Custom Neoprene drysuit need one who makes the best?

[stuartv]

As I have said, you are demanding "consumer reports" detailed report which I can't and won't provide or even begin to put time into it. I have answered your question in what I believe is the best answer but if you want to stomp your feet/fingers and insist on your way of an answer, that is your issue not mine. Not more so than you stating what you state. If anyone here on SB asks a question on what is the best of a certain product and expects a table of features and comparisons between products/brands, they are delusional and very presumptuous. You haven't given any reason why your choice is "better" or best other than being a cheap product. That is your definition of what is better or best and it works for you. I have given you a summary of my experience, observations, research and discussions with more experienced users of the suit in their country of manufacturing. Also, you are so focused on O3 but nothing about DUI. In my experience, DUI is not only the best but the absolute best in crushed neoprene.

No, I'm not.

Consumer Reports might say "the stitching on the X is 3 rows with one blind. The stitching on Y is 2 rows with no blind stitching." I never asked you for that. I would be perfectly content to see a response that said "I looked at the stitching on an O'Three and the stitching on a Seaskin and the stitching on the O'Three looked better to me".

That is not asking for a Consumer Reports detailed report.

That is asking for ANY details on what you think makes the O'Three better. You haven't given any details like that, because you don't have any.

Now you are deflecting from your inability to support your statements by accusing me of asking for more than I did.

Also, you are correct that I didn't give any reason why my choice is better than O'Three other than price. And that is because I don't have any basis to say that. That is also why I never said that Seaskin is better than O'Three - other than on price.

I gave a detail and said Seaskin is better in that detail. I made no other claims for Seaskin being better.

You said O'Three is not just better than Seaskin. You said it is The Best. You made a claim of O'Three against Seaskin and gave not a single detail to support your statement. You even made it clear that you really know almost nothing about Seaskin - because the "highly experienced and respected" people that you talked to don't use and/or don't know about Seaskin. Obviously, nobody could expect you to identify details about Seaskin that are inferior to O'Three when you actually know nothing of substance about Seaskin.

If I were to say "the Seaskin Ultra has better stitching than an O'Three neoprene suit, and uses a better, more reliable glue, and the material is more durable" what do you know to refute such a statement?

Nothing.

 

[stuartv]

If a Seaskin Ultra suit were built with the plastic zipper from the Nova, could it be self-donning with a long leash on the back zipper pull, like the Seasoft? I'm thinking that Seaskin might be willing to build a custom Ultra with plastic back zip, provided there is no warranty on the zipper breaking or leaking. What would they have to lose by trying that? If it failed, the customer could just return the suit to have the metal zipper installed at customer's expense.

Am I wrong in thinking that a back zipper is under relatively low stress by being in a short and straight location?

I think they have a reason they don't offer the plastic zipper option on any back zip suit. Meaning, I think you CAN (? maybe?) order a trilam suit with a back zipper, but even then, if you do, the only choice is a metal zipper. I think.

I'm not SURE what the reason is for that. But, I *suspect* that it is to do with the side-pulling force that the zipper gets. On a front zip suit, there is pretty much no way you move that pulls the zipper from each side.

With the zipper on the back, I guess if you bend your head and shoulders downward, it could put a side pulling force on the zipper. Maybe the plastic zips can't handle that.

Can't hurt to ask Seaskin, but I kinda doubt they would be willing to make a back zip with a plastic zipper.

 

[tech3324]

@stuartv It's interesting that Seaskin won't use plastic zippers anywhere on a neoprene suit. Even the convenience zipper on an Ultra has to be brass, while it's plastic on the Nova but with an option for brass.

 

[stuartv]

@stuartv It's interesting that Seaskin won't use plastic zippers anywhere on a neoprene suit. Even the convenience zipper on an Ultra has to be brass, while it's plastic on the Nova but with an option for brass.

Interesting. Maybe still the same issue I raised. Side-pull on the zipper. On a trilam, the suit at least has some extra length in the torso, if not a fully telescoping torso, to allow for donning. I mean the length from crotch to neck hole has to be long enough to actually reach over the diver's head. So, in a trilam, maybe they aren't worried about side pulling force on the convenience zip. But, on a back zip neoprene suit, the torso does not have the extra length that a trilam does, so it could still get side pulling on a convenience zip, when the diver it donning the suit.

 

[Bierstadt]

I recall reading that Seaskin has tested both front zip and plastic zippers on the Ultra and found it insufficiently reliable/durable given the suit/materials/design they have to work with, and that is why they don't do it.