I’m also in the market for a cold water wetsuit or semi dry wetsuit. Suits I’m researching are the Bare Velocity, Hollis Neotek, Scuba Pro Nova Scotia, and SD Combat. Freedom of movement and ease of donning and doffing is important to me. My last semi dry is an Excel from 2006. It served me well in Monterey as long as the water temperature was 50 or above but it was very restrictive and hard to get in and out of. I’m hoping a lot has changed in the last 16 years!
If anyone has personal experience with any of the suits I listed, please share your review.
Thanks!
You've got a mix of semi-dry and wetsuits there. I have worn none of them.
I have been using Bare Reactive suits for a few years. I think it is a better, warmer suit than the Velocity. My 2 Reactive suits have had no issues with stitching or anything else. My sense is that the new Gen2 Reactive suits are likely the warmest wetsuits on the market right now.
I have a Waterproof W7 5mm that I've been diving for a few months now. I think it seals better than the Reactive, but the material itself is not quite as good insulation, so overall maybe about the same warmth (as compared to my Gen1 Reactive suits). I mainly got the W7 for the pockets, which I love having. The neoprene in the W7 is WAY more stretchy than the neoprene Waterproof has used in their older wetsuits.
Sizing on the W7 is not what I'd call true to size. I'm 6'1" and about 250. From their size chart, I figured I would need a XXL. I wear XXL in my street clothes shirts. I got a XXL and it was way too big for me. The torso was about right, but the arms and legs were way too long and the wrist and ankle seals were way too big around my wrists and ankles. A customer happened to order a W7 in Large Plus from our shop. It came in and he tried it on and it was too big for him, so we ordered him another suit. I tried on the L+ and it fit me great, so that's what I'm using. The torso is tighter than it NEEDS to be, but it is still very comfortable on me. The arms and legs are the perfect length. But, for some reason, the wrist and ankle seals are still bigger than I think they should be - but they do work well and are comfortable.
I looked at getting myself a SD Combat. Everything I could learn about them made me think it would be a very heavy, stiff suit to don/doff and to wear. And they are really expensive. I think if I decided to get a warmer suit that was not a drysuit, I would get a W7 7mm - or a Reactive 7mm if I didn't require pockets (I don't like pocket shorts).
The Hollis Neotek gets a lot of good reviews around here and I don't think I've seen any really negative reports on it.
waterproof.eu
