Help me decide on a wetsuit please

[NJMike]

I'll be buying my first wetsuit soon. My LDS gave me a Pinnacle catalog and they (Pinnacle) have a pretty good selection. Have you already considered Pinnacle and decided not to go with them? If yes, why?

Anyone else wearing a Pinnacle? Are they more expensive than others?

Mike

 

[spectrum]

I'd say Bare.

With 50F in the mix get no less than a full 7mm. I wouldn't write Harveys of for 1/2 mm though, quality wise I hear they are great suits but may not don as easy as the Bare.

Pete

 

[bubble-head]

I wish I could have gone the dry suit route but that will come later. I've ordered a Bare Artic 7mil and a dive skin to wear under it to get the suit on and off easier. None of my local shops carry Pinnacle so I never thought about them. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[ScubaDivaDivemaster]

I have Hyperstretch 3mm, 5mm, 7/5mm and 5mm core warmer. I love them and wouldn't trade them for anything. I started off with one and added more to the closet. I am very cold natured so I layer them if I'm in gold water (anything below, say, 75 degrees) lol.

Very easy to get in. I dumped my scubapro once I tried the hyperstretch. Absolutely love them.

Good luck finding something that works for you!

 

[spectrum]

I wish I could have gone the dry suit route but that will come later. I've ordered a Bare Artic 7mil and a dive skin to wear under it to get the suit on and off easier. None of my local shops carry Pinnacle so I never thought about them. Thanks for all the suggestions.

If you got the right size you will not need the dive skin. In fact a dive skin becomes a thermal negative since it's a wet rag that promotes water movement. The only catch in donning that suit is getting your arms up through the rubber forearm seals. A few spritzes of suit snot will solve that nicely.

Get the drysuit when the time comes. For my enjoyment the more months I dive wet the better.

Pete

 

[smithfielddiver]

I have a Bare 5/4. The Bare was reccommended to me and I love it. I will probably go with a 7 mil Bare very soon. Good quality.

 

[aznlmpulse]

I use a 3mm henderson hyperstretch. Being that it is the only suit I've owned, I can't give you a comparison, but I've read that many people compare a henderson HS 3mm to a 1.2, or 2mm, henderson 5mm to a regular 3mm, and so on. It's definitely thinner to allow the stretching, and definitely soaks in more water than normal suits. (compared to the length of time it takes my gf's suit to dry...she uses an oceanic 3/2 )

It keeps me warm enough diving in hawaii's waters, but many people dive 2mm, shorties, or nothing at all here.

 

[bubble-head]

Thanks! I wish Hawaii was my "normal" diving location

 

[meesier42]

I'll be buying my first wetsuit soon. My LDS gave me a Pinnacle catalog and they (Pinnacle) have a pretty good selection. Have you already considered Pinnacle and decided not to go with them? If yes, why?

Anyone else wearing a Pinnacle? Are they more expensive than others?

Mike

YES , I love it, by far the nicest suit I have ever worn. The merino wool liner in the wetsuits seems like a scam but it really seems to work. Pinnacle suits are great, finding a dealer that has them in stock is tough. I got mine from my LDS in Oahu, and they sell them at better prices than anyone else I have found. They sell so many of them its the only brand they sell now, Pinnacle has run most of the other companies out of Hawaii, Bare and Akona still have SOME market, but not much.

 

[dustchoke]

Have you had a look at Waterproof Wetsuits? They are sculpted to fit the body and are great underwater. My local dive shop started stocking them earlier this year. I had been diving a Henderson Neo-Sport but it is getting a bit ragged and needed replacing.
Check out Waterproof's website;
http://www.waterproof.se/main.php.