Review Seaskin Nova drysuit

[Robert H. Diver]

I have heard it makes the suit very stiff from someone that got it, and do you REALLY need all that? I didnt get the reinforcement on mine, and I may come to regret that, but I also don't plan to be in my knees that much if at all. If you look at the information on it, they say it shouldn't be needed... But I imagine it's largely personal preference.

I’ve obviously never dived the suit without the reinforcement but it does not seem stiff to me, I have full range of motion in my arms and legs. I dive basic wrecks with light “penetration” and plan on cave diving in the future so why not get it? I also wear a BPW so I’m sure it helps prevent premature wear from the plate and harness?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I’ve obviously never dived the suit without the reinforcement but it does not seem stiff to me, I have full range of motion in my arms and legs. I dive basic wrecks with light “penetration” and plan on cave diving in the future so why not get it? I also wear a BPW so I’m sure it helps prevent premature wear from the plate and harness?

I'm under the same assumption of "why not" but I didn't want to learn later that x, y, z is horrible.

I'm ok with a little stiff if I can beat the suit up more.

 

[lexvil]

I didn’t add any extra reinforcements on my first, second (neo) or third, never tore anything and the add one make any repair a little more difficult.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I didn’t add any extra reinforcements on my first, second (neo) or third, never tore anything and the add one make any repair a little more difficult.

Thanks for that counterpoint. I ordered it with all the kevlar so I'll report back how it goes. As tight as my current too small neo suit feels anything will feel less stiff than that.

I splurged a little, undersuit, socks, rolock 90's, I went with a light monkey P valve.

I am pretty excited. I'm sure there will be things that I would do different next time, but for now I'm content. Interested to compare it to a buddies Santi. Even with all the extras I got it was still less than 1/2 what that cost. I'm hoping they're the same and I'm sure he's hoping mine falls to pieces

 

[RobPNW]

Some have commented that the reinforcement in the crotch area makes it a bit restricted with the crotch strap. I don't have the suit yet so I can't say from personal experience. When I order, I'll probably leave it all off since most have said the core material is pretty tough by itself.

 

[RobPNW]

Now MIGHT not be the best time for you to take measurements and order a custom drysuit...

I'm going to use the opposite mind game strategy with myself. I'm a classic yo yo dieter so I'm going to do the measurements when I'm at my goal weight. That way, I have to keep my fatass in shape or I can't use my new $1,000 drysuit
I have to play these stupid games with myself but they work. Every time I go on a trip, I have to get back into my wetsuit so I know it works but those off months I have an excuse to gain weight back. If I have a drysuit, I'll be diving during those off months. MAYBE, this will force me to finally eat sensibly long term.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Some have commented that the reinforcement in the crotch area makes it a bit restricted with the crotch strap. I don't have the suit yet so I can't say from personal experience. When I order, I'll probably leave it all off since most have said the core material is pretty tough by itself.

I don’t find anything to be restricted. I got the crotch reinforcement because of the crotch strap of the BPW might cause some wear. Don’t know for sure but better have it than not I guess?

 

[RobPNW]

I don’t find anything to be restricted. I got the crotch reinforcement because of the crotch strap of the BPW might cause some wear. Don’t know for sure but better have it than not I guess?

That's the coolest thing about Seaskin. Everyone gets to pick whatever they want for whatever reason they want at an affordable price. And they'll always have a strong following because of it imo.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Figured I'd post a realistic cost, shipping, exchange rate, etc.

So my exchange rate was really good.. $1.14. I think the lowest it's been in forever. My Visa credit card was nice enough to tack on another few dollars in fees so really my exchange was more like $1.1569. The fully decked out suit was 957GPB which came to $1107.69 USD. Shipping was $80.76 USD. So for $1188.45 I would have had a fully customizable M2M drysuit shipped to my door... that's amazing.

I did want to mention that while I paid through PayPal, they wanted to charge more fees on top but theres an option for alternative options where you can just have your CC handle the exchange rate. They still charge something, but it was much less than PP. PP would have been another $60 or so. I don't remember anyone else mentioning this (but I'm sure they did).

Also, double / triple check measurements. I tipped a professional tailor to take my measurements ($20). Probably wasn't needed, but I feel better about it. I printed all of Seaskins pages on how to measure and she did a great job of reading through to see exactly what they were asking. Probably took 15-20 min all said and done. I ran through them twice when entering and luckily I did because I had one wrong.

I did order extra stuff (dry gloves $142, socks $30, and undersuit $150) and opted for a more expensive P valve just to try it, so my total was $1511 USD, but that's shipped to my door. Still amazing in my book.

YTD I have spent a little over $2100 diving dry, but I get to dive all year... who wants to cut their diving in 1/2 by making it seasonal? I'm a junkie... I need a fix even when it's snowing.

 

[Dstewart22]

My order confirmation says estimated ship date of 11/11, earlier than I expected! I thought it would be in December