Henderson Hyperstretch Insta-Dry

[Larain]

Hello!

My husband and I live in Pennsylvania, and we were certified OW in August and AOW in September. We have completed 7 specialties and we will be diving again in the spring.

We were looking at the Henderson Hyperstretch Insta-Dry Suit for diving in the spring. We really can't afford dry suits (2 kids in college etc...) and we will only be using them for about a month, in the spring, before we go to our 7 mil wetsuits. We doved in 60-65 degree water temps (with a 55 degree thermocline) and were comfortable in our wet suits. The air temps were about 50 degrees. We put a rain jacket & sweet shirt on over our wetsuits during surface intervals and kept warm.

Has anyone tried the Insta-Dry suit and is there a less expensive alternative? Our local dive shop suggested a 3 mil shorty under our 7 mil.

Mostly, the issue is keeping warm during the surface interval, is there any suggestions other than pulling the wet suit off and on?

Thanks

 

[SteveAD]

If you already have 7mm suits, the hyperstretch will not be a warmer option. Any super stretchy suit is going to be more compressible and therefore less warm than a "regular neoprene" suit. Layering a thin suit under your existing 7 is one option for dealing with the colder water temps. Pouring hot water into the suit before, between, and after the dive can help take off the chill. And wearing an oversize boat coat over the wetsuit between dives can help reduce the wind chill effect. But if you really want to stay warm in cold weather, find a way to get into a drysuit.

 

[CompuDude]

HyperStretch and Insta-Dry are two separate suits.

Both are nice for different reasons, both are relatively expensive, and both are known for not being suits with notable longevity.

Buy the HyperStretch for comfort, buy the Insta-Dry for warmth.

 

[johnny_bravo]

The warmest neoprene from Henderson is the Gold Core. Their Instadry and Hyper-crap lines have quality control issues or they wear out too soon.

Bring jugs of hot water...you can pour them inside your wetsuit on the Surface Interval that helps.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[CompuDude]

The warmest neoprene from Henderson is the Gold Core. Their Instadry and Hyper-crap lines have quality control issues or they wear out too soon.

Bring jugs of hot water...you can pour them inside your wetsuit on the Surface Interval that helps.

Cheers.

-J.-

I disagree, the Insta-Dry is the warmer than the Gold Core. You're correct about the durability, however.

-CD

 

[Matt S.]

Drysuits are not as expensive as you might think. You can get them used, sometimes there are closeouts... A brand new high-end wetsuit is a big piece of a drysuit's price. I'd find a way to make do with what you have now, using the suggestions in this thread, and save your nickels for drysuits.

(I bought a perfectly serviceable drysuit from the classifieds here for $450. I've been using it about a year, and it will be replaced by a new suit real soon now. Then I'll sell it and get most of the money back.)

 

[Pearldiver07]

Another option between your 7mm and the dry suit is a Semi-Dry. I have the Henderson semi-dry, but know of others that work well. I have friends who swear by their Pinnacle semi-dry suits.

You would think that the difference is minimal, but it is actually quite a bit better. The neck, wrist, and ankle seals keep water from flowing hardly at all. I've done dives and come up with half of my bathing trunks still dry.

I sold one to a woman who swore there was no option short of a dry suit that would keep her warm, and she didn't want to carry the weight that came with salt water dry suit diving. She came back from the winter dive trip and told me that she had actually partially unzipped to pump some water in and cool down.

Hope that this helps. Of course, being thermally challenged, I wear a dry suit whenever possible. Never suffer if you don't have to.

 

[jeepguy]

My wife and I also dive Dutch Springs often. We both use 7mm Henderson Hyperstrech there. During earlier months (Late May to mid July) we add hyperstrech 5/3mm hooded vest. Warm enough and still comfortable.
Tom

 

[Larain]

Thank You all for your replies! All the suggestions were very helpful. I have read, before, about pouring warm water into the wetsuit. I think we will try the 3mm shorty under the 7mm with the warm water and use a boat jacket on the surface.

We are thinking about doing the New Years Eve dive at Dutch Springs. It is 1 dive. We'll try the combination of the 3 mm and 7mm and see how that works. We'll probably race to the changing room after that dive to get into warm clothes. LOL

Thanks again everyone!

 

[SteveAD]

If you go with the layering idea, remember there will be a need to adjust weighting.