Sea Elite Drysuit

[NWCWdiver]

Anyone dive this brand? is it a decent suit?

thanks

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

I wish I could help you. I've got a wetsuit and a set of regs that are Sea Elite, and I've been very pleased with the performance of both. I'm willing to bet that their drysuits are good quality, too.

 

[mike_s]

Anyone dive this brand? is it a decent suit?

thanks

Chances are that it's made by the same exact folks that make the other brands of drysuits. Most of the Sea Elite stuff is OEM from the same manufacturing companies.


Looks like they also have some killer deals on the USIA suits
http://www.divers-supply.com/Dry-Suits-s/36.htm

 

[*Floater*]

I don't know these suits, but I've only heard good things about Sea Elite. They are known for making cheap generic dive gear of good quality, often based on the ripped off designs of bigger manufacturers.

On the 7mm suit I don't like the placement of the dump valve which seems to be at the bicep. I prefer shoulder or cuff. Also with boots you would need to make sure they are exactly the right size to compensate your foot with thick socks, but not more because otherwise they'll trap gas which can give you floaty feet. And you may need bigger fins than for your wetboots. $600 is the best deals I've seen around though for new suits. O'Neill has a similar looking suit for $800, though perhaps they can be found for cheaper.

I also noticed divebooty.com also lists a Sea Elite Sport 5mm Drysuit and Sea Elite Tri-Lam Drysuit, though they are not in stock. The former seems to have a diagonal front zip and a cuff dump. Looks pretty interesting to me. But there's no size chart.

 

[NWCWdiver]

Excellent , thanks! I had a trilam suit before but not a neoprene, can you give me the plus and minus of going to a neoprene drysuit?

 

[*Floater*]

Excellent , thanks! I had a trilam suit before but not a neoprene, can you give me the plus and minus of going to a neoprene drysuit?

I've only really used a bilam, but from what I've read and been told:

The plus is that they tend to be warmer so you don't need as thick of an undersuit, and because neoprene is flexible they tend to fit snugger, trap less gas and swim better.

The minus is that they are heavier (especially when wet) and bulkier, less durable, can be more difficult to put on, may be colder on the surface when wet, and take longer to dry.

Also some people don't like the buoyancy characteristics of neoprene drysuits, others say it doesn't matter because either the suit and thinner undersuit compress and you add gas to the suit and BC to compensate each compression respectively, or with trilam just the thicker undersuit compresses more and you add gas to the suit but not BC to compensate.

Some people say they needed more weight with neoprene drysuits, others say they needed less (because they could get away with a thinner undersuit). I looked at some polls on British site (so lots of cold water drysuit users), and their preference was pretty evenly split between trilam and neoprene.

But then others say that light trilam (like TLS 350) that are custom cut trilams to snug (so minimal drag and air trapping) with high quality undersuits are the best. According to George Irvine (DIR guru): "In non-custom, the tri lam is a piece of ****."

 

[NWCWdiver]

Ok, but a neoprene does not "leak" like I have heard. I get mixed messages sometimes but that is the way it goes

I would like to be able to keep it for at least 5 years so durability is a factor.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Trilaminate suits can also be used for diving in hazardous (chemical/fuel spill) conditions, if you do any diving like that, whereas neoprene cannot.

 

[NWCWdiver]

I see, I will not be going anywhere near that type of diving but good to know!

 

[SparticleBrane]

Trilaminate suits can also be used for diving in hazardous (chemical/fuel spill) conditions, if you do any diving like that, whereas neoprene cannot.

Somehow, I think nylon would absorb chemicals/fuel. I'd much rather wear a suit specifically for hazardous material than a generic trilam.