Mayor
Contributor
My Pinnacle Evolution 2 (Cordura) is one rugged suit for the money. To bad it's not on your list.
Evolution 2 - Drysuits - Zeagle Dive Systems
Evolution 2 - Drysuits - Zeagle Dive Systems
Drysuit divers need your help.
- Thread starter Greybeard47
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Divemaster
Where would you ever get that I said that? Never said anything even close to that! I am actually pretty shocked that you came away with that from my post.
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Ya, the sport doesn't have much for protection....I do agree, see what works for YOU. The 450 and Fusion Sport are on different platforms though...like comparing a peach to a case of beer
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm beer
Like the consensus here....try on a few and see what fits you best
OP
Greybeard47
Registered
MG thank you for the informative reply.
ucfdiver thanks the reason Santi is not in the running is price. The three I mentioned
are between 2100.00 and 2300.00 Cdn with alot of extras added.
luckydays thank you for your informative reply.
kiethdiver congrats and I hope you are very happy with your new suit.
Mike P. Thanks really appreciate your reply. The Fusion I'm looking at is the Bullet.
I tried on the LE today 2XL/3XL with the Mk2. Great fit and mobility.
scubaflier thank you.
Mayor thanks but it is not on my list.
I will be trying on the Bare tomorrow and the DUI Friday.
Again Thanks for your opinions it really is appreciated.
ucfdiver thanks the reason Santi is not in the running is price. The three I mentioned
are between 2100.00 and 2300.00 Cdn with alot of extras added.
luckydays thank you for your informative reply.
kiethdiver congrats and I hope you are very happy with your new suit.
Mike P. Thanks really appreciate your reply. The Fusion I'm looking at is the Bullet.
I tried on the LE today 2XL/3XL with the Mk2. Great fit and mobility.
scubaflier thank you.
Mayor thanks but it is not on my list.
I will be trying on the Bare tomorrow and the DUI Friday.
Again Thanks for your opinions it really is appreciated.
a22shady
Contributor
My G/F and I both have the Bare Trilam HD-Tech Dry suits and love them. After about 2-3 months of doing research on the suits. That was my choice. It came down to for me (Dui/Bare/Pinnacle) brands. Shortly after I had crossed off pinnacle. as I didn't like the feel or look to it once i saw it in person and heard various things. Then I tried on a TLS350 and Loved it felt great very comfortable. The downside that I did not like was the smooth exterior it just didn't reflect ruggedness to me and felt not as tough. The Bare once I put it on was the one. It had a tough looking/feeling outter shell. Suit felt great and looked it also (IMO) Thats what we went with. They have alot of off the shelf sizes so no need for a custom suit. I love there attached boots. She went with neoprene socks with rock boots. Have had suits for a year No Issues no problems and still very glad with my decision. Also the Bare was almost half the Price of the DUI. Fully loaded with 2 LG Pockets/Suspenders. I paid 1500 and I Believe the DUI was around 23ish for an equal suit. Also we got the Latex Seals. All Bare suits come with the Heavy Duty Latex Seal and Kevlar Knee padz standard. Also we dive in the North East which Is cold water and no warmth issues Yet. Just layer up
Marcin2005
Contributor
Graybeard47
You might find a lot of good info on drysuits and diving in the Great White North over here Ontario Diving
As to your question. I dive custom TLS350 and love it. The material is very flexible and far more durable than people think. If you are trying CLX give TLS a try as well. In case you want more abrasion resistance you could get TLS with a Courdura overlay (I have Tough Duck on mine and it is holding up well). Considering that most of our diving is on wooden wrecks CLX might be an overkill. Should you go with DUI suit you have to decide between rock boots or turbosoles. Turbosoles give you a lot of ankle mobility, but you definately feel the rocks under your feet. In retrospect I should have gone with Rock Boots. As far a neopren neck seal is concern I don't like them. I have an unusually large adam's apple and could never get a proper seal ending up with a "semi dry suit " most of the time. Since going with latex I never had that problem.
My buddy dives Bare. (This is based on his observations). If you go with Bare I would suggest going with neo socks and their rock boots instead of the rubber boots. You get excellent traction for waking on surface and more ankle mobility than with the attached boots. Also Bare's forearms are tapered so make sure that the undergarments that you choose will fit. Lastly, Bare's exhaust valve palcement could be better. Standard placement ends up on the inside of your arm. My buddy had it recently moved up so it sits more on the top of his arm. (~3" from its original location). I suppose you could specify that at the time of placing the order.
Now here is my last tip:
1. Before you decide on a drysiut, decide on the type of the undergarments you wish to purchase.
For our local diving you have really have two options Thinsulate (either 200g or 400g) or the stuff from 4th element. Try the undergarments on! You should have full mobility in it. If you cannot find something that will fit you of the rack you might have to go custom. Others might disagree but spend the money on a pair of excellent undergarments and a decent suit rather than a top of the line suit and lousy undergarments. Remember it is the fibres in the undergarment that trap air and keep you warm not the suit.
