I had been looking at the 3mm wetsuit for a while. My 5 year old $89 Neosport 3mm with a glued on pocket had seen its better days and even with lots of flushing while diving smelled like a biohazard worthy of a lifetime supply of Odoban.
When Deep 6 put their 3mm on special for $299 with a free pair of gloves and a rashguard, it was a no brainer. I pulled the trigger and it arrived quickly. Once out of the box, it was obvious this was not your run of the mill 3mm suit. The first think you notice is the pockets. They are large, but not overly so. There is the deep well pocket along with a zippered pocket in the flap. Both have bungee loops in them to further secure lights, reels, slates, etc. My SMB, reel, and a DGX600 light fit easily in one pocket. My Sealife camera in the other with tons of room to spare. They are sewn into the suit and will not be pulling away like my aquaseal glued on pocket in the old suit.
The Second thing you notice is the inner neoprene is a soft, almost fleece like material...and its Great Pumpkin orange on the inside. Its comfortable and feels good on your skin. It doesn't slide as easily as bare neoprene, but once in the water its great. The last several inches of the legs and arms are a soft stretchy neoprene that actually seal the water in. There is very little water flow through this suit. Even pumping water in through the neck does not move much water down the arms or legs. I guess that is what they mean by semi-dry.
Finally, you notice the kneepads are not pads at all, they are a layer of super strong material that looks about as bulletproof as you can get without sacrificing buoyancy issues. The reinforcements are in the knees, crotch (for scootering?...maybe nut shark protection?), and on the shoulders where your straps rub. The seams are also lined with an orange tape that looks good and apparently reduces water flow.
It is generously cut an the legs and arms were a little long on me in an xxl. I'm 6'1, 235 with big shoulders and chest. The only fit issues were the length. I could cut about 2 inches off the arms and legs and it would be perfect. Really its not that big of a deal.
DIVING- I spent last week in Cozumel putting it through its paces on the reefs and cenotes on the mainland. First impression is that there is a huge difference in this and a cheap suit. I normally dive 4# - 6#, but put on 8# knowing its brand damn new. I had to swim it down but at 30 feet, it compressed and all was good. When wet, the inner material feels great on your skin and the suit moves with you well. It does not take in much water so I would usually stretch the neck and wrist seals out to let some water in once I got down. That helped the suit adjust a little faster.
My wife looked at it and said, "your going to roast." Jokes on her because I was very comfortable, the rest of our group got cold on 70-90 minute dives...except the Canadians who were diving shortys...but they are part polar bear. The water was high 70's and the suit was perfect. We had to rent a 3mm full for my wife since she only brought a skin and she was a little chilly in the 3mm. One person in our group was diving a full 5mm with a full 3mm and a hood.
My only complaint- this thing really needs a pee zipper for it to be perfect, and maybe zippers in the legs. Newsflash---I pee in my wesuit...alot. With the semidry, there is no way I could figure to get it to flush well. Those issues are easily and reasonably addressed by a quick trip to Terapin Wetsuits in Texas for a pee zipper and ankle zippers. When I say it holds water, I mean it HOLDS water. Once I flushed the neck several times on the ladder. When I came up, the legs were huge holding all the water. You had to pull open each ankle and drain the water out. Same thing happened on the beach. On the upside, the soft neoprene does not seem to hold odors at all and after being stretched by gallons of water, the neoprene went back to its original shape and contour immediately.
The cenotes were where this suit really shined. Most people dive a 5mm full minimum, or a 3mm full with a 3mm shorty over it. The water is in the low 70s. I wore a dive skin, the Deep6 3mm full, and a Scubapro semidry hood. I get hellacious leg cramps easily in cool water and had no problems whatsoever. The pockets and kneepads were actually warmer and I think helped me to avoid cramps, especially on the second dive with lots of finning. I never even felt a twinge of an early cramp...that's never happened before, in fact, not a single cramp the entire week. The diveskin made the suit much easier to get on and off and I even took the hood off in the middle of the second dive. The suit was perfect for me.
It looks great and I got a lot of compliments on it. It fits great and the pockets are perfectly placed and sized. The divemasters I dove with had not seen one and were impressed. These are guys diving everyday. The semi-dry took some getting used to and it does not dive like a cheap suit. I'm sure I can dive 6# now, maybe even back to 4#, with no problems. It really dives more like a lower quality 5mm in warmth
All in all, if your looking for a new suit, it would be hard to beat this one for the value and quality. I'll post pics when I get back to my IPAD.
