Beuchat semi-dry?

[stiebs]

I'm currently looking at replacing my old 7mm farmer john with a new semi-dry. Most likely a Scubapro Scotia (http://www.scubapro.com.au/products/wets/wet_scotia_semi_dry/wet_scotia_semi_dry.asp) or a Beuchat Semi-dry Sport (http://www.beuchat.fr/catalogue/index.cfm?action=voir_produit&scat=12&idp=309). The Scubapro seems to be very popular here in Melbourne, but that's probably got a lot to do with the fact that just about every major dive shop in the area is a Aquanaut dealer. There is one that sells Beuchat, but its on the other side of the city, and opening hours don't suit me, so I will have to go out of my way to try it on.

So before I do that, I just want to first dip my toes into the Scubaboard community to see if anyone has any experiences with them.

A friend from the states brought his Henderson out a while ago, and I would love to have one of those, but they aren't available in Australia, there's no way I'm going to mail-order a suit without trying it on first.

 

[oz_diver]

G'day froop,
my LDS in Sydney started to sell Henderson Instra-dry suits. Really cool design, excellent quality and you get suitable gloves and boots too. The downside is the price, which is around $1000 compared to $600 for the Scubapro Scotia.
Maybe you would like to give it a try when you are the next time in Sydney. Send me a PM for the address etc.

 

[stiebs]

Hmm.. not sure if I want to spend a grand on one! I tried on a Paragon (Pinnacle) semi-dry today, and it felt really good, but I need to go one size smaller than what they had (I tried M and XL - I think I need L). They only had a teeny tiny Scotia, so I didn't bother with that, but I did try a Sonar. Didn't like the shoulder zip on that at all - felt much too restrictive.

They also had an Oceanic (Superstretch, I think), which seems similar to the Henderson Hyperstretch. Also only an XL, so I floated in it. Very stretchy, and felt more like a 3mm than a 7mm/5mm.

Will give the Beuchat a try on Saturday

 

[pakman]

G'day froop,
my LDS in Sydney started to sell Henderson Instra-dry suits. Really cool design, excellent quality and you get suitable gloves and boots too. The downside is the price, which is around $1000 compared to $600 for the Scubapro Scotia.
Maybe you would like to give it a try when you are the next time in Sydney. Send me a PM for the address etc.

$600 for the scotia??? wow they are sold for USD245 here in HK...

edit: whoops guess that was 600 aussies...

 

[oz_diver]

Yeah, that's AU-$, but still US-$440 for the Scotia in Australia .... 50-100% surcharge on all dive equipment ..... maybe increased transportation cost? :06:

Froop, is your LDS somewhere in the city centre of Melbourne?
I'm asking because I will be the next 3 days there and maybe can fill some spare time with testing semi-dry.

 

[stiebs]

Hey oz_diver,
The one I went to today was Dive Experience (www.diveexperience.com.au) which is in Williamstown, only about a 10 minute drive from the CBD. It's definately the closest dive shop the the city centre and has a good range of suits. (Just not my size at the moment!)

 

[stiebs]

And yep, the going price for a semi-dry tends to be in the AU$600-AU$700 price range.

 

[stiebs]

I ended up looking at, trying on, and buying the Beuchat Semi-Dry Sport on Saturday. I was a little unsure at first, since it was pretty much a 3hr round trip. I really didn't like the Sonar semi-dry - the suit mostly fitted quite well and was comfortable, but my shoulders are rather broad and the shoulder zipper was extremely restrictive - I couldn't move enough to touch my shoulders.

The Paragon Felt a lot better with the vertical back zipper, but they didn't have my size.

So I was expecting the same restrictive movement with the Beuchat SDS, but was pleasantly surprised. The whole suit was extremely comfortable, and IMO the ankle, wrist and neck seals are much better than both the Paragon and the Sonar. And the suit comes with a hood (I would have had to purchase one for the other two suits), even with a Hood Holder(TM) to clip it to my thigh when I'm walking to the entry point!

The Beuchat was so comfortable that I didn't feel I needed to go back and try another size in the Paragon or the Scotia.

Now I just gotta test it out in the water!

 

[oz_diver]

Good on you and crossing fingers for your testing!