Help! What's the difference between high end and low end wetsuit? How to choose them?

[magic22cn]

I am a newbie for diving and just begin to pick my gears. Now I have scubapro jet fin and tusa iq900. Wetsuit is my next target.

I was confused by so many wetsuits in the store and don't know what's the difference between them except price.

The sales told me actually only brand differ between them and nothing else. Is that correct? Should I just pick one base on the color I like?

Thanks a lot for your kind help!BTW: mostly I dive in the warm water. so 3mm-5mm are both ok for me.

 

[buddhasummer]

Quality of neoprene, construction (quality of stitching/glueing) and zipper quality can vary greatly between suit manufacturers. Fit is almost everything. Find one that fits and then search for reviews. Henderson and Bare have a pretty good reputation for their wetsuits. Beware of no brand suits as often the quality of neoprene is low. Good luck.

 

[spectrum]

I agree, Bare, Pinnacle and Henderson are solid brands. Also anything that is a recognizable dive gear breand like ScubaPro, Aqualung etc. will be good stuff.

Decide on a style and thickness and then go shopping for fit.

Lots more here.

Pete

 

[magic22cn]

@buddhasummer @spectrum Thank you guys so much!

I gonna google more about quality of neoprene! Thanks!

 

[8u88les]

best to get both ends so one half of your body doesnt get cold!

 

[buddhasummer]

@buddhasummer @spectrum Thank you guys so much!

I gonna google more about quality of neoprene! Thanks!

Yamamoto neoprene is very good although not sure how many mass manufacturers use it. I had a custom suit, I'm kinda small, made for me using Yamamoto neoprene and it's held up very well. As spectrum posted most of the bigger players will produce good enough suits, I imagine many are from the same place made from the same materials and constructed in a similar fashion. Good luck with the search.

 

[Superlyte27]

I am a newbie for diving and just begin to pick my gears. Now I have scubapro jet fin and tusa iq900. Wetsuit is my next target.

I was confused by so many wetsuits in the store and don't know what's the difference between them except price.

The sales told me actually only brand differ between them and nothing else. Is that correct? Should I just pick one base on the color I like?

Thanks a lot for your kind help!BTW: mostly I dive in the warm water. so 3mm-5mm are both ok for me.

The salesman is an idiot. There's different material. A higher quality material will compress less at depth, so you get more warmth. A higher quality material will have more stretch, so it's easier to get on and off. A higher quality suit might be laminated, to provide better sealing, better warmth, ease of donning and better durability. A higher quality suit will have seams that are both glued and sewn, so the suit lasts longer. A higher quality suit will have better thread used for the stitching than a lower quality suit. A higher quality suit will have a better type of stitching (that's more durable) than a lower quality suit. And it goes on and on and on.

Honestly, there are too many benefits to list. But, let me give you a brief example. Two days ago I was teaching an OW student to dive. He told me he didn't need to borrow a wetsuit because he had his Oneil wetsuit he uses for surfing. It was a 3mm full one piece suit. Man, what a piece of junk. I can't believe for the life of me that it was a true 3mm, but lets say it was. The type of neoprene that is used is not designed for compression. So, while it might be warm on the surface.... when you take it down 4 atmospheres it's so compressed, that it's paper thin and providing no warmth at all. At any rate, he was freezing his butt off in 72 degree water within 15 minutes.

This is true with most things, but completely true with wetsuits: You get what you pay for.


I like Bare, Harvey's, and Henderson.

 

[bbarnett51]

I learned the hard way. Cheap wetsuits generally suck. Now if you are diving warm water and just need protection from stinging critters then you might be fine with a cheap suit. I sometimes wear a cheap body glove shorty that I really like bc is comfortable. But for most situations I rely on Henderson suits bc they are quality and tend to fit me. But you might find that another brand fits your body better.

I see some GREAT deals on lightly used suits here and on craigslist.

 

[danvolker]

If you went to a freedive shop, the wetsuits are much better for warmth and low drag than the scuba shop wetsuit lines....the scuba shops tend to sell wetsuits that are stupid diver proofed, in that if the diver is going to be crawling around on all fours a lot, or doing things that could tear or cause abrasions on a suit with more delicate, but better actual diving characteristics, then this kind of scuba diver perhaps needs the textured and tough material that mist scuba shops sell.
At the freedive shops, wetsuits from Cressi, Picasso, Omer, and a few others, often have an outer texture like the skin of a killer whale--very slick, every low drag, but you can tear it if you are not careful. I have had one of these suits for over 6 years, and I can tell you, if you avoid doing things that you obviously should not do, the suit will last as long as good rubber can last.

See Picasso - Products and look at several of the images.....

 

[magic22cn]

100% ultra-stretch high quality neoprene

The salesman is an idiot. There's different material. A higher quality material will compress less at depth, so you get more warmth. A higher quality material will have more stretch, so it's easier to get on and off. A higher quality suit might be laminated, to provide better sealing, better warmth, ease of donning and better durability. A higher quality suit will have seams that are both glued and sewn, so the suit lasts longer. A higher quality suit will have better thread used for the stitching than a lower quality suit. A higher quality suit will have a better type of stitching (that's more durable) than a lower quality suit. And it goes on and on and on.

Honestly, there are too many benefits to list. But, let me give you a brief example. Two days ago I was teaching an OW student to dive. He told me he didn't need to borrow a wetsuit because he had his Oneil wetsuit he uses for surfing. It was a 3mm full one piece suit. Man, what a piece of junk. I can't believe for the life of me that it was a true 3mm, but lets say it was. The type of neoprene that is used is not designed for compression. So, while it might be warm on the surface.... when you take it down 4 atmospheres it's so compressed, that it's paper thin and providing no warmth at all. At any rate, he was freezing his butt off in 72 degree water within 15 minutes.

This is true with most things, but completely true with wetsuits: You get what you pay for.


I like Bare, Harvey's, and Henderson.

Thank you so much for your advice with live example!

While I was browsing leisurepro, I found they mostly described different wetsuits with the same words: 100% ultra-stretch high quality neoprene. It's hard to compare them head to head. Could I just choose them by price? always better with higher price? Actually I only have $200 budget.....

---------- Post added June 17th, 2013 at 10:20 AM ----------

If you went to a freedive shop, the wetsuits are much better for warmth and low drag than the scuba shop wetsuit lines....the scuba shops tend to sell wetsuits that are stupid diver proofed, in that if the diver is going to be crawling around on all fours a lot, or doing things that could tear or cause abrasions on a suit with more delicate, but better actual diving characteristics, then this kind of scuba diver perhaps needs the textured and tough material that mist scuba shops sell.
At the freedive shops, wetsuits from Cressi, Picasso, Omer, and a few others, often have an outer texture like the skin of a killer whale--very slick, every low drag, but you can tear it if you are not careful. I have had one of these suits for over 6 years, and I can tell you, if you avoid doing things that you obviously should not do, the suit will last as long as good rubber can last.

See Picasso - Products and look at several of the images.....

What a different idea! But is that means it would be hardly maintain a freedive style wetsuit?