fusion vs evolution 2 vs dui350 help please.

[carrielsal]

. Another gripe I have is with the durability. It's the only suit I know of that doesn't have knee pads. I have the Tech skin and the material at the knees is even thinner (spandex) than the rest of the suit (1mm neoprene). I usually kneel on the street/sidewalk to put on my tank/BC, but now I find that the little bits of gravel/asphalt get embedded in the knees and poke holes in the suit. I've had to patch a few leaks already.

The knee pads on the LE skin are much better.

 

[rrweather]

I also have the fusion with tech skin. It is my first drysuit so I can't directly compare to others. I chose the fusion mainly because of the streamlined feel when I tried it on. When I purchased my drysuit, I was a little overweight. I didn't want to get something that fit like a tent on me. I've since lost a bunch of weight and the fusion fits just as good as the day I bought it. I can't imagine a drysuit that is easier to travel with. As it is, when my fusion is hanging up to dry, the skin compresses it to about 2 sizes smaller. You can roll the whole thing up into a small ball if you needed to. If I was worried about the durability of the knees, I would have some material glued on. So far, this hasn't been an issue for me.

I second the idea of buying a "package." When I bought my fusion, it was a part of a package. It came with the hood, the fusion (obviously), the undergarments, the boots, and a bag. When I ordered mine, Whites was out of the tech skin in my size. They sent the regular skin immediately so I could dive while I waited for the tech skin. Then they sent me the tech skin. Now I have the regular skin as a backup. I originally ordered the MK2 undergarments. Again, these were backordered. Whites sent the "Pro Series" undergarment instead. That was cool with me. When I priced my fusion out, there were a few better deals online. I ended up going through my LDS because I try to buy local when I can. The bigger reason I bought local is the LDS gives you the drysuit class for free if you buy from them. That's $150-$200 I didn't have to spend on a class. That definitely made the package deal a better value.

If your LDS sells Whites, try to get some kind of deal, like free instruction if you buy through them. If they won't work with you, look at DRIS. They have a rewards program that would give you quite a few points towards other gear if you bought the drysuit through them. If you are going to spend the money, you might as well try to get as much value as you can since a drysuit isn't a cheap investment.

 

[TSandM]

I looked at my sport skin yesterday, and I'm pretty convinced I could glue a much thicker pad on the knee area, and I think I will do that.