Opinions on Whites Fusion Tech?

[SanDiegoSidemount]

It's November, and the water's starting to get cold. (OK, cold enough for San Diegans. I've lost the immunity to truly freezing water I had growing up in Seattle.)

I'm shopping for a drysuit, and a local person has a Whites Fusion Tech for sale:

Whites Fusion Tech Drysuit SCUBA (with accesories)

Any opinions on this suit, and whether or not the seller is offering a good deal on it?

Down here, DUI drysuits are far more common. They are also very very expensive, and hard to find used, XL, in good condition.

I suspect some of you Canadian and PNW divers might have a lot to say about this Whites suit. Tell me!

 

[00wabbit]

I dive a fusion bullet in Indiana. As long as you got the right undergarments it will go as cold as you want.

A lot if people have them around here and dive the Great Lakes with them. They are becoming more and more popular.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I love diving my Fusion with the Bullet skin: it's stupidly easy to manage the bubble, the pockets are good (though the Tech skin's are supposed to be much worse), and once you're in the suit it is very comfortable/flexible. The durability seems good, despite the fact that this supposedly most rugged of skins tore at a leg seam during a particularly nasty breakwater surf tumble. On the plus side, the skin did protect the bag and patching the skin wasn't hard (probably could have had DRIS fix it under warranty, but it's not worth the hassle of removing the skin and shipping it back).

Without a doubt, the ease of diving it and the wetsuit like mobility are its best features. That it's a well built suit that keeps me dry is nice, too, but there's nothing unique about that. I can't tell if that one in the ad has rings, but if it does realize that the easy seal replacement they allow has the drawback of being a pain to get bungee wrist instruments over and may or may not make reaching back for your valves harder.

I'm neutral on getting into it, which can be a bit like putting on a wet suit that's fighting back. If you're wearing socks/a full garment it's not so bad. Putting it on for tropical diving it with just shorts and a lavacore top is a royal PITA. In CA, I doubt you'll have that issue though. The Fusion integrated boots are more or less necessary IMO, because while I dive it with laceup rock boots the amount of material that gets bunched up at the top of the ankle is annoying.

I hate taking care of it. Rinsing/drying the damn thing is horrible, because you have to (a) take the skin off the bag at the connections and try to get rinse water between the constricting skin and the scrunched up bag, and then wait for the whole mess to dry; or (b) go through the trouble of completely taking the bag and skin apart, rinse and dry each separately, and then reassemble. It is annoying enough that I avoid diving it unless I know that I have to; were I diving in a location where I had to use it every dive, I would probably just skimp on proper care and accept I would be replacing the damn thing sooner than otherwise necessary.

Personally, I don't think $1000 for a used Fusion Tech without any warranty or (apparent) ring seals is a very good deal -- despite the generic looking undergarment. Take a look at the DRIS fusion offerings, and they're not too much more and have better support.

 

[TSandM]

The Fusion's a great suit. I've had them for about six years now, and they are very hard to hurt. The Tech skin is the best option, IMO, unless you are going to do a great deal of air travel. It gives you pockets (not the greatest pockets, but they work) and still allows you to rinse the suit without disturbing the Velcro. It also doesn't impact the mobility of the suit much at all, compared with the Sport skin. The Bullet is very restrictive in comparison, IMO.

The ad says, "Dry glove attachments", and I'm not sure what they mean. If those are the SiTech rings, that allow you to change your own wrist seals, they are a plus and a minus. The plus is that changing the wrist seals is truly trivial (takes less than five minutes with the right tool); the minus is that it locks you into the SiTech dry glove systems, which I don't really like very much (although my husband thinks they are fine).

The price is not a steal, but it is a decent price for the suit and the undergarment. Personally, I would make a lower offer and see if the seller will take it. It is a good suit, but when you can buy it for $1500 new, $1000 used is not a screaming deal.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Hm, well even if this particular used suit doesn't work out, I'm thinking the Fusion might be the right drysuit for me.

My measurements are bulky in the shoulders, chest and thighs, but not so much around the middle. I've been concerned that the only way I'll get a good drysuit fit is to pay serious bucks for a custom suit. So in Whites sizing, my shoulders and thighs are 2XL/3XL, while I'm only L/XL through the middle. However, as I understand it, the Fusion "skin" would take up the slack to effectively make it a snug fit throughout.

Also it seems like the "skin" concept would adapt really well to the drastic temperature differences here in SoCal. (45F winter, 70F summer.)

Do I understand the previous posts correctly that the Tech skin can be rinsed along with the rest of the suit, while the Bullet skin can't?

Considering a Whites Fusion Tech from DRIS would cost half the price of a custom DUI suit by the time I add the pockets, zip seals, etc., I'm pretty interested.

 

[00wabbit]

The bullet can. Just pull back the Velcro a bit around the neck and stick a hose in there. You don't have to take it completely apart.

I dive mostly freshwater so it's never been a big deal to me.

Another plus on the suit is you can patch it with heat sensitive patches. So if you have a hair dryer at your hotel you could patch it in a few minutes and be off diving again. Of course I haven't heard of anyone needing to patch theirs.

 

[TSandM]

The skins don't make any significant difference to the warmth of the suit -- like any laminate suit, the Fusion is as warm as the undergarments you wear with it.

But you are right about the sizing -- I can dive my husband's Fusion very comfortably, and it's a size larger than mine (and I'm at the small end of the size range for that suit anyway). And the Fusion is forgiving of those pounds that sneak on during the holidays, too

 

[00wabbit]

One of the main reasons I bought the fusion is that I fit right in the middle of the size I needed. Which means I could gain 50 pounds or loose 50 pounds and still fit me.

I used to have a picture somewhere from when I inflated it like a sumo suit on the surface. It was pretty funny.

When you first try on a fusion it will feel weird. Once you connect your air to it shoot a little blast in. This will let the interior material settle correctly. It's just like when you put on a wetsuit and it feels a bit weird until you get in the water.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Ok, just pulled the trigger on a DRIS package deal.

http://www.diverightinscuba.com/cat...hites-fusiontechmk2drysuitpackage-p-2043.html

Thanks for all the advice. I hope it turns out as nice as it sounds.

 

[00wabbit]

NOt sure if you chose the whites evo3 or the removable boots? I got a similar package with the evo3 boots. I found them to be too stiff in the ankles for frog kicks etc. They seemed like some cheaper boots that whites just stuck their logo on.I sold them and replaced them with High Top Converse.

The other boots seem to be nice as well some guys I know have those and like them. They velcro on at the ankles and can stay attached or be taken off.

If you get converse you will need 2-3 sizes larger than normal. I am a 13 normal and use a 15 fine with my fusion but sometimes I think a 16 might be better.