Review: Whites Fusion Drysuit - say goodbye to cave cut

[dsteding]

I'll add my experiences with the Fusion so far (three dives now . . .)

1) Valve drills=trivial. Even my left shoulder, which is a bit stiff because of an injury, can reach the valve fine.

2) Bubble management=trivial.

3) X-Shorts plus p-valve=be careful. The waist band on the x=shorts can, if positioned correctly, kink the cath. I almost had that happen to me. Be extra careful with hose routing. P-valve works fine beyond that.

4) The MK3 is definitely warm, even when wet (I had some water go into my suit when stupid me forgot to hook up my drysuit inflator hose on dive 2 yesterday). Wicks really well too.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

It all depends on how cold of a person you are and where/how you will be diving......Colder temps with long dives/deco get the MK3......if your a warmer person on the same dives, get the MK2 and if needed and some under fleece layers for warmth....if your not diving as long or cold, just get the MK2 and you can wear just the john or the jacket, or both....you can even zip of the arms if your getting too warm.

If anyone is looking at test driving a Fusion....keep posted as Im thinking of a way to get some samples out to people to try...it would however REQUIRE a credit card hold of the purchase and you paying shipping(would be refunded if purchased) Do you guys think this is something some of you are interested in? If so, I will be persuing this....

 

[Jimmer]

I know I can order the package with either the Mk2 or the Mk3, but what is the price of the 2 sets individually? I'm interested in possibly getting both sets at some point.

Jim

 

[tkornechuk]

I'm so tempted by this suit, I just keep hearing conflicting stories about how warm it is. Some people say it's cold even with the MK3 other say it's as warm as any other suit. Has anyone done extended length dives, like over an hour, in 40 degrees or less?

I think it is true that warmth for a shell suit is the same across the board -- it is all dependent on the undergarments.

As for my new Fusion experience:

I did my first two dives with my new fusion on Saturday at Redondo beach in the Puget Sound. The water temp was 42 degrees F (or 5 C for us Canadians). I got the MK2 with the Fusion which included the long one-piece and a jacket (both with removable sleeves). I also got the matching socks/booties.

The first dive I didn't use the jacket nor did I have a pair of socks under the booties. 60' max and 35 minutes into the dive my feet were like ice and I was starting to feel the cold in my torso.

The second dive, I put on the jacket and an extra pair of socks. BTW, doning and doffing the suit between dives was a cinch. No problems whatsoever. Amazing.

On the second dive and after soaking in some of that beautiful sun we had on Saturday for our 45 min SI, we went back into the water. After 35 minutes in the water, I was toasty warm. So the MK2 in 42 degrees with the jacket did the trick.

The suit performed impeccably. Note to self, put on more weights when putting on that extra fleece jacket. I was a bit buoyant and the last 10 feet were spent fighting buoyancy. Overall, it was an awesome dive and I'm totally satisfied with every aspect of the Fusion.

Thom

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

I know I can order the package with either the Mk2 or the Mk3, but what is the price of the 2 sets individually? I'm interested in possibly getting both sets at some point.

Jim

Link:
Dive Right In Scuba

NOt to turn this thread into a sale....so PM me if you would like to get a quote on a package

 

[Jimmer]

Any photos of the pockets yet?

 

[CompuDude]

Any photos of the pockets yet?

It was *just* released (and size Sm only at the moment, L/XL coming March 15), so the only photos are probably on the press release.

Pockets: http://www.whitesdiving.com/index.php?site=4&id=186&cid=684

Tech Skin: http://www.whitesdiving.com/index.php?site=4&id=186&cid=683

 

[PinkPADIgal]

So, how many dives does everyone have on their Fusion? We have our Demo days coming up in Seattle on March 29th, and the biggest question everyone asks is regarding the lycra.

 

[fdog]

About 70ish. Looks great. No tears, slices, punctures.


All the best, James

 

[TSandM]

I have about 20 on mine, but 14 of them are cave dives, and the Lycra is definitely pilling in places. Diving high flow caves, I suspect the tech skin is better.

Surprisingly, there is no pilling or wear under the backplate or harness. It was the limestone (which has the texture of an emery board) that caused the damage.