Cressi Lontra vs Waterproof W2 vs Pinnacle Tempo vs Oceanic Pioneer

[magicangle]

I was wondering if anyone has any opinions on the suits that I listed:

Cressi Lontra
Waterproof W2
Pinnacle Tempo
Oceanic Pioneer

I plan on using the suit in California with a hooded vest. Any thoughts of the quality and warmth of any of these. Any and all opinions are welcome.

Thanks.

 

[moody s]

I have a w2 that I wear with a hooded vest, suit Ina's had no issues, nice and warm and the quality has been good. They can be a bit of an odd fit though so I think it may be a case of their great if they suit your body type.

 

[dytis-sm]

I have the Cressi Lontra so I can only speak for that... I will discourage you from using a hooded vest for that. The Lontra is a semidry suit which means that it has tight seals around your neck. You need to use a dry suit style hood with that to maintain the tight seal around your neck. The idea of the semidry is to hold the water under your seals and bring it to body temp to keep you warn. Any break in the seals, causes water to flow in and out thus negating the benefits. I discovered that by using a hooded vest... What I use under the Lontra is a Lavacore top without hood, and then the Cressi hood designed for the Lontra (with the characteristic Hood Holder) which is sold separately...


The Cressi Lontra is very economical (around 250 USD) and have bought a couple in the last three years. I bought the second after being happy with the first one and needing a backup for those days you dive back to back. Overall a happy and warm customer for the temperatures I dive in Southern California: 55 - 70 (a rare recent experience). The extra Lavacore layer I only use under 60F.