2. Don’t be in a rush to buy a suit!
Take your undergarments and try on different suits and see how it all fits together. Again you should be able to retain full mobility. Don’t rely on the sizing charts alone, as those are at best approximations. One of the problems that I run into was the fact that most of the stores did not have suits in stock to try on. Everybody was “willing to order it” but I wasn’t going to drop a pile of money and be stuck with a poor fitting suit. In the end this prompted me to buy a custom suit.
With a properly fitted suit and undergarments you should not have a problem doing something like this:
DUI, and Bare all make good products. They all are cut slightly different and use different materials so take your time. Initially I thought I wanted a Courdura suit but after trying one on decided that is was not for me and purchased a much lighter suit.
Good luck
You might find a lot of good info on drysuits and diving in the Great White North over here Ontario Diving
As to your question. I dive custom TLS350 and love it. The material is very flexible and far more durable than people think. If you are trying CLX give TLS a try as well. In case you want more abrasion resistance you could get TLS with a Courdura overlay (I have Tough Duck on mine and it is holding up well). Considering that most of our diving is on wooden wrecks CLX might be an overkill. Should you go with DUI suit you have to decide between rock boots or turbosoles. Turbosoles give you a lot of ankle mobility, but you definately feel the rocks under your feet. In retrospect I should have gone with Rock Boots. As far a neopren neck seal is concern I don't like them. I have an unusually large adam's apple and could never get a proper seal ending up with a "semi dry suit " most of the time. Since going with latex I never had that problem.
My buddy dives Bare. (This is based on his observations). If you go with Bare I would suggest going with neo socks and their rock boots instead of the rubber boots. You get excellent traction for waking on surface and more ankle mobility than with the attached boots. Also Bare's forearms are tapered so make sure that the undergarments that you choose will fit. Lastly, Bare's exhaust valve palcement could be better. Standard placement ends up on the inside of your arm. My buddy had it recently moved up so it sits more on the top of his arm. (~3" from its original location). I suppose you could specify that at the time of placing the order.
Now here is my last tip:
1. Before you decide on a drysiut, decide on the type of the undergarments you wish to purchase.
For our local diving you have really have two options Thinsulate (either 200g or 400g) or the stuff from 4th element. Try the undergarments on! You should have full mobility in it. If you cannot find something that will fit you of the rack you might have to go custom. Others might disagree but spend the money on a pair of excellent undergarments and a decent suit rather than a top of the line suit and lousy undergarments. Remember it is the fibres in the undergarment that trap air and keep you warm not the suit.
2. Don’t be in a rush to buy a suit!
Take your undergarments and try on different suits and see how it all fits together. Again you should be able to retain full mobility. Don’t rely on the sizing charts alone, as those are at best approximations. One of the problems that I run into was the fact that most of the stores did not have suits in stock to try on. Everybody was “willing to order it” but I wasn’t going to drop a pile of money and be stuck with a poor fitting suit. In the end this prompted me to buy a custom suit.
With a properly fitted suit and undergarments you should not have a problem doing something like this:
DUI, and Bare all make good products. They all are cut slightly different and use different materials so take your time. Initially I thought I wanted a Courdura suit but after trying one on decided that is was not for me and purchased a much lighter suit.
Good luck
Last edited:
Jimmer
Contributor
Greybeard, where are you located? I have a fusion you would be welcome to check out and even try on a dive if you fit it. I'm in Brantford.
Jim
Jim
Mike:
I am a new member with a question. Maybe you could answer a question that I posted on the forum. I have a Henderson Drysuit that I want to sell. I used it twice when I lived in Pittsburgh. I now live in Florida. I am trying to find a size marking. It is small. I was 5'5" 135 lbs when I bought it. Great suit, not much use for it in Florida. Can you tell me how to list it ?
I am a new member with a question. Maybe you could answer a question that I posted on the forum. I have a Henderson Drysuit that I want to sell. I used it twice when I lived in Pittsburgh. I now live in Florida. I am trying to find a size marking. It is small. I was 5'5" 135 lbs when I bought it. Great suit, not much use for it in Florida. Can you tell me how to list it ?
Dogfish Doug
Contributor
Hey Greybeard, simply put, demo all three of the suits before you make your decision. I am confident that the fusion bullet would come out on top. I use mine for both commercial work and recreational diving and would never go back to anything else. I have used many suits in many different situations and no other drysuit in the world can match the new bullet. I believe Mike has a demo day coming up, give one a try and let us know what you think either way.
Well, I dive a Fusion, and I wouldn't switch for anything. I've had my suit for two years. I cave dive, which involves from time to time crawling around on limestone (not in the cave, but getting in and out of them). I've had two small leaks in two years. One was after several days of reboarding a boat where you had to let the ocean wash you up on a metal mesh swim step, and then get on your knees to let the DM take your fins off. I got a small puncture in the knee. The other was recent, and I have no idea where it came from (right shoulder). Both were easily and instantly patched. I have the sport skin, and use X shorts for pockets.
