Pinnacle Evolution 3 Review
Some months ago I made the decision to go dry so that I could further enjoy my time in the water. My dive buddy who also dives dry (before me) was sort of the pull factor that encourage me to move this direction.
Back story: I dont normally get cold so I thought I would just buy a 7mm John suit and try diving. I searched and found a John suit in a price range I could afford from scubatoys. The suit arrived and I found the necessary hood and gloves. I gotta throw out a thanks to scubatoys, they did some special fitting for me XXL bottom, XXXL top, which really helped me out. So the day arrives and I go to the quarry, water temps were in the mid 50s. Donning and Doffing the 7mm is not super hard, but it isnt a picnic either. One thing I did find, it was hard to breath in the 7mm suit. Into the water we went, I could not believe how buoyant I was at that point. Just wow. Of course I have A LOT of neoprene covering my momentous girth. I finally got weighted enough with approx 32+lbs. Upon diving I discovered that my buoyancy was extremely compromised with this kind of weight. My movement either up or down was extremely sluggish, I would have to put a lot of air into the wing to move up, and once started it was a challenge to keep the ascent under control. I lost track of the number of times I surfaced like shamu. Im surprised I didnt rupture an ear drum on that day. I was eventually able to get the buoyancy straight with some more trim pockets, but the buoyancy was still extremely sluggish and not a lot of fun. It was on the last dive with the 7mm (which wasnt bad) that I decided I would shop for a used dry suit with my budget in the area of $1k.
I started shopping around and quickly started narrowing my search to the bare brand, and then surprisingly the pinnacle brand. I guess my timing was good, I found a pinnacle freedom 2 deal at DRIS. I found that I could get a F2 +undergarment (of choice)+boots+hose+suspenders for just under $1k delivered. Wow! I contacted Mike at DRIS and started moving forward. After several emails and a phone call I was informed that pinnacle was going to make my F2 out of the same material as the E3, which was fine with me. I was just happy to get a combo package like this for the price I was getting. Oh and I picked up some HOG tech fins for $65. Another deal!
So I ordered the suit at the end of November/beginning of December and it arrived around the 5th of January. I had hoped for a New Years dive etc, but oh well. There had been much discussion on my Dry suit skills thread regarding fitment, and custom was the best way to go. There were allegations that IF the suit did not fit the boards would never hear about it, I guess they felt that I didnt have enough integrity to discuss the matter in an open manner. I stated that I would indeed do a review of the suit.
The day the suit arrived I rushed home to open the box. I was so stoked to get a new drysuit. I had been advised that the material would be a gray/grey, and not the black shown on the website. I didnt mind that at all mind you. Well I opened the box and lo and behold, there sat an Evolution 3!!! Im like Holy crap!!!!!!!! Its Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I immediately took inventory of the box and all of the items had arrived. First things first. I tried on the undergarment. True to form it was snug on my shoulders and chest, and VERY long on the torso/legs. Im used to this mind you. I think took off the garment and put the suit on w/o the garment. I found there was plenty of room and the legs fit fairly well. I thought they were long, but after sending pictures to Mike he told me that length was normal to allow for movement. Well, he is the expert so Ill take his word for it. Oh and the neck needed trimming, I have an 18 neck, its sort of tight at this point. I then put the garment back on then the drysuit. Everything went on fine with the exception of the legs, they are so long in the garment that the material packs into the legs limiting how much I can pull it up. The evolution fleece undergarment is darn thick and hot when you arent in the water. Wow.
Now its time to train. My buddy and I rented the pool for a couple hours one evening so I could find my buoyancy etc. I had studied and asked as many questions as possible about the skills I needed so I tried every conceivable drill I could do. The suit performed flawlessly with no issues at all related to floaty feet. Did I say the garment was hot? I nearly passed out due to the heat, seriously. It was at this night of training that I decided I had to do something about the legs.
I took the garment to the seamstress and they ended up cutting roughly 8 off each leg and reattaching the neoprene cuffs. I had the opportunity to dive at the Philadelphia quarry in TN with Liquidsquid a couple w/e ago. The shortened legs were just the ticket for fitting into the suit better. We suited up and went diving. Removing the length of legs really helped removing some of the buoyancy and weight necessary to dive. I had some of the best diving Ive ever had that w/e. Thanks Liquidsquid for going with me.
Now to evaluate the materials as I see them.
I have found no issues diving the suit, I can maneuver and go head up or down and go back to horizontal with no problems. I do need to master the shoulder valve, I have it opened too far and will vent air when I inflate to remove squeeze. Causing me to use even more air (waste of air). Once I get the valve set Im going to be fine. I had one start of a run-a-way and got it stopped after only about 10. I was really happy with how quickly I recovered. No issues after that as I tracked what had happened and made sure it didnt happen again.
Overall impressions:
I like the suit, for my first suit this is proving to be quite a bargain. I look forward to many more dives.
ETA: I thought I would add something about flexibility. When comparing my DS to my 7mm I feel I actually have more mobility. My SI is much more comforatable, I must say that when I am shrink wrapped I do feel rather constricted, but I consider that not a normal condition. The undergarment really causes the restricted mobility for me. Hopefully Rondel's undergarment will be less restrictive.
Some months ago I made the decision to go dry so that I could further enjoy my time in the water. My dive buddy who also dives dry (before me) was sort of the pull factor that encourage me to move this direction.