Great work Deep 6, you can tell this thing was designed by people who actually dive!! I love this suit!!!
Jay
When Deep 6 put their 3mm on special for $299 with a free pair of gloves and a rashguard, it was a no brainer. I pulled the trigger and it arrived quickly. Once out of the box, it was obvious this was not your run of the mill 3mm suit. The first think you notice is the pockets. They are large, but not overly so. There is the deep well pocket along with a zippered pocket in the flap. Both have bungee loops in them to further secure lights, reels, slates, etc. My SMB, reel, and a DGX600 light fit easily in one pocket. My Sealife camera in the other with tons of room to spare. They are sewn into the suit and will not be pulling away like my aquaseal glued on pocket in the old suit.
The Second thing you notice is the inner neoprene is a soft, almost fleece like material...and its Great Pumpkin orange on the inside. Its comfortable and feels good on your skin. It doesn't slide as easily as bare neoprene, but once in the water its great. The last several inches of the legs and arms are a soft stretchy neoprene that actually seal the water in. There is very little water flow through this suit. Even pumping water in through the neck does not move much water down the arms or legs. I guess that is what they mean by semi-dry.
Finally, you notice the kneepads are not pads at all, they are a layer of super strong material that looks about as bulletproof as you can get without sacrificing buoyancy issues. The reinforcements are in the knees, crotch (for scootering?...maybe nut shark protection?), and on the shoulders where your straps rub. The seams are also lined with an orange tape that looks good and apparently reduces water flow.
It is generously cut an the legs and arms were a little long on me in an xxl. I'm 6'1, 235 with big shoulders and chest. The only fit issues were the length. I could cut about 2 inches off the arms and legs and it would be perfect. Really its not that big of a deal.
DIVING- I spent last week in Cozumel putting it through its paces on the reefs and cenotes on the mainland. First impression is that there is a huge difference in this and a cheap suit. I normally dive 4# - 6#, but put on 8# knowing its brand damn new. I had to swim it down but at 30 feet, it compressed and all was good. When wet, the inner material feels great on your skin and the suit moves with you well. It does not take in much water so I would usually stretch the neck and wrist seals out to let some water in once I got down. That helped the suit adjust a little faster.
My wife looked at it and said, "your going to roast." Jokes on her because I was very comfortable, the rest of our group got cold on 70-90 minute dives...except the Canadians who were diving shortys...but they are part polar bear. The water was high 70's and the suit was perfect. We had to rent a 3mm full for my wife since she only brought a skin and she was a little chilly in the 3mm. One person in our group was diving a full 5mm with a full 3mm and a hood.
My only complaint- this thing really needs a pee zipper for it to be perfect, and maybe zippers in the legs. Newsflash---I pee in my wesuit...alot. With the semidry, there is no way I could figure to get it to flush well. Those issues are easily and reasonably addressed by a quick trip to Terapin Wetsuits in Texas for a pee zipper and ankle zippers. When I say it holds water, I mean it HOLDS water. Once I flushed the neck several times on the ladder. When I came up, the legs were huge holding all the water. You had to pull open each ankle and drain the water out. Same thing happened on the beach. On the upside, the soft neoprene does not seem to hold odors at all and after being stretched by gallons of water, the neoprene went back to its original shape and contour immediately.
The cenotes were where this suit really shined. Most people dive a 5mm full minimum, or a 3mm full with a 3mm shorty over it. The water is in the low 70s. I wore a dive skin, the Deep6 3mm full, and a Scubapro semidry hood. I get hellacious leg cramps easily in cool water and had no problems whatsoever. The pockets and kneepads were actually warmer and I think helped me to avoid cramps, especially on the second dive with lots of finning. I never even felt a twinge of an early cramp...that's never happened before, in fact, not a single cramp the entire week. The diveskin made the suit much easier to get on and off and I even took the hood off in the middle of the second dive. The suit was perfect for me.
It looks great and I got a lot of compliments on it. It fits great and the pockets are perfectly placed and sized. The divemasters I dove with had not seen one and were impressed. These are guys diving everyday. The semi-dry took some getting used to and it does not dive like a cheap suit. I'm sure I can dive 6# now, maybe even back to 4#, with no problems. It really dives more like a lower quality 5mm in warmth
All in all, if your looking for a new suit, it would be hard to beat this one for the value and quality. I'll post pics when I get back to my IPAD.
Great work Deep 6, you can tell this thing was designed by people who actually dive!! I love this suit!!!
Jay
