Henderson Goldcore - worth it?
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jobowker
Guest
Both my dive buddy & myself use 2-piece 7mil wetsuits. The water can get pretty chilly aroud here, especially early and late in the season( like mid to high thirties). She has the Henderson Gold Core, I have an aquaflite (www.aquaflite.com). Both suits have the slick lining, which does form a seal and does keep water out. The main difference is that the Henderson, a big brand name, was about twice as much as the aquaflite. The Aquaflite wasn't custom, but you can get a custom one made if you want (still cheaper than the Henderson). An additional reason I like it better is that I switched to a steamer/shorty combo rather than the traditional farmer john. I can wear just the 7mil steamer and a separate 5mil hood, or wear the steamer and the shorty with attached hood. This puts 14mil on all of the crucial parts(torso), but still just 7mil for the moving parts (arms & legs).
kwesler
Contributor
I also found little extra warmth value, but big time ease of donning and FAST drying. However, mine has also been back to Henderson twice-onece to repair a seam that let go and the other time to replace the zipper!
Hey, Gaucho,
Henderson will make all sorts of custom stuff--like zipper on legs and arms, etc.--so, I think that if you have a specific request for a removable hood kept on with snaps of the like, they will probably do it. AT A PRICE!
I have a Hendeson vest w/o hood that I use when the water temp gets below ca. 78 deg. I bought a separate (non-Henderson) hood which I don on almost every dive, regardless of water temp. I did not want an integral hood because it seem awkward and I do not dive in supercooled water that requires a skin tight fit. I just like the extra warmth that a hood provides. There are lots of separate hoods in the market.
Hope this helps...
Like kwesler, I, too, have had to repair my Henderson around some seams--on one leg at the knee patch. I sent it to Henderson the first time and they did the repair for what I considered too much money. The second time I repaired it myself--we were on a dive trip and would not be home for three weeks--and my repair worked as well as Henderson's. It was not quite as cosmetically attractive, but it has survived many, many dives.
I did the repair with a neoprene repair kit. First I dried off the tear with Barbara's hair drier (carefully); then I glued the edges of the tear and held them together until the glue set sufficiently to hold without my help; one non-alcoholic pina colada and a few chapters of the book I was reading later I sewed the tear with polyester thread (the only kind I had); finally, I spread the glue over the sewing inside and out. I let the repair sit for ca. 12 hours (overnight) and used the suit the next day. It is still in excellent shape.
I am not certain that the repair is technically completely correct--I sort of invented it based on intuition. I probably will continue to do all my repairs from now on.
Joewr
Henderson will make all sorts of custom stuff--like zipper on legs and arms, etc.--so, I think that if you have a specific request for a removable hood kept on with snaps of the like, they will probably do it. AT A PRICE!
I have a Hendeson vest w/o hood that I use when the water temp gets below ca. 78 deg. I bought a separate (non-Henderson) hood which I don on almost every dive, regardless of water temp. I did not want an integral hood because it seem awkward and I do not dive in supercooled water that requires a skin tight fit. I just like the extra warmth that a hood provides. There are lots of separate hoods in the market.
Hope this helps...
Like kwesler, I, too, have had to repair my Henderson around some seams--on one leg at the knee patch. I sent it to Henderson the first time and they did the repair for what I considered too much money. The second time I repaired it myself--we were on a dive trip and would not be home for three weeks--and my repair worked as well as Henderson's. It was not quite as cosmetically attractive, but it has survived many, many dives.
I did the repair with a neoprene repair kit. First I dried off the tear with Barbara's hair drier (carefully); then I glued the edges of the tear and held them together until the glue set sufficiently to hold without my help; one non-alcoholic pina colada and a few chapters of the book I was reading later I sewed the tear with polyester thread (the only kind I had); finally, I spread the glue over the sewing inside and out. I let the repair sit for ca. 12 hours (overnight) and used the suit the next day. It is still in excellent shape.
I am not certain that the repair is technically completely correct--I sort of invented it based on intuition. I probably will continue to do all my repairs from now on.
Joewr
jobowker
Guest
You may want to check out some of the other brands that look & feel just like the Henderson, but only cost half as much. There doesn't seem to be that much difference between most of the brands as far as neoprene quality (with some exceptions) so it seems like you are paying a premium for the brand name. Cost and guarantees against seams splitting would factor higher for me than the name sewn on the label. For the record both me and my dive buddy have these type of suits in 2 piece 7 mil (hers is a Henderson, mine isn't) and both have been used all season (since May) and neither one has had a problem with seams.
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