Drysuits and Options: DUI, White's, Diving Concepts

[elvisisalive]

TS&M - been thinking about the turbosole issue. Was thinking about ordering the Rock Boots and maybe just using my wetsuit boots if the rock boots are too uncomfortable. I sometime have to walk a ways and do not want to comromise the suit. You, and Rick sure do love the White's Fusion!!

 

[Jimmer]

TS&M - You, and Rick sure do love the White's Fusion!!

You can add me to that list as well. I was previously diving a Pinnacle EvoII, and I am absolutely head over heels in love with my Fusion. If anyone within earshot mentions they are in the market for a drysuit, I go running over to show them the fusion. It really is as good as people say it is.

 

[dave4868]

TS&M - been thinking about the turbosole issue. Was thinking about ordering the Rock Boots and maybe just using my wetsuit boots if the rock boots are too uncomfortable. I sometime have to walk a ways and do not want to comromise the suit. You, and Rick sure do love the White's Fusion!!

I do mostly shore dives and I prefer Rockboots over Turbosoles for their better ankle support,.

Also, I wear very thick foot insulation and to avoid constriction of my circulation I use Rockboots 2 sizes larger than my shoe size and lace them loosely. No more cold toes!

Despite my wearing them loosely, the Rockboots still provide better ankle support and grip than the Turbosoles. They've definitely been a big plus when walking down rocky shores to get to the water.

I would hate to take a flop with all my gear on..... :shocked2:

Dave C

 

[TSandM]

I just use Chuck Taylors -- high topped tennis shoes. They give enough ankle support, have sturdy enough soles for rocks, and they're cheap (AND they fit in my fins!) I'd love to be able to wear the White's Evo boots, which are simply marvelous pieces of engineering, but the heels are so wide they flop around on my feet and are very uncomfortable. But for any man thinking about a boot over a drysuit sock, I'd highly recommend considering the White's boots. They are extremely light, have a ton of ankle support, and have a very good, grippy sole on them.

I have to say, I had hardly heard of White's before I tried the Fusion, and what I had heard wasn't all positive. But whoever came up with this system gave it a great deal of thought. The undergarment, suit and boots are all really nice (and I have a basis for comparison!)

 

[Darnold9999]

Add me to the list of Fusion owners that love the suit. Had a Whites Catalyst and moved to the Fusion moderately recently. The pluses in my opinion are:

Easy to get in and out of - some have complained that the suit is too restrictive around the calf but this is not an issue for me. However, I am pretty much an average sized person so this is no surprise. I can easily get in and out of this suit solo. Big advantage at the end of a dive, even bigger advantage if you solo dive. I could get in and out of the Catalyst solo, but it was a struggle.

Flexability. Pretty much as flexible as a 3 mil wetsuit. FAR more flexible than my Catalyst which was more flexible than any neoprene suit. This is probably the most significant difference between any other dry suit and the Fusion and the reason I wanted the suit. I was not disappointed.

Streamlined in the water. Normally I don't notice this as I dive pretty slowly, but was in some high current dives a couple of weeks ago and the difference is significant. Feels much like a thin wetsuit in the water. The Catalyst is pretty much like pushing a brick through the water in comparison.

Less bulky for travelling. Takes up way less space when packed.

Air management. The outer skin helpts to even out the air in the suit. Less of a bubble to manage, it is possible to dive this suit vertically and while some air goes to the feet, it is a slower process than other suits. I am comfortable diving head down to get a shot in this suit, I am not comfortable in this position in the Catalyst.

The minuses - warmth is entirely driven by undergarments. The suit itself has no insulating properties. I don't view this as a minus, but those that dive neoprene do.

I have the tech skin and the two separate layers take a bit longer to dry than the Catalyst.

Durability. This is the big unknown with this suit. So far reports are excellent and I have had no issues, but you never know.

If I were buying again I would probably skip the tech skin and just go with XShorts for pockets.

I use the Whites rock boots. Divers around this area run about 50/50 turbo soles or rock boots. I like the support and traction of the rock boot, others like the warmth and ease of entry for the turbo soles.

Have never had a shoelace come undone in the water and I doubt it would matter if I did. Once your fins are on the boot is not going to come off just because the shoelace came untied.

The problem with Thal's suggestion to go talk to people that dive in your area is that very few divers have even tried this suit so they have absolutley no basis for comparison. I know the local tec instructor at my LDS (a Whites dealer) was initially extremely sceptical of the suit and advised me to stay away from it. Several months later, after trying the suit, he is now a convert and loves it.

 

[elvisisalive]

All thoughts on this are very well appreciated. My biggest concern with this purchase is making a desicion that winds up limiting my diving, or replacing the suit. For the amount of money I am getting ready to spend I wanted some reassurances. I think Thal's advice was spot on: everybody out there has had a bad experience with there gear. Maybe the gear in question really does suck. Maybe the situation just got outta control and the gear couldn't help it, or the gear had a common failure, like a seal or zipper, at the worst possible time. Either way the gear get's the blame, right? All drysuits are gonna have pro's and con's, nothings perfect for all situations and for all people.

