I live in South Florida and I'm looking for a nice suit that I can use in the winters here. I do a lot of freediving, so I'm looking for a suit that is flexible yet durable. A camo pattern would be nice but is not a necessity. I'm also working on a budget and dont want to spend more than about 350. I would prefer something a little cheaper. Ive heard some good things about the riffe cryptic camo suit as well as the spetton hexskin. Anybody have any experience with those suits or similar suits in the 3 mm range?
Good freediving wetsuit
- Thread starter Pergakis
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Mako offers suits at a good price if off-the-rack suits fit you well:
MAKO Spearguns - Store
You will be hard pressed to find better customer service and nicer people in any business. Dano (the owner) goes to great lengths to make sure you are satisfied. Unfortunately, their stock suit didnt fit which is the story of my life. Call them and see what they can do if you are concerned about fit or quality.
I just received a custom, split/open cell, 7mm, black Nylon out, Heiwa material, 2-piece farmer/no-zip beavertail jacket with attached hood, knee pads, and chest loading pad suit from Oceanos Wetsuits/DiveSkin in Greece. Under $300 delivered, but naturally the price is affected by the Euro exchange rate. Spiros was great to work with via E-mail and I didnt detect any language issues. The fit, craftsmanship, and cut are very good. I believe a camo pattern was the same price as black. They offer stock suits in thinner material for much less. He even threw in some extra material at no cost so I could install my own spine pad.
DiveSkin - Quality Neoprene Products
I have tried Riffes on and must say they make nice suits. Yamamoto 39 and 45 are more flexible, softer, and delicate materials than Heiwa. However, if the suit fits well or is custom, the somewhat greater compression resistance and toughness of Heiwa is desirable. All are more delicate than most materials used in Scuba suits though.
There are a lot of opinions on Spearboard if you want perspective from a much larger freediving population.
MAKO Spearguns - Store
You will be hard pressed to find better customer service and nicer people in any business. Dano (the owner) goes to great lengths to make sure you are satisfied. Unfortunately, their stock suit didnt fit which is the story of my life. Call them and see what they can do if you are concerned about fit or quality.
I just received a custom, split/open cell, 7mm, black Nylon out, Heiwa material, 2-piece farmer/no-zip beavertail jacket with attached hood, knee pads, and chest loading pad suit from Oceanos Wetsuits/DiveSkin in Greece. Under $300 delivered, but naturally the price is affected by the Euro exchange rate. Spiros was great to work with via E-mail and I didnt detect any language issues. The fit, craftsmanship, and cut are very good. I believe a camo pattern was the same price as black. They offer stock suits in thinner material for much less. He even threw in some extra material at no cost so I could install my own spine pad.
DiveSkin - Quality Neoprene Products
I have tried Riffes on and must say they make nice suits. Yamamoto 39 and 45 are more flexible, softer, and delicate materials than Heiwa. However, if the suit fits well or is custom, the somewhat greater compression resistance and toughness of Heiwa is desirable. All are more delicate than most materials used in Scuba suits though.
There are a lot of opinions on Spearboard if you want perspective from a much larger freediving population.
Hunting or competition?
After trying most of the suits on the market, for hunting and general use I've settled on a Yazbeck suit - very well made: the rubber, Yamamoto 39, feels 95% as good as Yamamoto 45, and it's a superb fit. Having lycra on the outside is a big increase in flexibility from nylon.
The Yazbeck Snyper (in 2009 camo)
The inside of the Yazbeck in 5mm
For Competition, I am amazed by the fit, and lack of breathing resistance from the Oceaner suits. Wow. Just don't take them anywhere with sharp nasty rocks.... they perform best in the pool, or in blue water with a down line.
The Oceaner competition suit (Left) in 5mm. Photo by Peter Satitpunwaycha
Another view of an Oceaner competition suit. Photo by Peter Satitpunwaycha
Since you might be able to find them on the East coast, Elios (Italian made) wetsuits I've tried on, and found them to feel just like Yazbeck, which is to say, very nice.
