Drysuit reviews?????

[Randawg2112]

Looking to get a drysuit for Pacific NW diving. The two that I have found so far are the Pinnacle Black Ice and the Bare XCS2. Does anyone have experience with these suits and have a recommendation on the better ones. Bare has a huge $500 in accessory promotion going on right now thru the end of the year.[h=1][/h]

 

[Airburnr01]

I use the pinnicle 200(diving concepts) in n.w. winter water, @ 43 deg water, (fareget state park) , warm as toast.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[tbone1004]

call Dive Right in Scuba, best resource available. You also have USIA that is made in the PNW, DUI that is made in San Diego, and a bunch of other options. It is very difficult to answer this question without knowing a lot of other information before hand.

Travel-if you travel Neoprene takes forever to dry and are very heavy. Cordura suits are more durable than other trilams, but are also heavy and don't travel well

Neoprene offers inherent thermal protection, minimal that it may be, but also has more inherent buoyancy than trilam. They are generally more durable, will last longer, but are more prone to pinholing. The Pinnacle Black Ice due to the merino lining can't be repaired if a seam fails.

Front zip vs back. Front is generally more expensive, but is self donning.

Boots vs. booties. Do you want to wear overboots, or have integrated boots, personal preference, most all that I know prefer booties with overboots.

P-valve, requirement for any diving longer than an hour, and greatly appreciated for multiple dives if you don't want to get out of the suit

bunch of other things to consider, but Dive Right in Scuba is probably the best drysuit resource in the country. Call Mike or Rich and talk to them, get their opinion

 

[sea_ledford]

Front zip vs back. Front is generally more expensive, but is 95% self donning.

Fixed it for you.

I have a Hollis front zip that is fine. I don't love it, but I do like the little bit of stretch it gives, and it has been mostly dry. If I were getting another, I would seriously consider a neoprene suit. With the caveats tbone listed above. A cheap Harvey's one at that.

-Chris

 

[OtherHalf]

I haven't gotten to dive more as often as I'd expected (long drive to the coast) but I have been very happy with it the times I've been able to dive it, and DRIS treated me great.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/exposure-suits/496556-new-drysuit-purchase-usia-techniflex.html

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Great talking to you today Randy Let me know when you have those measurements filled out and we can get that suit going for you!!!

 

[bamafan]

Stay away from the Pinnacle Black Ice. I am on my 2nd one and will not get another one. The zipper and seals are not very high quality but the biggest issue that I have found is the Merino Wool is laminated to the neoprene at the same time it is seamed. When the seams start leaking there is no way to repair them other than just smearing Aquaseal over the inside and outside of the seam. The leak travels due to the Merino Wool. I have seen suits repaired by Pinnacle that had this repair done and this is what they did. If someone can repair these suits I will gladly send them mine. Steve Gamble who is the Florida drysuit guru told me to just throw it away. The Bare is a much better suit and they stand behind their suits unlike Pinnacle.

 

[Randawg2112]

Thanks for all the information, especially to talk with Mike from Dive Right in Scuba. We had a great discussion and looks like the Bare XCS2 is gonna be the one for my Pacific NW Diving. Just got off the phone with him and purchased a screaming deal on a Hollis regulator. I see many of my purchases going through this shop, great prices and the customer service is top notch. As one retailer to another I appreciate extensive product knowledge and awesome customer service. Top notch all around.

Roof Racks at Rack Attack - Thule Rack, Yakima Rack: bike, ski, kayak, cargo