Back story: I dont normally get cold so I thought I would just buy a 7mm John suit and try diving. I searched and found a John suit in a price range I could afford from scubatoys. The suit arrived and I found the necessary hood and gloves. I gotta throw out a thanks to scubatoys, they did some special fitting for me XXL bottom, XXXL top, which really helped me out. So the day arrives and I go to the quarry, water temps were in the mid 50s. Donning and Doffing the 7mm is not super hard, but it isnt a picnic either. One thing I did find, it was hard to breath in the 7mm suit. Into the water we went, I could not believe how buoyant I was at that point. Just wow. Of course I have A LOT of neoprene covering my momentous girth. I finally got weighted enough with approx 32+lbs. Upon diving I discovered that my buoyancy was extremely compromised with this kind of weight. My movement either up or down was extremely sluggish, I would have to put a lot of air into the wing to move up, and once started it was a challenge to keep the ascent under control. I lost track of the number of times I surfaced like shamu. Im surprised I didnt rupture an ear drum on that day. I was eventually able to get the buoyancy straight with some more trim pockets, but the buoyancy was still extremely sluggish and not a lot of fun. It was on the last dive with the 7mm (which wasnt bad) that I decided I would shop for a used dry suit with my budget in the area of $1k.
I started shopping around and quickly started narrowing my search to the bare brand, and then surprisingly the pinnacle brand. I guess my timing was good, I found a pinnacle freedom 2 deal at DRIS. I found that I could get a F2 +undergarment (of choice)+boots+hose+suspenders for just under $1k delivered. Wow! I contacted Mike at DRIS and started moving forward. After several emails and a phone call I was informed that pinnacle was going to make my F2 out of the same material as the E3, which was fine with me. I was just happy to get a combo package like this for the price I was getting. Oh and I picked up some HOG tech fins for $65. Another deal!
So I ordered the suit at the end of November/beginning of December and it arrived around the 5th of January. I had hoped for a New Years dive etc, but oh well. There had been much discussion on my Dry suit skills thread regarding fitment, and custom was the best way to go. There were allegations that IF the suit did not fit the boards would never hear about it, I guess they felt that I didnt have enough integrity to discuss the matter in an open manner. I stated that I would indeed do a review of the suit.
The day the suit arrived I rushed home to open the box. I was so stoked to get a new drysuit. I had been advised that the material would be a gray/grey, and not the black shown on the website. I didnt mind that at all mind you. Well I opened the box and lo and behold, there sat an Evolution 3!!! Im like Holy crap!!!!!!!! Its Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I immediately took inventory of the box and all of the items had arrived. First things first. I tried on the undergarment. True to form it was snug on my shoulders and chest, and VERY long on the torso/legs. Im used to this mind you. I think took off the garment and put the suit on w/o the garment. I found there was plenty of room and the legs fit fairly well. I thought they were long, but after sending pictures to Mike he told me that length was normal to allow for movement. Well, he is the expert so Ill take his word for it. Oh and the neck needed trimming, I have an 18 neck, its sort of tight at this point. I then put the garment back on then the drysuit. Everything went on fine with the exception of the legs, they are so long in the garment that the material packs into the legs limiting how much I can pull it up. The evolution fleece undergarment is darn thick and hot when you arent in the water. Wow.
Now its time to train. My buddy and I rented the pool for a couple hours one evening so I could find my buoyancy etc. I had studied and asked as many questions as possible about the skills I needed so I tried every conceivable drill I could do. The suit performed flawlessly with no issues at all related to floaty feet. Did I say the garment was hot? I nearly passed out due to the heat, seriously. It was at this night of training that I decided I had to do something about the legs.
I took the garment to the seamstress and they ended up cutting roughly 8 off each leg and reattaching the neoprene cuffs. I had the opportunity to dive at the Philadelphia quarry in TN with Liquidsquid a couple w/e ago. The shortened legs were just the ticket for fitting into the suit better. We suited up and went diving. Removing the length of legs really helped removing some of the buoyancy and weight necessary to dive. I had some of the best diving Ive ever had that w/e. Thanks Liquidsquid for going with me.
Now to evaluate the materials as I see them.
- Weight of material: this appears and feels to be a very stout material, holes will not be an issue unless Im really abusive to the suit.
- Quality of stitching: everything looks good so far, nothing crooked etc.
- Quality of sealing: I can see a couple places where the seal tap wants to pull away (I dont know if that is the correct term). These location appear to be where there are multi layers in the area of where the booty attaches. Ill be watching this. I dont see an issue with the seam, just the tape.
- Quality of the seals: Damn the wrist seals are thick and hard to trim. Neck seal is good and not so hard to trim.
- There is a flap with Velcro covering the main zipper, which is nice. I would have preferred a zippered flap, but again cost.
- The booties are supposed to be sized for a 10, they are just a touch snug making socks a selection issue. On the last dive I used regular socks and lavacore socks, this worked well.
- Thigh pockets, nice to have and plenty big with bungee in them.
- Over all fitment is really good. The thighs are a touch baggy but work great with undergarments like they should. Fit on the shoulders w/o the garment is loose enough that with the garment it is a non-issue.
I have found no issues diving the suit, I can maneuver and go head up or down and go back to horizontal with no problems. I do need to master the shoulder valve, I have it opened too far and will vent air when I inflate to remove squeeze. Causing me to use even more air (waste of air). Once I get the valve set Im going to be fine. I had one start of a run-a-way and got it stopped after only about 10. I was really happy with how quickly I recovered. No issues after that as I tracked what had happened and made sure it didnt happen again.
Overall impressions:
I like the suit, for my first suit this is proving to be quite a bargain. I look forward to many more dives.
ETA: I thought I would add something about flexibility. When comparing my DS to my 7mm I feel I actually have more mobility. My SI is much more comforatable, I must say that when I am shrink wrapped I do feel rather constricted, but I consider that not a normal condition. The undergarment really causes the restricted mobility for me. Hopefully Rondel's undergarment will be less restrictive.
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