Pinnacle Aquatics

[PerroneFord]

For whatever reason, I rarely see Pinnacle suits mentioned here. My LDS carries these, and I have been impressed with their quality of build. I have not used one myself which leads to my question.

I am looking for a 5mm suit to serve as my base suit for nearly all my diving. Do any of you use Pinnacle suits, and if so, what is your impression of them? I am looking at one with the Merino lining. I realize they are a bit more expensive than some other brands but I'm not overly concerned about that. I just want a quaility suit with good thermal protection.

Thanks,

-P

 

[StSomewhere]

I looked at them once, there was some sort of consensus that wool may not have the same thermal properties when submerged vs. just wet, others disagreed. The thread is here somewhere I'm sure, search on "merino".

FYI, I just got an email from my LDS that Pinnacle is coming out with a new line of "Elastiprene" wetsuits in 3mm and 7mm at DEMA. Probably won't be available to buy for several months, though. Maybe your LDS will be clearing out the old models?

 

[PerroneFord]

I read about the elastiprene... I'm VERY intersted in them for a 3mm suit. I'll do a search as you suggested.

 

[drbill]

I've heard mixed opinions on Pinnacle suits, including some from Kiwis (they are a New Zealand company I believe). Some swear by them, others say that they do not have great durability. I've been tempted to try one.

 

[AndyNZ]

I've got a Trident 7mm semi-dry - made by Pinnacle but just re-branded so they can sell to different shops!

Hmmmmm. Mixed opinion about the merino lining. The biggest problem with it is that it takes AGES to dry out properly, so if you're doing multi-day diving then be prepared to put it on wet from day 2 onwards. The nice thing is that it's easy to put on and doesn't smell, even if you mistake your wetsuit for the toilet.

My partner has a Pinnacle Glacier, a 7mm titanium lined semi-dry. She loves it and it drys a lot quicker.

Durability is an issue with Trident/Pinnacle wetsuits - both the merino lining and the shell material on mine have split in several places, not enough to justify a return/repair but just enough to question whether you're going to get more than 3 or 4 years of use out of it before something really splits.

My Trident is going to get relegated to pool use fairly soon - my LDS is offering staff deals to DMs on Pinnacle suits, so will be getting a non-merino lined 7mm Polar for summer use.

My suit of choice for winter is my Pinnacle Evolutions drysuit - I have no quality issues with that at all and think it's awesome.

 

[PerroneFord]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Have you had other suits and felt they were better? Locally, I have Pinnacle, Henderson, Bare, and Akona

 

[Black Jack]

I have the Shadow and Fusion and love them both. Very well made and quite warm for the thickness. Liner does take a bit longer to dry though. my 2 cents.

 

[AndyNZ]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Have you had other suits and felt they were better?

I think Pinnacle are fine, I'm going to swap my current wetsuit for a Pinnacle Polar - but minus the merino lining.

 

[WaterDawg]

WoW so it dosent smell? thats crazy. I Like my Bare but that might make me switch.

 

[AndyNZ]

WoW so it dosent smell? thats crazy. I Like my Bare but that might make me switch.

Yup, I've abused my merino lined suit...... let's just say being over hydrated on a long dive... and then left it in a box for a couple of days. There's been barely a whiff of anything other than damp wool.