My Otter Atlantic has arrived and I’ve had a chance to compare it to my Seaskin. The Atlantic is comparable in price to an off the peg Santi E-Lite.
My thoughts -
Fit is better (Otter is also MTM).
Braces are much better (and red which is cool).
Y shaped crotch strap is nicer and doesn’t slip like the Seaskin one (I fixed it and the braces with plastic tri-glides).
Neoprene on warm neck is better quality.
Knee protection is an additional layer of HD material stitched on not PU iron on material. There is no other reinforcement on the suit.
Boots are the same (I like these on my Seaskin).
Has a metal zip as Otter didn’t offer plastic. My Seaskin is plastic. I think the zip is also a bit longer on the Otter.
I didn’t get a pee valve this time as I don’t need it and I think my Light Monkey Tinkle leaks.
Material seems similar - feels about the same weight. I’ll weigh both suits some time.
Overall finishing is better - cuff rings are taped, seams are better quality and pockets are miles better. I have the bellows pockets that are flimsy and too small. Otter has zippered flaps with internal wet notes pocket and bungees.
Back panel is elasticated.
Bag is bigger and has a much better zip.
I went with Kubi and a cuff dump. I also went for SiTech neck ring again and have transferred my Waterproof neoprene neck seal over.
Overall the quality is better. Will see how it dives in a couple of weeks.
My Nova has about 50 dives on it. It’s showing signs of wear in the crotch area and the cuffs. I haven’t had a dry dive for a while now so it’s going back to Seaskin for a pressure test and have any repairs done that are needed. I was going to change the Ultima DGS for Kubi and get bigger pockets fitted but I’m not sure it’s worth the expense for what will be a backup suit. The Kubi DGS is night and day difference in quality over the Waterproof system.
So there’s quite a price difference between the 2 suits (I’ll work the actual amount out by speccing up a Nova similar to the Otter) but it’s probably around £1000. Will it be worth the extra? Hard to know. I do think the Otter will far outlast the Nova. But at the price of an Otter I could get SeaSkins.
What I will say is the Seaskin is absolutely worth the price, when it doesn’t leak. The variety of options is fantastic and all options are well priced. I bought it as a first suit and didn’t want to spend a fortune in case I didn’t keep diving. Would I have bought another one when the time came to replace it? No, probably not.
Hopefully this gives a bit of help for anyone wanting a Nova.
Couple of comparison pics -
Otter -
Nova
Otter
Nova
Otter
My thoughts -
Fit is better (Otter is also MTM).
Braces are much better (and red which is cool).
Y shaped crotch strap is nicer and doesn’t slip like the Seaskin one (I fixed it and the braces with plastic tri-glides).
Neoprene on warm neck is better quality.
Knee protection is an additional layer of HD material stitched on not PU iron on material. There is no other reinforcement on the suit.
Boots are the same (I like these on my Seaskin).
Has a metal zip as Otter didn’t offer plastic. My Seaskin is plastic. I think the zip is also a bit longer on the Otter.
I didn’t get a pee valve this time as I don’t need it and I think my Light Monkey Tinkle leaks.
Material seems similar - feels about the same weight. I’ll weigh both suits some time.
Overall finishing is better - cuff rings are taped, seams are better quality and pockets are miles better. I have the bellows pockets that are flimsy and too small. Otter has zippered flaps with internal wet notes pocket and bungees.
Back panel is elasticated.
Bag is bigger and has a much better zip.
I went with Kubi and a cuff dump. I also went for SiTech neck ring again and have transferred my Waterproof neoprene neck seal over.
Overall the quality is better. Will see how it dives in a couple of weeks.
My Nova has about 50 dives on it. It’s showing signs of wear in the crotch area and the cuffs. I haven’t had a dry dive for a while now so it’s going back to Seaskin for a pressure test and have any repairs done that are needed. I was going to change the Ultima DGS for Kubi and get bigger pockets fitted but I’m not sure it’s worth the expense for what will be a backup suit. The Kubi DGS is night and day difference in quality over the Waterproof system.
So there’s quite a price difference between the 2 suits (I’ll work the actual amount out by speccing up a Nova similar to the Otter) but it’s probably around £1000. Will it be worth the extra? Hard to know. I do think the Otter will far outlast the Nova. But at the price of an Otter I could get SeaSkins.
What I will say is the Seaskin is absolutely worth the price, when it doesn’t leak. The variety of options is fantastic and all options are well priced. I bought it as a first suit and didn’t want to spend a fortune in case I didn’t keep diving. Would I have bought another one when the time came to replace it? No, probably not.
Hopefully this gives a bit of help for anyone wanting a Nova.
Couple of comparison pics -
Otter -
Nova
Otter
Nova
Otter
