picasso camoflouge wetsuits??

[Spoon]

whats the big hype on these wetsuits. see most of those die hard freedivers and white shark divers on natl geo wearing these camo wetsuits. checked out the prices and boy are they expensive. they are apparently for spearfishing. anyone own one of these and are they worth the price?

 

[BrianM]

whats the big hype on these wetsuits. see most of those die hard freedivers and white shark divers on natl geo wearing these camo wetsuits. checked out the prices and boy are they expensive. they are apparently for spearfishing. anyone own one of these and are they worth the price?

I just bought one this year for freediving/spearfishing and it is the warmest suit I have ever owned...but also the most fragile and hardest to put on and take off. Even with the Turmic lining you need to lather up with soap or hair conditioner to squeeze into the suit. I think it's a great suit but unless you are into serious spearfishing, it's not worth the price... using one for scuba diving is like using a Ferrari to go 4 wheelin!!!

I wear an older O'neill Avalon for lobster diving, I wore the Picasso on a few lobster dives in February and ended up scuffing the knees up pretty bad. There are no knee pads like on a regular suit.

 

[Spoon]

I think it's a great suit but unless you are into serious spearfishing, it's not worth the price... using one for scuba diving is like using a Ferrari to go 4 wheelin!!!

like the analogy bro anyway i just wanted to get it for scuba but if its fragile then forget it. why is it fragile anyway and what makes it special? also what are those diamond shape things on the chest? just curious thats all

why is it so special and what benefits will this be for the spearfisher?

 

[ScubaSarus]

I was just reading soaps are used as shark repellant and wonder if soaping up can effect you spear fishing luck. Mainly SDS in the soaps is the active repellant.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

whats the big hype on these wetsuits. see most of those die hard freedivers and white shark divers on natl geo wearing these camo wetsuits. checked out the prices and boy are they expensive. they are apparently for spearfishing. anyone own one of these and are they worth the price?

How about a pic or a link to these things? Inquiring minds need to know!

 

[Spoon]

here ya go

http://www.picassoamerica.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=2_23

 

[Spoon]

I was just reading soaps are used as shark repellant and wonder if soaping up can effect you spear fishing luck. Mainly SDS in the soaps is the active repellant.

you serious??

 

[Canadian_Diver]

here ya go

http://www.picassoamerica.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=2_23

Thanks Spoon. Those are some funky lookin' duds to be sure!

 

[DrSteve]

Nothing a good pot of leaded paint couldn't do on a regular black suit!

 

[BrianM]

like the analogy bro anyway i just wanted to get it for scuba but if its fragile then forget it. why is it fragile anyway and what makes it special? also what are those diamond shape things on the chest? just curious thats all

why is it so special and what benefits will this be for the spearfisher?

Well...I am not an expert when it comes to spearfishing but I didn't want to buy crappy stuff to start with and then end up upgrading a short time later...I made that mistake with my scuba gear, so I bought the camu thermo-flex suit. The reason I bought the Picasso is I joined a freediving/spearfishing club and it seems like 90% of the members wear a Picasso suit, so that was a pretty good recommendation right there.

The reason it is so warm and flexible is the same reason it is fragile: it is made with a special type of neoprene which is almost like a sheet of gummy rubber material. That type of neoprene, made by Yamamoto, is very flexible so it doesn't restrict movement, but it also will rip if you try to pull it on with no lube like a standard wetsuit.

The rubber pad on the chest is where you place the butt of your speargun as you pull the power bands back to load the gun. I was amazed at how much it hurts your chest and I had a bruise there the first couple of times I tried it with my o'neill.

If I could do it over I think I would have bought the standard Picasso suit called the "dark" model or the "dark termic"... I don't think the extra cost was worth it for the camu thermoflex since it was a lot more money.