Mares Isotherm Millenium

[Johnny Qwest]

Hello all. I was wondering whether anyone has any experience with the new Mares Isotherm semi dry suit? I'll
be diving in the pacific northwest and I'm trying to avoid buying a drysuit(for a variety of reasons). Are their any cold water divers that would recommend a wetsuit or am I just putting off the inevitable purchase of a drysuit?
Thanks, Johnny Qwest.

 

[jobowker]

I asked about the same suit too, but didn't get any feedback. I liked the idea of staying pretty dry, but without the hassle (valves, feet first ascents, etc) of a drysuit. I couldn't get enough feedback from people who had used tehm, so I wound up going with a regular 7mil wetsuit, but the kind with the slick interior. This was also a lot cheaper (around $250) and I stay pretty warm now. Someday I'll get into a drysuit, but not yet....

 

[Johnny Qwest]

Thanks for responding. I was wondering wether Mares was a dirty word around here. What temperature of water are you usually diving? Is your suit a farmer john or one piece? Is the fit really tight on your suit? What really happened at Roswell? .
But seriously, I feel the same way about drys, but someday...

 

[Tavi]

JQ,

My son is checking out a Mares Isotherm Millenium Tommorro.We're doing our first freshwater/coldwater dives in a quarry near Buffalo. I'll let you know what he thinks.The shop we go to is discontinuing them and offered him a deal.

Tavi:tree:

 

[Johnny Qwest]

Sorry, I could'nt resist. I'll be anxious to hear how the suit works and also how the dives go. Have a good time.
JQ

 

[Tavi]

JQ,

Well......the quarry (Shirkston)(msp?)was actually in Canada,But the traffic on the Peace Bridge looked like it would take us 2 hours just to cross the bridge.So....Change of plans... We ended up doing a 2 tank boat dive in Lake Erie at a site called Seneca Shoals.My wife didn't like her wetsuit (to tight).So she only did 1 dive.

My son really liked the Mares Isotherm Millenium. The suit he had was a rental and was pretty beat.It had a couple holes in it and a couple of seals could use replacing.Even so, it kept him toasty warm. Water temp was 54f.He figures if one in that shape kept him warm a new one will work even better. He plans on buying it soon.

For me? 54f water with 25ft visibility.Not bad.I kinda liked it.Navigation is a lot more fun and challenging with 25 ft vis compared to 100+.My son and I are looking forward to more of it.We're not so sure about Debbielou:cold: though.

By the way, that is where "Tavi" came from. Rikki Tikki Tavi was a nickname of mine years ago.It just got shortened.

Let us know how you decide to go with the suit.

Tavi:tree:

 

[jobowker]

A one piece wouldn't keep me warm enough (even though now the water temp has warmed up to the low 40's) but rather than a traditional farmer john, my suit is like a one piece steamer with hooded sleeveless jacket. You get the same coverage as a Farmer John, with two layers of 7mil neoprene over the torso, but on the Farmer John you can't really wear just one piece. If you go to wetwear.com and look for the semi dry suits, you can see the setup. It's a little tight at the neck, especially when looking down, but other than that, it's just snug. It goes on really easy, and fits well. The neoprene does compress a good amount at depth, but it seals so well that I'm far warmer than I was with my old suit. The water will be warming up soon, so it's only at the very beginning of the season that temperature is an issue.

 

[Johnny Qwest]

Tavi, glad to hear your dives went well. I started shopping the mares semi-dry around my town and while I did'nt hear anything negative about the suit, more than one shop said that I should try out the Harvey's semi-dry. Their claim was that it's was warm enough for sub 50 degree water and that it's cheaper by 30 to 40 dollars. Just a thought. Funny about the name; I don't mean to say it's a funny name.

Hey jobowker, I'll check wetwear.com, thanks for the advice.
JQ

 

[Tavi]

JQ,

Unless you've got your heart set on semi-dry,I thought that the Bare 7mm Supra Arctic Full with the Supra Arctic hooded Vest is a great way to go Leisure Pro has great prices on these. Then you have the option of 7 or 14 mil in the core area (with or without the shortie). This is probably the way I'm gonna go as it's much cheaper than a drysuit,and I like the quality and fit of the Bare suits.
I don't know how their prices compare to the others your checking out, but my guess is it's less.

Tavi

 

[SCUBA_Barge]

I have to add my two cents. I would have to say that a wet suit will work out just fine as long as you don't get cold easily. My wife for example gets cold easily and she would probably even want a dry suit in the tropics.

A group of us are regular Great Lakes divers, living in Michigan and all. We went out to Lake Huron on Memorial Day and it wasn't too bad. Two friends wore a 7mm Farmer John and a 7mm Shorty while one friend wore a 7mm One-Piece. Only one friend in the Farmer John/Shorty got cold in the 42 deg F water and that was because he had a rental and it was huge on him.

If you plan on going ice diving or early spring, late fall diving in this area I would go for a dry suit otherwise the wet suit will do just fine. Just make sure you cover your limbs and have the Hood (as you know most of your heat loss comes from your head), Gloves, and Boots.

SCUBA_Barge