Quality comparison between Henderson thermoprene vs Oceanic Ultra

[kittikat]

Hi,

I am a newbie buying my very first wetsuit.
Tried so many cheaper brands and had no luck so far - either they don't have my size/bad fit because they are more suited to smaller women. I am pear shaped, 5'1, 130lbs - so I am more on the "curvy" side for Indonesian standard.

So now I find myself looking at the higher end brands.
I got it down to either Henderson Thermoprene ($210) or Oceanic Ultra ($160), both are 3mm.
Henderson has lots of fantastic reviews. Oceanic, on the other hand, has only handful but also positive reviews.

Any comment about Oceanic Ultra's quality? Is it relatively on par with Henderson?
I don't mind paying the extra $50 for Henderson if the difference is significant.

Thanks in advance

 

[danvolker]

Hi,

I am a newbie buying my very first wetsuit.
Tried so many cheaper brands and had no luck so far - either they don't have my size/bad fit because they are more suited to smaller women. I am pear shaped, 5'1, 130lbs - so I am more on the "curvy" side for Indonesian standard.

So now I find myself looking at the higher end brands.
I got it down to either Henderson Thermoprene ($210) or Oceanic Ultra ($160), both are 3mm.
Henderson has lots of fantastic reviews. Oceanic, on the other hand, has only handful but also positive reviews.

Any comment about Oceanic Ultra's quality? Is it relatively on par with Henderson?
I don't mind paying the extra $50 for Henderson if the difference is significant.

Thanks in advance

The best quality and heat wetsuits I have ever have, are freediving suits made with Yamamoto rubber....
I just did a search on why this might be, and here is the best answer I turned up:

" Neoprene is a subject that confuses a lot of people, and there is an awful lot of misinformation and hype.
As regards background/ experience; I was responsible for product development for one of the UK's leading drysuit manufacturers for nearly 10 years. My business partner in Spearo UK Ltd was a wetsuit designer for the UK's main surf brand for a similiar time, and is currently a freelance designer specialising in the surf industry;

Yamamoto (#39, 45, ?)
Yamamoto is a Japanese neoprene manufacturer. They make high quality, but relatively expensive neoprene They make a large variety of neoprenes, but the main ones used in dive suits are
#45- very soft and stretchy but delicate, used in the original Picasso Chicle suits, and the similiar suits by other manufacturers
#38- "dive grade" neoprene. Not especially stretchy, but fairly hard wearing and reasonably resistant to compression
#39- "superlite" a low density stretchy neoprene designed primarily for surface use. Often used in dive and freedive suits as it is nice and stretchy. does not stand up to repeated compression/ expansion cycles very well
Yamamoto have a website with lots of technical data, but I would take many of their claims with a pinch of salt

Heiwa
Another , smaller Japanese manufacturer. Similiar costs to Yamamoto. Heiwa medium density is used particularly by custom manufacturers to make smoothskin suits. It is nothing like as stretchy as yamamoto 45, but a lot tougher, and has less buoyancy change with depth

Freedown
A name used by Elios for a very soft stretchy neoprene

Rubatex
An American neoprene manufacturer; If you bought a suit in the 70s or 80s that lasted 20 years and had all the flexibility of cardboard, it was probably made of Rubatex G231-N. Not sure if they are still making wetsuit neoprene

Showa
possibly you mean Sheico, a very large Chinese neoprene and wetsuit manufacturer. They make suits for many of the big brands, mostly from neoprenes similiar to Yamamoto 39

Nam Liong
Similiar to Sheico, they make neoprene and suits for most other big brands

Ecoline
Elios phrase for their suits made from cheaper neoprenes (mostly Sheico and Nam Liong)

Neoflex
Elios phrase for their suits made from more expensive neoprenes (mostly Heiwa and Yamamoto)

3-D Skin
A phrase dreamt up by the marketing dept at yamamoto

Super Stretch 1
A very stretchy nylon/ lycra jersey


Neoprene is always a balancing act, softer stretchier neoprene is very comfortable to wear, and will fit a larger range of sizes in a standard suit, but will not last that long, or give much insulation at depth. The softer suits have much more "shop window appeal" so that is what most of the big names go for. Also , you cant get something for nothing; If someone claims to make a cheap suit out of an expensive material they are probably lieing, and "space age" materials cant change the laws of physics

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment"


Also, know that getting perfect seals at wrist, neck, ankles, and having the suit fit perfectly( without large floppy areas where the suit is not close to your skin) is much more important than how thick the suit is for any practical comparison....and that a hood is a huge increase in heating....so adding one can extend your comfortable temperature range a great deal.

