Frogman drysuit first impression

[Ulfhedinn]

I guess I could as on Facebook but since we are talking about the suit here. What is the "Neck" protector Kevlar and "additional" Kevlar options?

 

[Andrew Dawson]

Thanks guys!!! I am leaning towards a Frogman...but will price out both suits on the order form. Time to start selling those old [but new in box] 2TB Sandisk Extreme 900 SSDs and 2TB Samsung 960 Pro M.2 drives!!

 

[admikar]

Thanks guys!!! I am leaning towards a Frogman...but will price out both suits on the order form. Time to start selling those old [but new in box] 2TB Sandisk Extreme 900 SSDs and 2TB Samsung 960 Pro M.2 drives!!

How much?

 

[drk5036]

I have a neoprene seaskin that’s worked fine for me, but am thinking about buying a trilaminate suit. To me, the frogman suits just…look better? Maybe it’s ridiculous or just plain wrong, but the pictures I’ve seen of the nova’s just don’t look as good as the frogman suits. I wish we had more pictures of the frogman suits. I also wish I could more quantitatively understand why I feel this way. Im certainly not sold yet.

If it’s a different between the 4000 price tag of a Santi and the 1200 of a seaskin, it’s a no-Brainer. But 1700 vs 1200…it’s a harder choice for me.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

How much?

Send me a PM, I am hoping to make a deal and avoid fee-bay lol

 

[vladodessit]

You have them both, so you are the resident expert on this. But, I cannot help wondering if anyone here is aware of people wearing out a Seaskin and, by contrast, a Frogman lasting longer.

Saying that one is better made or higher quality than the other is, I *think*, a way of expressing the idea that one will fit better or hold up better/last longer than the other. Informed opinions based on examining both are very valuable when there is no actual data on those things. But, in the end, it still boils down to an educated guess on which one will fit better or be more durable, yes?

If anyone reading this can share any anecdotes on Seaskin or Frogman fit issues or failures, I would love to read about them.

Personally, my Seaskin trilam is now over 3 years old and still works like new. I don't even think I have had to replace a wrist seal. I have swapped back and forth between silicone and neoprene neck seals, but by choice, not necessity. I think it is starting to show a little bit of fraying at the end of the sleeves, where the Kubi rings are glued in. But, it's just an occasional stray thread of the trilam material that pokes out. The red may be a little faded compared to new. Otherwise, no leaks at all (knock on wood). The seams still look in perfect condition. The zipper is starting to look a bit worn. I won't be surprised if it needs a new one in the next year.

Other suits may be "better made", but there's a point where I wonder how much benefit there is from being made "better" than a Seaskin trilam.

Well, I don't complain about Sea Skin at all. It's an extremely high value suit. If I didn't find Frogman, I'd probably own 2 Sea Skins now and would not cry about it. Fir wise, I'd say Sea Skin only got my sleeves a bit shorter than I'd like and on another suit I'd pad arm length a bit. Frogman fit was spot on (they both are a bit too big now but this is not the suit issue ) .

The dump valve position was a touch better on Sea Skin (DIR position). But we are talking a tiny difference, only if I'm going to be picky. My Sea Skin came in with those very rubbery boots. Fins rubbed them at the wrong spot so they failed prematurely, I replaced with DUI Turbo Tec soles. But Sea Skin does offer regular flex soles now.

Sea skin has few high stress, "busy" areas, where bunch of seams, stitches, glue and tape meet (one of those is on the sides, for example. I had leakes in most of those areas (like the sides and underarms). Higher end suits use different technics to avoid these 4 ways, multiple layers seams. You will see the management of these on Santi, DUI. And Frogman. They were major repair facility for a long time before starting the manufacturing and had learned a lot about drysuits.

Just to be clear: I think highly of my Sea Skin and totally recommend it to people. If someone locally is serious about buying a suit, I'll offer them to take a look at Sea Skin and Frogman side by side. Everyone so far agreed that difference in price is obvious. If told that one of the suits is $500 more expensive than the other (real world difference is less than that but I'm just saying)-100% of people would have no doubt which one is more expensive. This is what I mean by better made suit.

 

[vioch]

Can't find any 4 ways seams on mу Nova
There are 3 ways seams only, but not in the busy areas - in Nova "inserts" are applied in busy areas (underarms and crotch), thus meeting points of seams have no stress ...
But from the other hand, there are some pitches of fabric on the suit (sloppy sewing) and I have already had 2 leaks around crotch, also because of these pitches abrasion.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

Can't find any 4 ways seams on mу Nova
There are 3 ways seams only, but not in the busy areas - in Nova "inserts" are applied in busy areas (underarms and crotch), thus meeting points of seams have no stress ...
But from the other hand, there are some pitches of fabric on the suit (sloppy sewing) and I have already had 2 leaks around crotch, also because of these pitches abrasion.

How were the crotch leaks fixed...under warranty? Did you have to ship back to SeaSkin?
If one got the crotch reinforcement pad...would that help with preventing those leaks?

 

[vioch]

Didn't bother about warranty (I guess it is over) - just fixed that by myself - 2 patches on the contact cement from the inside.
I have crotch reinforcement pad and I believe it is another reason of those leaks.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

Wow, excellent thread link...I just read from that linked post to the end. I will likely skip the crotch reinforcement (I will tell my nuts to act as bouncers for anything unwanted in the area)...and I learned Seaskin offers undergarments! Thanks @vioch!!