Crushed Neoprene - Manufacturers

[The Kraken]

Any crushed neoprene dry suit users on the board?
I see a gracious plenty of tri-lam wearers, but not many neo users.
I'm considering the purchase of a c/n dry suit and would like some feedback from users with respect to performance, brand, etc.

Thanx . . .
the K

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I use the crushed 4 mil 45th anniversary suit made by Whites and I can't praise it highly enough. After diving bag suits I'm done with them. It doesn't wrinkle as much as those bag suits so there isn't nearly as much drag and I swim slow enough as it is so that's a huge plus for me.

I dive it under ice and stay warm but I can use it up through the 60's while just wearing a tshirt and shorts. Above the 60's and I back in a 3 mil wetsuit.

 

[jlyle]

I think DUI holds the patent on "crushed neoprene," CF200 (tm). IMHO, other products are poor imitations.

Dick Long, the owner of DUI, talked me out of a CN suit. I had gone to Scuba 199? at the Queen Mary to try suits on and talk to the reps. Dick asked me about what kind of diving I was doing and steered me to the less expensive TLS-350. (I'm a recreational, underwater photographer, who dives a lot in Southern California.)

The advantages that the trilam has over the CN:
1. lighter - important if you travel with a drysuit
2. dries instantly - the CN can take a couple of days to dry and is even heavier when wet.
3. the TLS came with all the bells and whistles (warm collar, zipper cover, etc.) while at that time these were add-ons to the already more expensive CN.
4. less expensive

Disadvantage:
1. more drag in the water.
2. less durable - it's said that the CF material gets better with age.

I've always been grateful to Dick for his advice and very happy with my TLS-350 - nine years old and many hundreds of dives later.

Just my $0.02

 

[yipiekaya]

a crushed velvet wetsuit,,,,now thats stylin,,lmao...

Any crushed neoprene dry suit users on the board?
I see a gracious plenty of tri-lam wearers, but not many neo users.
I'm considering the purchase of a c/n dry suit and would like some feedback from users with respect to performance, brand, etc.

Thanx . . .
the K

 

[ClevelandDiver]

Any crushed neoprene dry suit users on the board?
I see a gracious plenty of tri-lam wearers, but not many neo users.
I'm considering the purchase of a c/n dry suit and would like some feedback from users with respect to performance, brand, etc.

Thanx . . .
the K

I bought a Bare XCD2 from Divetank.com and the only complaint I have is it takes a lot longer to dry than a shell suit. Sure its heavier, but I don't really notice that when I am wearing it. It is also very tough and tear/puncture resistant. If I had to do it again I would have gone with the rear entry model. That front entry zipper still requires an assist to open and close unless you are a contortionist. I have had it in 38F water with 2 pairs of sweats as undergarments and I was fine (except my hands of course). I went from 10 pounds of lead with a 7mil one piece and a steel tank to 22 pounds with the same tank. I am switching to a BP/wing setup this summer and hope to drop a few more lbs of lead with the switch. Make sure to check out Divetank.com, they have the best warranty and return policy I have seen. Prices are great too.

 

[jonnythan]

DUI's crushed neoprene is really quite different from compressed neoprene from other manufacturers. Compressed neoprene bears a striking resemblance to regular neoprene.. in fact, it's kinda difficult to tell the difference.

 

[hardhat]

I dive a Bare XCD2 Tech Dry, which is a 2mm hyper compressed neoprene suit. I like it better then any other suit that I dove in the past. I've had Vikings, Trilams, and regular neoprene suits and now the crushed neoprene which I think is by far the best of them all. I have latex wrist and neck seals on it, suspenders are a must, large bellows pocket on my right thigh, and soft boots ( so I use Bare Treck Boots ). I just had the neck seal changed from neoprene to latex which only took a week to get my suit back. So I'm really pleased with the after sales service they have provided me.

 

[jonnythan]

I'd like to point out to everyone reading this thread and using "crushed neoprene" interchangably with "compressed neoprene" should stop, because the two terms refer to very different things. The Bare suits are compressed neoprene. Only DUI makes crushed neoprene.

 

[ClevelandDiver]

FYI - DUI's compressed neoprene is 1.55mm Bare's is 2mm.

 

[jonnythan]

FYI - DUI's compressed neoprene is 1.55mm Bare's is 2mm.

DUI uses compressed neoprene in the CNSE, the value version of the CF200. The CF200 crushed neoprene is thinner.. but I don't know by how much.