2 good examples of wetsuits that are MUCH BETTER than those found in most scuba stores, are:

• Yazbeck
• Picasso America

One exception to this is the Aqualung brand of semi dry wetsuit sold at some Dive Shops....these are exceptional....I believe the thinnest is 5 mil, and they make a 8/7 mm....my wife has both of these, and the 8 is so warm the water has to be in the 60's or below for her to use it !

 

[kittikat]

The best quality and heat wetsuits I have ever have, are freediving suits made with Yamamoto rubber....

Oh dear, I think I need to do more research on this
I really appreciate the info, this is something I will keep in mind when I am ready to make serious investment.

Thanks!

 

[DukeAMO]

I had my semi-dry suit (5mm full plus 5mm hooded jacket for cold water) custom made for roughly the cost of a good off-the-rack suit. They have you send in a few dozen measurements; I had my measurements taken at a tailor. It's a very curvy suit. Aquaflite Wetsuits - Custom Wetsuits

The specific one I got was this: Aquaflite Wetsuits | Semi Dry Custom Wetsuits - Aquaflite Wetsuits It works in water down to 55 degrees, at least. If you're diving in warm water, you'd want something thinner.

 

[kittikat]

I had my semi-dry suit (5mm full plus 5mm hooded jacket for cold water) custom made for roughly the cost of a good off-the-rack suit. They have you send in a few dozen measurements; I had my measurements taken at a tailor. It's a very curvy suit. Aquaflite Wetsuits - Custom Wetsuits

The specific one I got was this: Aquaflite Wetsuits | Semi Dry Custom Wetsuits - Aquaflite Wetsuits It works in water down to 55 degrees, at least. If you're diving in warm water, you'd want something thinner.

Hey thanks, but local custom made is not feasible right now. They used to have one shop in Bali, but it was closed last time I checked
I will certainly consider custom made when I return to the States and hopefully armed with higher logs.

Anyway, my friends said the cheapest way is to lose weight

 

[DukeAMO]

LOL, if only losing weight was so easy!
I've borrowed/rented a few of the Henderson 3mm suits, and liked them. To get a suit that fit my middle correctly, I ended up with one where the arms/legs were a little on the long side. It was not a big deal, though. In water that's 75 degrees or warmer, one of those Henderson suits with a hood or beanie works well for me.

 

[weezieharris]

I too had a horrible time finding an off the rack wetsuit to fit. Like you, I am pear shaped and if I found a suit I could get over my hips, it was huge in the chest. I eventually took the suggestion of another user on Scubaboard and bought a 3mm custom wetsuit from Aquaflite. I loved the suit so much, I went back and ordered a 5mm too. They suits are great quality and fit someone shaped like myself much more comfortably than anything I tried off the rack and believe me, I tried a ton of them!

 

[t4e]

Hi,

I am a newbie buying my very first wetsuit.
Tried so many cheaper brands and had no luck so far - either they don't have my size/bad fit because they are more suited to smaller women. I am pear shaped, 5'1, 130lbs - so I am more on the "curvy" side for Indonesian standard.

So now I find myself looking at the higher end brands.
I got it down to either Henderson Thermoprene ($210) or Oceanic Ultra ($160), both are 3mm.
Henderson has lots of fantastic reviews. Oceanic, on the other hand, has only handful but also positive reviews.

Any comment about Oceanic Ultra's quality? Is it relatively on par with Henderson?
I don't mind paying the extra $50 for Henderson if the difference is significant.

Thanks in advance

i will not buy another brand, i love Henderson, its extremely comfortable , and i tried a few brands before deciding

plus Henderson has the option to tailor fit
Size Chart | Special Fit Information