I've been reluctant to upgrade the skin because one of the absolute delights of the suit is its very light weight. It weighs no more than my 5 mil wetsuit, which means I can easily travel with it. It also dries almost as fast as a pure trilaminate suit, which the ones with the neoprene skins apparently do not do.
The pluses I see for the Fusion: No need at all for a custom fit. No air trapping; very easy bubble management -- THIS is the suit for anybody who's buoyancy challenged in a dry suit. Self-donning for most people (and for me, with thinner undergarments). Light weight, easy drying. Easy seal replacement and patching. (And if SiTech really does come out with their ring system, it will be possible to have a zip seal arrangement on the Fusion.) The Whites boots are fabulous if they fit you, although I don't know if I will ever use a rock boot system again. And I have to say that I like the fact that the suit comes with SiTech valves. My experience with the Apeks ones wasn't good. And finally, it's possible to lend or share the suit, assuming that the seals will fit, because the suit itself is extremely forgiving of different sized users. My backup suit is my husband's Fusion.
Drawbacks of the Fusion: At least with mine, it is a challenge to get their thick undergarments into the suit. (I believe they may have changed the cut on the arms and legs since I got my suit, which was not long after they first came out, and this may no longer pertain.) Footgear is a challenge, if you are a woman with small feet, although I have to confess I have neither used nor seen their new attached boot. But the biggest issue with the Fusion is pockets. With the sport skin, you have to do some kind of DIY arrangement for pockets (I use X-shorts, but I know someone who has actually sewn pockets to the Lycra and supported them with Velcro on the undersuit.) With the other skins, you can purchase pockets, but they are small, and the skin sags when they have much in them.
I honestly don't care what I look like in my dry suit. It has MANY more critical functions to perform than looking cool!
And to answer your last question, about neoprene neck seals, they also have pros and cons. They are warmer, don't cause neck chafing, are more durable and can be repaired before they are replaced. Because neoprene has limited stretch, however, a seal which will easily go over your head may well have a tendency to leak. This can be minimized with an Apollo bioseal, but if the seal leaks when it's new, it will eventually leak a LOT as it stretches out. Jill Heinerth, in the new cave diving book, said that neoprene neck seals aren't a good idea for women, because our heads are bigger in proportion to our necks than men's are, and so it proved for me with my neoprene neck seals. My husband, on the other hand, adores his.
You should also know that it's somewhat more difficult to find a shop to repair or replace a neoprene neck seal. We have a bunch of local shops that will do latex ones, but I had to send my suit out for the neoprene.
Hope this helps!
I've been reluctant to upgrade the skin because one of the absolute delights of the suit is its very light weight. It weighs no more than my 5 mil wetsuit, which means I can easily travel with it. It also dries almost as fast as a pure trilaminate suit, which the ones with the neoprene skins apparently do not do.
The pluses I see for the Fusion: No need at all for a custom fit. No air trapping; very easy bubble management -- THIS is the suit for anybody who's buoyancy challenged in a dry suit. Self-donning for most people (and for me, with thinner undergarments). Light weight, easy drying. Easy seal replacement and patching. (And if SiTech really does come out with their ring system, it will be possible to have a zip seal arrangement on the Fusion.) The Whites boots are fabulous if they fit you, although I don't know if I will ever use a rock boot system again. And I have to say that I like the fact that the suit comes with SiTech valves. My experience with the Apeks ones wasn't good. And finally, it's possible to lend or share the suit, assuming that the seals will fit, because the suit itself is extremely forgiving of different sized users. My backup suit is my husband's Fusion.
Drawbacks of the Fusion: At least with mine, it is a challenge to get their thick undergarments into the suit. (I believe they may have changed the cut on the arms and legs since I got my suit, which was not long after they first came out, and this may no longer pertain.) Footgear is a challenge, if you are a woman with small feet, although I have to confess I have neither used nor seen their new attached boot. But the biggest issue with the Fusion is pockets. With the sport skin, you have to do some kind of DIY arrangement for pockets (I use X-shorts, but I know someone who has actually sewn pockets to the Lycra and supported them with Velcro on the undersuit.) With the other skins, you can purchase pockets, but they are small, and the skin sags when they have much in them.
I honestly don't care what I look like in my dry suit. It has MANY more critical functions to perform than looking cool!
And to answer your last question, about neoprene neck seals, they also have pros and cons. They are warmer, don't cause neck chafing, are more durable and can be repaired before they are replaced. Because neoprene has limited stretch, however, a seal which will easily go over your head may well have a tendency to leak. This can be minimized with an Apollo bioseal, but if the seal leaks when it's new, it will eventually leak a LOT as it stretches out. Jill Heinerth, in the new cave diving book, said that neoprene neck seals aren't a good idea for women, because our heads are bigger in proportion to our necks than men's are, and so it proved for me with my neoprene neck seals. My husband, on the other hand, adores his.
You should also know that it's somewhat more difficult to find a shop to repair or replace a neoprene neck seal. We have a bunch of local shops that will do latex ones, but I had to send my suit out for the neoprene.
Hope this helps!
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