I was kinda in a rush to get this done and we all know what happens when we rush things. The "expert" I wound up talking to for a good solid 2-3 hours said, "if it's up to me I won't sell you a drysuit right now. I'll make you the same offer, price, when we have you all sorted out. The worst thing you should do right now is overload yourself with a potentially very dangerous piece of gear. With winter coming, where are you gonna get the time in the suit to get it figured out. Who are you gonna have with you? If you can't answer those two questions pretty quickly, you should reconsider buying this suit right now."

We have a saying in my proffesion that goes like this: mechanic/technician speaking to the customer/money man whose upset about his airplane, "You can have this fixed fixed correctly, quickly, or cheaply. Which two do you want, but I can only give you two." Ya gotta admit, in gear like this, the options can almost be dizzying!!!

 

[bythesea]

FWIW

You can rent a DUI trilam or Crushed neoprene from At the Waters Edge in Westfield to try the two. They also do pool nights in Chicopee that might be an option for trying suits. I rented a CX200 from them for my AOW but I had to buy my own seals which ended up on my TLS 350. In my limited experience the TLS350 is the more comfortable choice. As far as toughness goes I did about 20 dives on a salvage attempt last winter and the only casualty(excluding lost gear) was a blue zip glove that succumbed to thousands of barnacle cuts. If by some chance you fit a DUI XL you're welcome to take a spin in mine some time in the pool.

 

[lv2dive]

All thoughts on this are very well appreciated. My biggest concern with this purchase is making a desicion that winds up limiting my diving, or replacing the suit. For the amount of money I am getting ready to spend I wanted some reassurances. I think Thal's advice was spot on: everybody out there has had a bad experience with there gear. Maybe the gear in question really does suck. Maybe the situation just got outta control and the gear couldn't help it, or the gear had a common failure, like a seal or zipper, at the worst possible time. Either way the gear get's the blame, right? All drysuits are gonna have pro's and con's, nothings perfect for all situations and for all people.

I was kinda in a rush to get this done and we all know what happens when we rush things. The "expert" I wound up talking to for a good solid 2-3 hours said, "if it's up to me I won't sell you a drysuit right now. I'll make you the same offer, price, when we have you all sorted out. The worst thing you should do right now is overload yourself with a potentially very dangerous piece of gear. With winter coming, where are you gonna get the time in the suit to get it figured out. Who are you gonna have with you? If you can't answer those two questions pretty quickly, you should reconsider buying this suit right now."

We have a saying in my proffesion that goes like this: mechanic/technician speaking to the customer/money man whose upset about his airplane, "You can have this fixed fixed correctly, quickly, or cheaply. Which two do you want, but I can only give you two." Ya gotta admit, in gear like this, the options can almost be dizzying!!!

So Elvis, I'm raising this thread from the dead. It was hoot reading it, bc I recognized Ed the moment he "entered from stage left" so to speak <G>. (I know I'll recognize him if/when I ever actually hear him person, just from your and Carol's stories!) So the question is, with which suit did you end up, and do you like it? And what did you do about gloves?

 

[TSandM]

Since Kate resurrected this, I have a few of my own comments to change. First, I'm on my second Fusion, and love the suit even more than before. Why do I have a second one? Because the zipper finally went on the first one (after 450 dives) and I was offered such a good deal on a new suit that I couldn't resist it. Other than the zipper, the suit had been astonishingly trouble-free.

Second, I have changed my mind about boots. I had a boot and fin come off in cave, about 1000 feet back. Had someone not found both, I would have been in a world of hurt, trying to swim out with one fin. I will dive rock boots on simple OW dives, but for anything more ambitious, what's on my feet has to be attached to my suit. I got TurboSoles put on my old Fusion -- they are not perfect, don't heavily pad the sole and offer no ankle support, but they fit in my fins and with the Velcro ankle strap, they will NOT come off one's feet.

 

[elvisisalive]

Holy schmoley! A blast from the way long ago past. I wound up buying a DUI TLS350 with zip seals all the way aroung. Love the suit. The person that measured me for the suit new what he was doing because it fit's really well. The best thing about the suit is that it is light and dries really fast making it a great travel suit. I don't think that fact should be underestimated; being light and easy to travel with. No one knows where they are going to wind up in this world and being able to travel without baggage fees can be a big deal in the long run. The blue zip gloves; what do I say. Love em. They are durable but then again, I'm not much of a digger and don't have any interest in hunting. As my diving has progressed my only reservation is in the durability of the suit for "inside" exploration. As I am in the N.E. most of what I dive are wrecks, and i find myself spending more time inside them on dives once i feel comfortable with the outside of them. I have NOT had any issues with the suit. But like the gloves, it is in the back of my mind. I have needed service on the suit from DUI and had a great experience working with them. All in all, the choice I made for me has been a good one. The advice I was given back in that thread was the best advice I think can be given to anyone looking for something to solve a problem they are experiencing. "Find someone that is doing the diving you WANT to be doing, and speak with them about the how's, what's and why's." The one thing that I couldn't recommend more, on any suit by any manufacturer, is get the thigh pockets on both thighs. The DUI bellows pockets, the one's with the velcro opening, are absolutely mint. Once you have pockets you won't believe how fast they fill up. And it's better than having stuff clipped off all over the place, or worse yet not taking it because you don't have a place for it. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people with only one small pocket on their suit trying to figure out where to stow something.