Cousteau Wetsuit

[BrooklynBond]

I have jacket incorporated hood and boot 5mm , front zipper ... very warm and soft neopren .It hangs in my La Spiro collection .. and I am looking for pant

Hi there - what is the exact name of this suit ? lmk please Thanks

 

[Scott G. Bonser]

I was wondering if any one has or has dove with those old rubber wet suits. Are they warm or comfortable? How much would one cost? I would love to get one with those yellow stripes.

Try ‘Ellios’. simonbeans@yahoo.com has a website for them. They do make vintage suits in almost any color. I don’t remember if they sported the yellow stripes but they are authentic vintage designs. I believe they are a bit pricey but well worth it and may be able to customize one in your exact size. I believe they are out of France or Italy.

 

[Bearded Diver]

I grew up with these types of suits. The wet suit was pretty warm if it was thick enough. In Oregon we wore 1/4 inch thick neoprene. I liked the skin-one-side suits that I needed to use corn starch to get into. Phisohex soap is not good to use, as it has ingredients in it which probably are not good to keep on the skin--hexiclorophene. I used phisohex soap to clean wounds when in the U.S. Air Force, as it is a disinfectant; it was part of our medical kits. But with corn starch, you slide into these suits very easily, and because they were only stitched on one side, they were waterproof at the seals. The best for warmth had no zippers, and were pull-over suits. Some had a short upside-down zipper in the chest, which allowed easier entry and still stayed warm.

The yellow stripes you see are actually seam tape, used to ensure that the seams did not part (before nylon lining and sewn seams). They also look pretty nice in the water too. Cousteau made a study and determined the yellow was the most visible color to use for his divers. They did use silver too, but I like the yellow strips better than the silver. I once had a silver suit, but it was so stiff I had to return it to the manufacturer after just a diver or two (one day of diving).

Here is a photo of me in one of these suits in Clear Lake, Oregon in the 1970s.

View attachment 509457

SeaRat

Nice steel tank. Very neat seeing these older photos.

 

[Scott G. Bonser]

Nice steel tank. Very neat seeing these older photos.

If you go to the Elios website, they have a ‘Vintage’ section of their catalog. I haven’t been to the site in awhile but they do have a Great selection of vintage design suits.

Give it a look !!!

 

[Bearded Diver]

If you go to the Elios website, they have a ‘Vintage’ section of their catalog. I haven’t been to the site in awhile but they do have a Great selection of vintage design suits.

Give it a look !!!

Thank you. I will most certainly do that. Appreciate the info.