Review Seaskin Nova drysuit review - ladies' POV

[TravelGas]

Where was this idea before we all ordered our suits??

At least you ordered a Dry suit. I only know about dry suit what was written in that thread. My Wife is so afraid of making a measuring mistake for that suit, she won't measure me. My intention is to have my Tech Instr. who said he would measure me do it and I am blindly relying on the info in that thread to pick all the options. Its crazy. I still think a SB discount code should be provided to SB since so many suits have been ordered here. Can we get a SB member in each geographic area of the country to volunteer to measure people ? Even for a fee would be fine.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

At least you ordered a Dry suit. I only know about dry suit what was written in that thread. My Wife is so afraid of making a measuring mistake for that suit, she won't measure me. My intention is to have my Tech Instr. who said he would measure me do it and I am blindly relying on the info in that thread to pick all the options. Its crazy. I still think a SB discount code should be provided to SB since so many suits have been ordered here. Can we get a SB member in each geographic area of the country to volunteer to measure people ? Even for a fee would be fine.

Go to a tailor and ask them to measure you. Print out the instructions on seaskins website and bring with you.

 

[Boarderguy]

At least you ordered a Dry suit. I only know about dry suit what was written in that thread. My Wife is so afraid of making a measuring mistake for that suit, she won't measure me. My intention is to have my Tech Instr. who said he would measure me do it and I am blindly relying on the info in that thread to pick all the options. Its crazy. I still think a SB discount code should be provided to SB since so many suits have been ordered here. Can we get a SB member in each geographic area of the country to volunteer to measure people ? Even for a fee would be fine.

I had mine watch the measurement video as she did them. This is of course after I'd watched them a handful of times as well.

 

[Jcp2]

"Custom embroidery on suit" is that just your name on the sleeve or ?

ands thanks for this post.

It can be a name and a graphic. I have my name and a USA flag on it so I feel like an astronaut. Same with undergarment.

 

[Boarderguy]

"Custom embroidery on suit" is that just your name on the sleeve or ?

ands thanks for this post.

Name, name and flag or logo, flag or logo. Your choice of the three and you must provide what design you want. I told them I wanted the US Marine Corps flag/EGA and I got this. Couldn't be happier.

 

[stretchthepenn]

I also got mine with the extra fabric allotment for very thick undergarments (e.g., Weezle extreme plus) and the expedition pockets which are wonderfully large. I run on the very cold side, and am regularly using my Seaskin 250 with a heated vest or a Weezle Extreme Plus undersuit without the heated vest in San Diego, CA waters (recent temperatures ~48-52 degrees).

How baggy is the suit with the extra allowance? I, too, usually wear a 250-300 gram undergarment with a heated vest, and when I contacted Seaskin, they said I didn't need the extra allowance. But still, I'm nervous about the suit fitting too tightly and am giving serious thought to altering my order.

 

[vickasaurusrex]

Why so? This is the first I've heard about that valve, and I realise it's designed to make it extra unlikely for water to enter. Is it also better in some other way, or do you find the "normal" SiTech valve problematic in letting in too much water?

Contaminated water valves carry an additional umbrella seal that catches what the first seal didn't. The exact model I got was the "Viking" (Viking Double Exhaust X2 Valve for Contaminated Water for Pro / Protech / HD / Haztech Suits).

My incident was probably an outlier. The original SiTech valve that came with my suit was the "Argo" (Argo - Exhaust Valves - Products - SI-TECH). I think it was a bad part because it started leaking after drysuit dive #6. Both my LDS and I troubleshooted it, and determined part failure as the root cause (see attached pictures).

My LDS performed a leak test that indicated that the umbrella seal was faulty. They sprayed soapy water when the suit was under pressure, and looked for bubbles.

Meanwhile, I was able to re-create the failure mode at home. I felt the suit leaking within the first 7 minutes of submerging myself in the tub, and wore a longsleeve shirt to capture where the point of water entry occured.

I haven't tested the replacement Argo in the water -- the Viking is functioning so well -- but technically it should work. Sometimes you get a bad part no matter the manufacturer. Seaskin graciously honored the warranty without issue. I was happy with the outcome, and learned a lot from the leak troubleshooting process as a result.

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

The sort of slightly depressing reality is that if it's your 1st drysuit or even 1st Seaskin drysuit, you'll likely wish that you did some things different after you get it. So you can read 234 pages and be ~ 95% happy like most of us, or don't read any and be ~ 50% happy, LOL.

Either way it'll keep you dry, but there are a lot of options to sift through.

The thing that turns me off Seaskin (or just about any other MTM suit) is the lead time to get one - 3-4 months(+) is ridiculous.

 

[vickasaurusrex]

What boots are you using? I also have short feet and have had some issues finding appropriately fitting boots.

For reference, I normally wear a Women's 6.5 US with a narrow AA last. Below you will find my suggestions for people with small feet.

I currently use the Seac Rock Boots HD in a size small (Amazon.com: SEAC Rock Boots HD, Rigid Soles with Quick Close Laces for Underwater Diving Suit, 3 mm : Sports & Outdoors). They have a medium last that accommodates the thickness of my drysuit neoprene sock + Sharskin Chillproof sock combo. I replaced the shoelaces with bungee. The Seacs work wonderfully well with my XL ScubaPro Jetfins with a shorter spring strap. These shoes are basically Chuck Taylors but made of neoprene, and are slightly positively buoyant.

If you are sensitive to buoyancy on your feet, I can recommend Chuck Taylors. These canvas shoes are neutrally buoyant. Some Chucks come in a medium width, which is what you'll want if you normally wear shoes with a narrow last. Order one full size larger than your normal shoe size. Remove the foam insole before diving it. If you have small but wide feet, order Chucks with a wide width. The classics and some customs are -- you'll just have to check.

I will probably switch to Chucks after my Seacs give out.

I have friends that also dive wetsuit booties over their drysuit neoprene socks. Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck in that department -- ankles & calves with the drysuit get-up were much too thiccc for small-sized wetsuit booties. But, that shouldn't discourage anyone from considering this as an option for themselves. Nothing to lose by trying.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

The thing that turns me off Seaskin (or just about any other MTM suit) is the lead time to get one - 3-4 months(+) is ridiculous.

I made it 37 years in life without a M2M drysuit. 3 months went by pretty quick.