New Bare drysuit Trilam Tech Dry

[griffon]

Ok I have stock size XL now. I only have two dives on the Trilan Tech Dry(like from today ).
Offhand it seems to perform as advertised. I was having a few issues venting air but that might have more to do with my double layer rather than the SI valves.
The suit cut is a little tapered going down the leg. I have a good size calf and ankle so getting the socks back off after a dive is a little wrestle but not too bad.
I dislike that it does not have pockets , but I knew that going in.
The Tzzip seemed to perform fine. I was worried that it worked it work loose or pop open when I jumped from the boat. Nope, was fine no issue. Will see if that stays true over the long haul of course.
I was concerned about the neoprene neck seal but that was also fine and had no leaks at all. Married the neck seal to the bare E’ hood, which was ok but not as comfortable as I would like overall.
To vjanelle’s point the valve seems a little far forward on the shoulder…. Seemed to work ok though, unless the problem wasn’t me in which case it did not. I’ll know more in a week or two.

 

[ChaosHokie]

Ok I have stock size XL now. I only have two dives on the Trilan Tech Dry(like from today ).
Offhand it seems to perform as advertised. I was having a few issues venting air but that might have more to do with my double layer rather than the SI valves.
The suit cut is a little tapered going down the leg. I have a good size calf and ankle so getting the socks back off after a dive is a little wrestle but not too bad.
I dislike that it does not have pockets , but I knew that going in.
The Tzzip seemed to perform fine. I was worried that it worked it work loose or pop open when I jumped from the boat. Nope, was fine no issue. Will see if that stays true over the long haul of course.
I was concerned about the neoprene neck seal but that was also fine and had no leaks at all. Married the neck seal to the bare E’ hood, which was ok but not as comfortable as I would like overall.
To vjanelle’s point the valve seems a little far forward on the shoulder…. Seemed to work ok though, unless the problem wasn’t me in which case it did not. I’ll know more in a week or two.

So I got my stock XL today too. The one interesting thing is mine came with factory installed pockets. The other interesting thing is I ordered it with the neoprene neck seal replaced with a latex seal...and still got the neoprene.

Hope to dive it in a few days, so I'll post my impressions of it then.

 

[Safety Stop]

Can't wait to read your impression ;-)

 

[ChaosHokie]

Can't wait to read your impression ;-)

Aside from the impression the neoprene neck seal left on my neck, there's not much to read .

Here's my mini-review:
In general I like the suit. Now, my previous experience with a drysuit is the White's Fusion, so I'll probably make a bunch of comparisons to it.

The drysuit is fairly easy to don and doff, by yourself. The Ti-Zip zipper is a bit "sticky" at the full open position, but I'm not sure if that's just because it's new or if there's some other thing going on there. The zipper did make a nice tight seal, with no evidence of leakage.

The integrated boots are ok, and feel like my wet boots--as in they aren't thickly soled, or look like mountain climbing boots. They fit me length wise, but the ankle and top of the feet are pretty spacious. There's also a nice little ridge on the back of the boots for where your fins go. I didn't have to get new fins to fit these boots.

The latex wrist seals made a good seal and didn't constrict my blood flow right off the bat with no trimming. I may end up trimming them slightly, since they were a PITA to remove, and I'm somewhat scared of ripping them. The neoprene neck seal is a little tight for me, in that my neck was a bit sore after diving, but I didn't notice any issues during the dive and actual gearing up.

The pockets were also ok. They look like solid construction, and feel like they're made out of the same material as the drysuit itself.

When diving the drysuit I found that managing the bubble was a bit harder than when compared to the White's Fusion. Because of the extra ankle/top of the foot space, it was pretty easy to get air into the boots, but I never felt like I was going to lose my fins. I did one of those "inverted run-away inflator drills" and didn't have any issues recovering. Also, like some people said, the placement of the vent on the shoulder feels "slightly off" so it took a while to figure out the best "arm position" to vent. The other thing about venting that bothered me was the Viking valves lack "feedback" on if you're actually pressing them in since it's a tiny button in the center, with very little motion/noise, compared to the Apeks on the White's, which was the whole valve depressed. I did have some issues with buoyancy control, but I think I was slightly underweighted, combined with a new bubble, combined with inexperience . The suit did feel as stretchy as the White's.

Overall, I'm really happy with the drysuit, but I definitely need to dive it more to get comfortable with the gas management.

 

[griffon]

Damit, I want pockets . I have a couple more dives on mine. The integrated boots are the way to go I suspect the neoprene socks are a pain.
Zipper still good, I'm not getting much in the way of noticeable tightness but I did lube both end points a bit.
You might stretch the neoprene over a tank over night before diving. That makes mine a much softer fit. I use it with the the bare dry hood and no leaks yet but pretty wearable. I did trim it down two lines... Might risk one more.

I'm not sure the shoulder placement is not a real problem. I have added a couple pounds to stabilize while I figure it out, twice now with the valve full open I found myself fighting to get empty and not happening fast enough on assent.
Seems like placement but maybe a issue with run of ssi values in use?

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

I'm not sure the shoulder placement is not a real problem. I have added a couple pounds to stabilize while I figure it out, twice now with the valve full open I found myself fighting to get empty and not happening fast enough on assent.
Seems like placement but maybe a issue with run of ssi values in use?

This is a well known problem with a couple of the models on BARE Suits as well as others on the market. The valve is not in the correct position thus poor performance in the water due to bad venting efficiency. Check out this photo:



This is on the Trilam Tec Dry as well as the Nex-Gen. The valve needs to be on the outside of the arm. I talked to them about it but no response.

SANTI puts the valve to the outside for maximum venting efficiency.


Unfortunately you get what you get for price point. I saw a BARE Trilam HD Tec on someone and the valve appeared to be in the correct spot. If you put your suit on and you look like this guy, unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about. Try to contact your shop and maybe they can get BARE to do something.