Recommendations for a Wet Suit

[ImSoWet]

Living and Diving in South East Asia, I have not had the luxury of being able to buy good wetsuits for legitimate prices. So if you could please recommend brands that are suitable for tropical waters that probably dont get below 10C. A full 4 or 5mm is what im looking to upgrade from my current 3mm halfsies.

Thanks!

 

[Alastor]

Do you have access to Aqualung ? It is a commercial choice, but not so bad - and not so expensive, at least in EU.
I'm wondering if a full wetsuit 3mm should not be adequate for your tropical water ...
Just in case, try also to consider 3mm or 5mm Proteus Fourth Element (a bit expensive, but it is a very well built wetsuit) - don't really know it you can buy it online.
In thailand I saw scubapro, and one of the shop sells online, so probably there are more.
Which country do you live ?

 

[ImSoWet]

@Alastor

Thanks mate. I have a Scubapro currently, and it is pretty decent. Its a 3mm half suit. Stay in Hong Kong, and during Dive Expo - I saw BARE wetsuits which looked great but online reviews suggest they are not very well built (stitches / seams coming off etc.) Will check out Proteus. I normally buy all my dive gear from www.divestock.com where I save atleast 30% on gear prices, and they have a good quick shipping policy, and a robust return policy too. Usually with equipment its not so bad, but would rather prefer trying a suit and see it fits well - and thats not a great idea online 9 times out of 10.

Thanks!

 

[JulieM]

My husband and I both had problems with Bare 3 mm suits ripping in the neck area. We now have Aqualung and love them.

 

[Altamira]

I have two Bare Elastek wetsuits that I love, and have not had a problem with either of them. I particularly like Bare for the broad range of size options. It is the only wetsuit that I found that fit me perfectly right out of the box, and for me, that was an important factor in my buying decision.

 

[ImSoWet]

I have two Bare Elastek wetsuits that I love, and have not had a problem with either of them. I particularly like Bare for the broad range of size options. It is the only wetsuit that I found that fit me perfectly right out of the box, and for me, that was an important factor in my buying decision.

Yes - I saw on their website they have a TALL/REGULAR/SHORT version for each of the sizes (S/M/L/XL ... ) This is what is keeping me interested since I cant get the right fit usually. I will check out the Elastek range you mention.

Thank you!

 

[Alastor]

I looked to the divestock site. They have Fourth Element Proteus. A friend of mine has one (5mm) and I also tried a 5mm (but I didn't buy because I had an offer on a aqualung semi-dry for half the price of Proteus)... They are great, and if sized correctly they are almost semi-dry in the sense that they have an internal piece that goes between the zip and the skin, sealling that possible way.
Overall construction is very good and it withstand to more than normal use.
Here you could find all the information about it and also a good size chart. There is also a donning guide that show you the piece that seals the zip and how it fits.

Proteus 3mm/5mm/7mm Scuba Diving Wetsuits from Fourth Element

I am not related to Fourth Elements, but I appreciated the Proteus and I think is really a good product.
As devil advocate, I shall admit that the price is high for a piece of the equipment where there is no technology involved, just the quality of the build process and material, but do not forget that they are not custom built - beacuse there is model II, probably the previous one (that was the one I tried) will sell for less.

 

[outofofficebrb]

The Aqua Lung Aquaflex line is pretty amazing -- the fit.seals, easy don and removal...I keep going back to this one after trying on many. It comes in a 3, 5, 7mm.

 

[kelemvor]

Wetwear Custom Wetsuits

These guys make and ship custom suits. They're a little pricey, but cheaper than I've seen some of the scubapro suits go for. You'll have to take like 35 measurements (you measure and give them the measurements). I bought one for my wife and it is an amazing fitting suit. We got all the options they offered for the 3mm suit and it was under $600.

They put zippers in both arms/legs and have a very lengthy main zipper. It make the suit extremely easy to don/doff while maintaining an excellent fit when zipped. You won't need a skin or baby powder to don this thing.

 

[mattia_v]

I really like my waterproof W3 3.5mm suit. Nicely tailored, easy to don and doff, warm, quick drying soft inner lining. Would buy again in a heartbeat. Looked at proteus suits but they were much harder to put on.

Think with wetsuits is that you really should try them on. Bodies are all different, so you might need to try a few. Particularly with a brand like fourth element that has a lot of different sizing options