Does anyone make an uncompressed neoprene drysuit any longer?

[Aqua-Andy]

---------- Post added May 11th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ----------

To add one more thing. SEASOFT makes custom suits and our suits are self entry even though the zipper is across the back. We are filming a new video this Friday on that issue and it will be up by Sunday on our FACEBOOK page - SEASOFT SCUBA.

Thanks.

Bruce Justinen
SEASOFT SCUBA

I tried looking for the video, did I miss it somewhere?

 

[lowviz]

... Ideally I'd like a front-zip suit, but would look at back-zip. I'm not looking for compressed or crushed, ...

Not to belabor the point, but I installed a P-Valve in my Pinnacle Black Ice a while ago. Found the plug I cut out of it. Here we go!

Marketing says 7 mm thermocompressed to 4 mm. Yes, my calipers confirm just a tad over 4mm. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, in engineering terms, they are dead nuts on.

So, what would be the buoyancy swing if I compressed my suit due to depth?

I personally present a surface area of *almost precisely* 2 meters squared. (Mosteller method).

The neoprene plug is easily compressed to about 2mm where it begins to put up a fight. This gets interesting. How much has the buoyancy decreased with maximal compression? Check the math, but I get 8.5 pounds as a first order estimate.

So, uncompressed, 7 mm would be a beast to dive. How would you control that much of a buoyancy swing?

 

[BRT]

Not to belabor the point, but I installed a P-Valve in my Pinnacle Black Ice a while ago. Found the plug I cut out of it. Here we go!

Marketing says 7 mm thermocompressed to 4 mm. Yes, my calipers confirm just a tad over 4mm. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, in engineering terms, they are dead nuts on.

So, what would be the buoyancy swing if I compressed my suit due to depth?

I personally present a surface area of *almost precisely* 2 meters squared. (Mosteller method).

The neoprene plug is easily compressed to about 2mm where it begins to put up a fight. This gets interesting. How much has the buoyancy decreased with maximal compression? Check the math, but I get 8.5 pounds as a first order estimate.

So, uncompressed, 7 mm would be a beast to dive. How would you control that much of a buoyancy swing?

Probably just like you do in a 7mm wetsuit, with a BCD.

 

[spoolin01]

Not to belabor the point, but I installed a P-Valve in my Pinnacle Black Ice a while ago. Found the plug I cut out of it. Here we go!

Marketing says 7 mm thermocompressed to 4 mm. Yes, my calipers confirm just a tad over 4mm. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, in engineering terms, they are dead nuts on.

So, what would be the buoyancy swing if I compressed my suit due to depth?

I personally present a surface area of *almost precisely* 2 meters squared. (Mosteller method).

The neoprene plug is easily compressed to about 2mm where it begins to put up a fight. This gets interesting. How much has the buoyancy decreased with maximal compression? Check the math, but I get 8.5 pounds as a first order estimate.

So, uncompressed, 7 mm would be a beast to dive. How would you control that much of a buoyancy swing?

My overly simplified view of drysuits has improved quite a bit over the course of this thread and further poking around. I gather that the compressed neoprene suits nevertheless still offer superior inherent insulation over shell suits.

I'm still dubious about the workability of one or two layers of heavy insulating undergarments during the various stages and scenarios leading up to splash time - given my acute intolerance for heat build up - but in truth I've only done 3 dives with the Whites Fusion and its other qualities recommend giving it more chance to prove itself. If I can find a mildly compressed suit at a reasonable price for evaluation, I'll do that. I like the idea of the Pinnacle Black Ice, but I'll have to wait for a good used deal. I'm interested to see the SeaSoft take on self-donning a back-zip suit, but at this point if I'm going to jettison the ONeill's for another neoprene suit, it would be front-entry.

Frankly, suit compression isn't something that's troubled me over several years of diving the 7mm ONeills drysuit. Maybe it's that I tend to dive a fairly narrow depth range when cold water diving in this area, maybe it's just that I overlook that aspect since it (and the 12mm Otter Bay hood) has otherwise made diving here into a quite pleasant experience, even at very slow pacing. That's in sharp contrast to what years of even active wetsuit diving was like.

 

[lowviz]

Probably just like you do in a 7mm wetsuit, with a BCD.

Oh, yes. Been a while.

Thanks for reminding me of those weightbelts. BTDT too.

 

[Redshift]

Otter make a compressed neoprene suit, but which is still 4/5 mm and has front entry Extreme MK7 4/5mm Compressed Technical Drysuit