Frogman drysuit first impression

[TheZissouSociety]

How do you like it compared the the SeaSkin? I’ve been thinking about pulling the trigger on one, but have been trying to find other options to compare it to.

 

[vladodessit]

How do you like it compared the the SeaSkin? I’ve been thinking about pulling the trigger on one, but have been trying to find other options to compare it to.

Frogman Tech is certainly in different tier than Sea Skin. I'd put it between Ursuit and Santi E.lite. Closer to Santi than Ursuit. At half the price of a E.lite

 

[0ctoman]

I tried it on and I am very happy with the fit and feel. Sized is just the way I like it. The donning and doffing is very easy. it is hard to start the zipper because it's over the shoulder. But that makes it much easier to enter and exit. Next thin will be installing the p-valve and taking it for a spin. Soon. Cannot wait.
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Mind telling how much you paid for this suit and who do you recommend to contact there? Also, did you add the flag yourself or they did it for you, that's a nice touch. Finally, congratulation in pulling the plug, I think it was a smart move, it looks sleek and radical. I myself have a Viking now and looking to an upgrade.

 

[vladodessit]

The base price is ₽90,000 for Tech suit. Right now it will mean $1227.33. Reality is that it depends a lot on the exchange, it's volatile. I got mine when dollar was calculated at ₽77. The contact is Dennis, he runs Frogman Facebook page too. I arranged everything with him, discussed all the options through Facebook messenger. I sent money to his son's Paypal (he lives in Portland). Sounds shady but it's not, hard to transfer money to Russia. Family figures it out. The flag is an extra option. It's velcroed. Same as a name tag on the right thigh pocket (name tag is standard). I sent Dennis my measurements. He suggested that I am pretty close to a standard size, might be just a bit loose in the hips. I chose to pay extra for MTM. On the order form you can choose the color for all the overlays (I chose khaki except for black on the butt) and color of the stitch (I chose their signature orange). Extra charge for Kevlar overlays. I chose to pay extra for neck and wrist ring systems. Slaggo is not on the option list but is available. You can discuss different options with them, they are pretty flexible.

 

[mattcakes]

I'm excited to see how it does when you dive it but from all the pictures and your initial thoughts it'll probably be a boring update.

Very intrigued by this. I might have to start a conversation with them and try and get the second US suit.

 

[vladodessit]

Was packing for tomorrow and found few interesting little details (or LARGE details). The pockets are huge. Larger than expedition pockets on Sea Skin. The 65lb lift bag from Divegearexpress slides in easily, no extra folding at all. Pockets have nice thick orange bungees and TITANIUM d-ring. That must be unique! The small zippered flap pockets do have small orange bungees too.

 

[RxRcr]

I am very interested in your review after you spend time in the water with the suit. Currently looking at Santi or DUI, but based on your in depth initial thoughts I can’t wait to here how it performs its intended task!

Any thoughts on future support/repairs would be helpful as well. Thanks for the great brief so far!

 

[vladodessit]

I am very interested in your review after you spend time in the water with the suit. Currently looking at Santi or DUI, but based on your in depth initial thoughts I can’t wait to here how it performs its intended task!

Any thoughts on future support/repairs would be helpful as well. Thanks for the great brief so far!

Frogman is known for a great customer service and for standing behind their product. However. you'd need to ship it back to motherland for repairs. This is not unlike how Santi and Ursuit used to operate. My previous experiences with top brand drysuits, however, were such that I went in ready to pay for local repairs unless something major is wrong with the suit. Most of my friends trying to do warranty repairs ended up being labeled as "abuse/overuse" with major manufacturers and ended up paying for work anyway.

So, the answer would be: you can send it to Russia and they will take care of warranty repairs, they were the repair facility long before they started manufacture, after all. I wouldn't, unless it's something major.

 

[vladodessit]

I am very interested in your review after you spend time in the water with the suit. Currently looking at Santi or DUI, but based on your in depth initial thoughts I can’t wait to here how it performs its intended task!

Any thoughts on future support/repairs would be helpful as well. Thanks for the great brief so far!

Oh, and I've had terrible luck with diving the suit. So far 2 boat trips have been cancelled. Winter storms (and sick captains). Just bad timing, storm season.

 

[vladodessit]

Got all the way to the island and turned back to harbor, wind came in earlier than expected.