Also, Elios will make them custom, as will Oceaner, if you don't fit a stock size, but honestly I've yet to see someone that didn't fit a stock suit (besides Peter Satitpunwaycha, who is a long string bean of a freediver).
Hope this helps.
All the best, James
After trying most of the suits on the market, for hunting and general use I've settled on a Yazbeck suit - very well made: the rubber, Yamamoto 39, feels 95% as good as Yamamoto 45, and it's a superb fit. Having lycra on the outside is a big increase in flexibility from nylon.
The Yazbeck Snyper (in 2009 camo)
The inside of the Yazbeck in 5mm
For Competition, I am amazed by the fit, and lack of breathing resistance from the Oceaner suits. Wow. Just don't take them anywhere with sharp nasty rocks.... they perform best in the pool, or in blue water with a down line.
The Oceaner competition suit (Left) in 5mm. Photo by Peter Satitpunwaycha
Another view of an Oceaner competition suit. Photo by Peter Satitpunwaycha
Since you might be able to find them on the East coast, Elios (Italian made) wetsuits I've tried on, and found them to feel just like Yazbeck, which is to say, very nice.
Also, Elios will make them custom, as will Oceaner, if you don't fit a stock size, but honestly I've yet to see someone that didn't fit a stock suit (besides Peter Satitpunwaycha, who is a long string bean of a freediver).
Hope this helps.
All the best, James
I have a riffe, and have had Immersion and Yazbek (through Hawaiian Skin Diving), all of them were under $350, and all great suits. No durability problems at all, and that was when i was diving in them every day for work. They actually lasted longer than any scuba suit I've owned. I think they were all yammamoto rubber, but I could be wrong on that one...
The Riffe (the most expensive) is a smooth skin-in suit with a sorta slippery coating. You can get it on dry, but I usually put mine on in the water or use soap. I also like that it doesn't look like I'm wearing a black diaper over teh top of it.
The Yazbek ($250 maybe? I can't remember) was open cell, with a ceramic coating that didn't do anything as far as I could tell except make it slightly less streatchy.
The Immersion ($150-$200 also) was my favorite, and was just plain opencell on the inside. You litterally couldn't put it on dry. I had to try it on inside out at the store. Super streachy, and comfortable. I also chopped off the shoulders of the farmer john, so I just had a high waist. No problems with unraveling or anything and I never had to pee in my suit
Yazbeck and Immersion are both available at Hana Pa'a (http://shop.hanapaafishing.com/inde...category_id=36&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 )
Chris
The Riffe (the most expensive) is a smooth skin-in suit with a sorta slippery coating. You can get it on dry, but I usually put mine on in the water or use soap. I also like that it doesn't look like I'm wearing a black diaper over teh top of it.
The Yazbek ($250 maybe? I can't remember) was open cell, with a ceramic coating that didn't do anything as far as I could tell except make it slightly less streatchy.
The Immersion ($150-$200 also) was my favorite, and was just plain opencell on the inside. You litterally couldn't put it on dry. I had to try it on inside out at the store. Super streachy, and comfortable. I also chopped off the shoulders of the farmer john, so I just had a high waist. No problems with unraveling or anything and I never had to pee in my suit
Yazbeck and Immersion are both available at Hana Pa'a (http://shop.hanapaafishing.com/inde...category_id=36&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 )
Chris
I just noticed this post on Spearboard if a 1-piece is of interest:
MAKO SPEARGUNS Summer Sale on 1 Piece Suits $119.00 - Spearboard Spearfishing Community
MAKO SPEARGUNS Summer Sale on 1 Piece Suits $119.00 - Spearboard Spearfishing Community
I just posted this on another thread that some people reading this may find useful:
Question: What does open cell look like and how does it do in keeping warm?
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5349329-post39.html
Question: What does open cell look like and how does it do in keeping warm?
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5349329-post39.html
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