Henderson Hyperstretch -- new "Aqua Suede"?

[becca34]

Hello all,

I'm brand new to diving, in fact, I'm taking my open water classes this weekend. I've read all the discussion about wetsuits with interest, and I tried on a 3 mil Henderson Hyperstretch at the dive center -- it's extremely comfortable.

The store is charging $329, and I see that Leisure Pro has it for $239 -- but the latter is a new "Aqua Suede" finish that is bonded to the hyperstretch material.

Has anyone tried these latest suits? From what I understand, regular hyperstretch tends to pill easily, and the new material is supposed to be resistant to that. Does anyone have any opinions on that?

Also, does anyone have a bad experience with Leisure Pro? The dive center is telling me they frequently bait & switch, but I'm guessing that's less of a problem with wetsuits. I need it fairly quickly, as I'm leaving for a trip on March 1. Does anyone know what they charge for shipping?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

-Becca

 

[Juls64]

I've been looking at Leisure Pro for Henderson suits for awhile now. I didn't see anything about Aqua Suede. I assumed it was too new. Could you post a link or something to what your looking at please. I'm really interested.

Thanks,
Juls:blind:

 

[Dee]

I've bought numerous stuff from Leisure Pro, all with satisfaction. Being in New York City, they aren't the friendliest folks in the world over the phone but I have never had any trouble returning merchandise for either refunds or exchanges.

The merchandise has always been exactly what I ordered. I get a confirmation email with UPS tracking numbers. And although the projected delivery date is usually 7 days (I chose the cheapest shipping), I've never had anything take longer than 4 days to get here.


Bait and switch? That's wrong but I'm not surprised to hear it from dive shops.

 

[chris_b]

becca34 once bubbled...
...The dive center is telling me they frequently bait & switch...

I'm sure the dive center orders from them all the time

It's unfortunate that some shops feel they need to lie about their competition to generate sales.

 

[Ghostdiver]

Agreed Chris.
Normally Becca, I would suggest asking the dive shop to come down on their price a little and give them your business since you took up their time and tried on their suits to get the right fit. However, their lack of truthfullness counsels against giving them your business. Go with LP if you like, they are fine. I would suggest looking around at other local dive shops to find some that are honest and will work with you and then stick with them. Life will be easier when you need to try things on and need free advice (and can't get it from this board).

 

[Cherry]

I bought a Henderson hyperstrech from LP in December for our Maui trip. I love the suit it is incredibly comfortable 3mil also. LP is great to deal with and prompt on delivery. Go for it

Cherry

 

[becca34]

Thanks everyone for your responses! We went to three different dive shops in town, and believe it or not, the others were worse....we finally decided on this one because they do SDI classes, and we wanted to learn to use dive computers instead of tables. And it helps that they have a 90-degree pool on the premises.

I do think it's unfortunate that the prices are *so* much higher than LeisurePro -- the dive shop said they'd give us $20 off, but that's it. Although, they did say that they'd replace the wetsuit for free if it ever split at the seams, etc. And they ordered a 2XL and 3XL for my DH to try on, just to see which fit was better.....I guess I just have to decide if that service is worth close to $100!

Based on your responses, we'll definitely use LP in the future, as we become more experienced and need to add gear.

I think the bait-and-switch comment was more about small parts of a regulator or BC, and not so much wetsuits. But I've heard good things about LP from many other people, so it's hard to know what to think.

Juls, I'm looking at the following, I hope you can get to it with this link:

http://s1059kxm.leisurepro.com/weba...6&cgrfnbr=982&parentCategory=980&sort=prsdesc

Thanks again for your help!

-Becca

 

[Juls64]

because I was looking at 7mm suits and the Aqua Suede doesn't appear to be available on them, at least not yet.

Thanks, Becca


Juls