Is it true that Henderson Hyperstretch wetsuit only good for shallow diving?

[ppatrick]

Hi guys,

Yesterday I went to the LDS to check some 7mil one piece wetsuits. I asked for the Henderson Hyperstretch wetsuits. The shop didn’t carry them. The shop owner told me that the Hyperstretch is nice to put on and take off, but it tends to shrink (because of the pressure) when diving deeper. He said that if I wear the HH and be at 40 feet deep, the 7mil suit will be compressed to like 5mil. If I even go deeper like 80 feet, it’ll be like 3mil. He mentioned that when the suit gets that thin, it doesn’t keep the heat and I won’t feel warm. Basically what the shop owner trying to say was that the HH is no good for deep dive because it’ll shrink and leaves the diver cold. Is that true? Any HH users out there to shed the light on this issue?


Thanks

 

[Wayward Son]

All suits compress with depth. FWIW, I dive year round out of Panama City, FL where the gulf gets down to about 57 (coldest so far in 2 years). I've been doing so in a 5mm Hyperstrecth fullsuit down to depths of 113 FSW & I do 2 & 3 tank winter dives like this.

Hyperstretch does have a reputation for not being as warm in a given thickness as some others. My guess is that's bc if it has to stretch to fit you, which it does easily by design, the suit will be thinner from being stretched.

 

[ScubaCrow]

I dive with a HH 7mm and haven't had any issues with it. When the temperature drops into the high 50's, I add a hooded vest. The putting on the HH is like putting on a pair of pajamas, very easy and comfortable.

 

[brutus_scuba]

I have a 7mm that isn't hyper stretch and it compresses too. It's just the nature of the suit Neoprene in general has tons of tiny air pockets throughout and as the pressure acts on the suit it's going to compress but thinka bout it. If a 7mm is 3mm at 80 feet what do you think a 3 mm is. It has to be like 1.5 mm or 2 mm Anyways depending on what depth/ temp your diving a farmer john might be a better way to go. I have a farmer john but I dive in Ohio, and decided early I dind't want to be limited to July and August to dive. I've been in 42 degrees with my farmer john and have ben fine.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

Inside any given scuba shop the worst gear on earth is the gear you're looking for and they don't stock. Underwater the best gear on earth works as intended whether it says Henderson, Halcyon, or Mattel on it. In between the shop and the water there is some cool gear but coolness has no bearing on its value underwater usually.

I have a 7mm that isn't hyper stretch and it compresses too. It's just the nature of the suit Neoprene in general has tons of tine air pockets throughout...If a 7mm is 3mm at 80 feet what do you think a 3 mm is it has to be like 1.5 mm or 2 mm

You learned about depth and pressure and such in OW, its all the same principles applied to gear that makes a suit compress. A high-speed crushed or compressed neoprene drysuit, or a laminate drysuit which isn't neoprene and doesn't have internal air bubbles, are the only suits that don't compress under the pressure.

 

[CompuDude]

All wetsuits compress at depth. The bubbles in the neoprene compress according to the exact same schedule and rate as that balloon from your open water class. So yes, your 7mm suit IS a lot thinner at 33 feet, where the pressure has doubled, and gets thinner the deeper you go. No matter what kind of suit you have.

Henderson Hyperstretch, however, does have a rep for being approx 1 step colder than other suits at a given thickness: A 7mm tends to feel more like a 5, a 5mm feels like a 3, etc. If you dive colder waters (low 50's, upper 40's), I would look at something else, unless they make a 9mm. You really need a good 7mm suit. High 50s should work fine with a 5-7mm suit, especially with a hooded vest over it, so it makes sense the HH 7mm would work for ScubaCrow, above.

If you're diving warm waters you should be fine, just buy it one size thicker than usual, and enjoy the comfort and ease with which you can take them on and off.

Henderson's other suits, the gold core and InstaDry, don't suffer from this. (Nor are they as easy to put on.) I love my 7mm InstaDry for diving cold California waters.

 

[ChrisA]

The wetsuit material is made "softer" by blowing more gas bubbles into it and using less neoprene. A wetsuit could be made 100% non-compressable by skipping the bublles and using solid neoprene but the bubbles provide insultation. So what you want is a compromise.

The warmest suits are made of very stiff material but these have to be made custom for each diver. Off the rack suits depend on stretch to fit a range of body shapes while a custom suit does not need so much stretch.

Buy the suit that fits best. Nothing else matters as much as "fit". If you _need_ the hyperstretch material to make the suit ft then get it but if you find a suit made with harder material that fits get that one. And don't pay to much. wetsuits have a short life, 200 dives or 250 at most. So you will be buying new ones periodicaly.

 

[ScubaDivaDivemaster]

I dive ONLY Hyperstretch now because of the ease on getting them on/off and the comfort, and I LOVE mine! I"m very cold natured. I dive in a 7/5mm in Fiji, a 5mm to 7/5mm in Cozumel. When I dive in cold water, 60-70's (are you NUTS? No I don't want to dive in the 50's anymore...) I layer with a core warmer over. Any suit compresses at depth, as stated above...I agree with brutus, you may want to consider a farmer john/jacket combo. I bought mine at www.crazyscuba.com. They have great prices and pride themselves on proper fit.

I actually have a 3mm, 7/5mm, and a 5mm core warmer in Hyperstretch...I mix and match depending upon the dives. I always wear a Trilam underneath whatever I'm wearing. No laughing...at least I stay warm on a 90 minute dive!

Good luck and great diving.

 

[ChrisA]

I dive with a HH 7mm and haven't had any issues with it. When the temperature drops into the high 50's, I add a hooded vest. The putting on the HH is like putting on a pair of pajamas, very easy and comfortable.

If you are diving in water that is in the 60's any suit is warm 60F is almost getting uncomfortably warm for most 7mm suits. It was 63F here on the surface a while back and I was teling my buddy on the surface swim out to our "drop point" that I sure hoped there was a good thermocline down there. Never ask for that, turned out to be low 50's at 65 feet.

 

[hank harris]

PPatrrick, I dive that very suit. Has maybe 40 dives on it. Switched from the Gold because I love the ease of donning/doffing the hyperstretch. No noticeable difference between the 2. Most of my diving is in central CA (temps 40-50 at depth). I also wear a 3mm hooded vest.
Works ok, but at these temps the term "drysuit" should come into play. What temps are you buying this to dive in?