them for 17 years now from 2, 3, 5 & 7mm Titanium Hyperstretch. They made to fit my body shape really well.

 

[Rearviewmirror]

Finally done a few dives in my new Waterproof D7 and love it. Very comfy, easy to get on and off. Lightweight and most important no water flushing through. Soooooo Happy.

@CaptainChris how do you like it after a few more dives? How does it compare to your old Scubapro? Also - how was sizing for you? I've read the W7 wetsuits tend to fit a bit on the large size and so you need to size down one from your normal sizing. I'm typically a medium (5'10", 168lbs).

I'm between the W7 and the Scubapro Everflex.

 

[loady]

I've been happy with my Neosports -- I have a 5mm and a 3/2mm. Neosport is made by Henderson.

On their website they say 5 and 7 mm are glued and stiched but don’t specify blind stiched. I bought one, I can’t tell if it’s glued and blind stiched or flat lock stiched. Does water leak in yours?

 

[Rob9876]

On their website they say 5 and 7 mm are glued and stiched but don’t specify blind stiched. I bought one, I can’t tell if it’s glued and blind stiched or flat lock stiched. Does water leak in yours?

Sorry, not sure I follow your question -- mine are wetsuits, so they don't keep water out. I don't know what kind of stitching they use.

 

[loady]

Flat lock stitch lets water leak thru the seam. Blind stich glued keeps it out of seam. Water coming in the wrists etc is separate.

 

[CT Sean]

I have an older Neosport 7mm and all evidence suggests it's blind-stitched. "All evidence" being stretching a seam over my dive light and confirming no light is visible through it. Doing the same thing on a flat-stitched suit, the light shines through the stitching along the seam.

 

[Addison Snyder]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832697972017.html

I have this, would recommend. Not a top-of-the-line suit or anything, but for 100 bucks it's perfectly fine for keeping warm, and seems somewhat comparable to 400-500 namebrand suits.

 

[Billg68bg]

I have two Hendersons in 3 and 7mm. Haven't used the 7 yet, but used the three a couple times in Caribbean. Comfortable and reasonably priced. Did a bit of research before buying and they work well for me.

Also, from talking to other divers and company reps, and trying a few suits on, I learned not all brands may be suitable for your body type. For instance, I saw a Cressi I really liked but I'm a shorter rounder kind of guy and they weren't a good fit for me.

 

[Eric802]

I have an older Neosport 7mm and all evidence suggests it's blind-stitched. "All evidence" being stretching a seam over my dive light and confirming no light is visible through it. Doing the same thing on a flat-stitched suit, the light shines through the stitching along the seam.

I have a new (2022) Neosport 5mm and it's blind-stitched. IIRC the only ones that aren't are the 3mm.