Review: Whites Fusion Drysuit - say goodbye to cave cut

[skdvr]

buy one now and use it all year... I just purchased one and I will be using it all year long except for the shallowest of dives in a warm lake. I cannot wait for it to shop up at my house...

Phil

 

[skdvr]

I just got my suit and I cannot wait to get it in the water... My wife was laughing at me becuase I had to put it on as soon as I got home to check it out. This thing is awesome...

Phil

 

[Sonofasailor]

I'd like to know why this suit wouldn't be considered suitable for cave diving. I intend to own one, and I intend to use it for that purpose.

please keep us updated on that, I intend to get one if they hold up well in the caves.





how about pockets, anyone got any ideas besides x-shorts?

 

[Sonofasailor]

I just got my suit and I cannot wait to get it in the water... My wife was laughing at me becuase I had to put it on as soon as I got home to check it out. This thing is awesome...

Phil

I have new gear envy.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

LOL...the pockets will be unveiled hopefully by the end of this week as well as the tech skin....They have some great things coming!!!

SKdiver, be sure to write a review on the suit after you get it in the pool...I know there are alot more people waiting to here about it so they can get one too

 

[LG Diver]

Well, I'm looking forward to taking one of these in the pool this weekend. My LDS, Houston Scuba Academy has the White's rep in town to offer a pool demo on Saturday.

I got the opportunity to try one on at the Texas Dive Show last weekend. It's certainly not easy getting it on, but hopefully this would improve with practice (and without jeans bunched up under an undergarment).

Once it was on, it certainly feels pretty unrestricive, though I'm afraid the legs in the L/XL were a bit too short for my 34 1/2 inseam. It will be interesting to try in the water.

I just hope I don't like this thing too much as I have a TLS350 on order...

Bob

Thanks for posting that! I've been wondering about the sizing myself. I'm 6'0" with a 34.5" inseam and the L/XL seems like it would be short in the legs for me. Did you try the 2XL/3XL size? At 170ish pounds, I'm wondering how well the 2XL/3XL will conform to me.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Im 6'3 190 and the L/XL fits flawlessly...I have also tried on the 2Xl/3Xl....the L/XL should fit you perfect

I will measure my inseam tomorrow, but I wear a 34 pant

If you do need the 2xl/3xl, it still fits fine, just a bit more extra material that you will never notice or feel unless you look in the mirror

 

[digital_steve]

how does it go fitting short fatties?
I'm like 5'9" (in your crazy american measurements) and 38" waist (short, fat).

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Thats Krazy Americans LOL

Your at the top of the L/XL size....

Size Chart:
Whites Diving | Fusion Dive Suit

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I am a 5'9" tall, 36" waist, 47" shoulders sized guy and tried both the XL and XXL.

Neither really fit me in the legs and even the XXL was tight in the calves even with no undergarments (other than my Saturday go to the dive shop blue jeans.) with the result that I could not get my feet all the way into the socks. I like the idea but have a few concerns.

1. Unless they add some diameter to the lower leg to acommodate guys with more leg muscle it is not going to work for me.

2. I like pockets on my dry suits, so I am also on hold until I see a tech cover.

3. I am a bit concerned about the rinsing and drying evolutions with the neoprene tech cover. Trapping salt water between a bladder and cover, especially in a bladder with folds, is an invitation to have salt crystals grind their way through the bladder. My initial impression is that rinsing through a thin and porous lycra cover is much easier than it will be to rinse the suit with a neoprene cover - unless there are ample lycra or elastic panels to improve water flow between layers. But either of those options would seem to improve the odds of the pockets to slip, slide and wander around on the suit, so I am interested in how the two concepts work together.

4. A pee valve is a must have option but again I am concerned how placement is affected by the overly large inner layer and the stretchy outer layer. I'll be crossing my legs in anticipation of a review in that regard.

5. The suit is a bit hard to put on by any dry suit standard, includiing a snug fitting neoprene drysuit. Does it get easier with practice?

On a positive note it is:

1. Assuming the chicken leg issues get resolved, the first non-custom suit that promises to work for the commonly ignored large shoulders but only average tall divers out there. In most other suits to have 47" shoulders you better be over 6 ft tall.

2. The first shell suit I have seen that offers streamlining, air control and general swimability comparable to an uncompressed neoprene suit. It woudl be great to have a shell suit that is non baggy yet allows a full range of motion.