I just wanted to take a few minutes and provide my personal feedback on my Seaskin Nova and options now that I've had it a little while and have over 20 dives in it for other folks to reference when they order.
I'm a fairly new diver (about 150 dives), no prior drysuit experience. I ordered in Jan 2025, got it in April 2025, did the SSI course with it, and have been diving mostly at a quarry with a few NC coast dives the past 6 months. Nearly of those have been in temps from the mid 60s - mid 70s F (or roughly 17-25 C), with a thin undergarment and occasionally a second thin top layer. I look forward to winter diving with this and wanted to make sure I was very comfortable diving it with just the base layer before adding thick undergarments.
Overall: I love it, the fit is fantastic (except for one item I'll cover below), it's comfortable, easy to don and doff, light but durable, I've had no leaks other than a fingernail hole in a wrist seal (my fault). Here are the options I ordered (excluding colors which were black, blue, and dark grey stitching, see pic below). I did gain some weight (10-15 lbs) between Jan when I ordered and now, but I still fit comfortably, at least without thicker undergarments.
SeaSkin Tech Base: very comfortable, nice weight for warm waters.
Seaskin 150 Undersuit: I haven't used this much yet, will provide feedback later.
SiTech Quick Neck Seal: Very comfortable, easy to change. I took 2 rings off and it fits and seals great. They were out of the tool when I ordered, but mailed me one later. I also ordered an extra seal.
Warm Simple Neck: I got this mostly so that it cleans up the look and to help with making sure my harness webbing doesn't accidentally damage the exposed neck seal. It does a good job at these, not sure if adds any warmth but I like it.
SiTech Oval Cuff Rings/Seals: I like the low profile, very easy to change seals (I did tear one with my finger nail). I don't plan to dive with dry gloves any time soon, so this works well for me. I also ordered 2 extra seals.
Telescoping Torso: A must for me. I would struggle a lot to get my head back out and take it off without this. I know this from when I forgot to unbuckle it and got stuck trying to get out.
Dry zip cover: I like this for storage and cleaning, it makes it easier than using the main zipper and also looks cleaner.
SiTech Trigon Pee Valve and pee valve hose tidy. I really like this feature. it's easy to use, low profile. I did replace the connecto with quick disconnects to make things even easier. The tidy option helps keep it from getting in the way of my leg when donning.
Move Dump to DIR: It's in the right location for me to reach it if needed (I dive with it open) and it's the right spot to slightly lift the left shoulder when I need to vent.
40mm Braces: I leave the bottom half of my drysuit on during surface intervals and walk around with the top off. These wide suspenders make that very comfortable. I did modify these slightly by folding the end over and taping them with a nylon repair tape. This makes a thick end that won't pull through the buckle which did happen when it was loose (not while wearing).
Elastic Back Panel: This might be unnecessary. I don't really notice it and the waist straps of the back plate webbing cinch that area in to me when I have it on, so I'd probably skip it next time.
Expedition Pockets: I was worried these might be too big but they are great. They do have an inside thin pocket that is the same width and depth but for narrow items (good for wet notes) and the main pocket, as well as a small zipped pocket on the flap. There are two large loop bungees and one small loop bungees in main pocket as well as 2 medium sized bungee loops in the zippered flap. I found the large bungees in the main pocket got tangled pretty easily so I slide some heat shrink over them to make the loop part smaller. The inside narrow pockets also do not have grommets to drain so I added two holes in them very carefully in the same place as the main pocket grommets using a soldering pencil so water can drain out from the bottom. I keep wet notes and spare mask on my right with extra room, and on my left I can fit a divevolk camera and SMB with spool no problem.
Custom Feature: I asked them for a name patch but to sew it on velcro square so I could remove it and swap it with other fun patches. See photo for an NC patch I put on.
Tech Boots: This is the only issue I had with the suit. I do not blame Seaskin and they have been very helpful. My size falls right between XL and XXL. I wish I had thought more about this and would have requested to pay for a pair of them to try first before completing the order. In my order I have down that I'm a Euro 44/45 with a 28cm foot length. I have a slightly wide foot, so the 44/45 usually gives me better room. The XL boot they use is a 43/44 and the XXL is a 45/46. Logically, they put on the XXL since too big is better than too small. And it was just way too big. I had about 1.5cm of extra space in the toe and the ankle was huge. I temporarily dealt with this using gaiters, triple insoles, double socks, foam in the toes, but it wasn't great and the fit was sloppy. I talked with them about it and they volunteered to make it right. I asked them to ship me a pair of XLs so I could try them, and then if they fit, I'd take care of installation. They agreed without hesitation and shipped me the XLs at no charge. I've since swapped over to the XLs and they feel wonderful. I am still using a thick wool insole since the insole that comes with them is very thin rubber, but no need for gaiters and they finally feel right. If anyone is curious, they use Beaver Sports D4 4mm drysuit boots.
Overall I felt communication with SeaSkin was great (email sometimes took a while, but calls always got answered). They were excellent about shipping me the neck seal tool later and a new set of boots all at no cost. I haven't felt like I'm missing any features I'd want, and I think the only one I would skip if were to order again is the elastic back panel.
Thank you to all of you on this thread for helping me research and order this!
I'm a fairly new diver (about 150 dives), no prior drysuit experience. I ordered in Jan 2025, got it in April 2025, did the SSI course with it, and have been diving mostly at a quarry with a few NC coast dives the past 6 months. Nearly of those have been in temps from the mid 60s - mid 70s F (or roughly 17-25 C), with a thin undergarment and occasionally a second thin top layer. I look forward to winter diving with this and wanted to make sure I was very comfortable diving it with just the base layer before adding thick undergarments.
Overall: I love it, the fit is fantastic (except for one item I'll cover below), it's comfortable, easy to don and doff, light but durable, I've had no leaks other than a fingernail hole in a wrist seal (my fault). Here are the options I ordered (excluding colors which were black, blue, and dark grey stitching, see pic below). I did gain some weight (10-15 lbs) between Jan when I ordered and now, but I still fit comfortably, at least without thicker undergarments.
SeaSkin Tech Base: very comfortable, nice weight for warm waters.
Seaskin 150 Undersuit: I haven't used this much yet, will provide feedback later.
SiTech Quick Neck Seal: Very comfortable, easy to change. I took 2 rings off and it fits and seals great. They were out of the tool when I ordered, but mailed me one later. I also ordered an extra seal.
Warm Simple Neck: I got this mostly so that it cleans up the look and to help with making sure my harness webbing doesn't accidentally damage the exposed neck seal. It does a good job at these, not sure if adds any warmth but I like it.
SiTech Oval Cuff Rings/Seals: I like the low profile, very easy to change seals (I did tear one with my finger nail). I don't plan to dive with dry gloves any time soon, so this works well for me. I also ordered 2 extra seals.
Telescoping Torso: A must for me. I would struggle a lot to get my head back out and take it off without this. I know this from when I forgot to unbuckle it and got stuck trying to get out.
Dry zip cover: I like this for storage and cleaning, it makes it easier than using the main zipper and also looks cleaner.
SiTech Trigon Pee Valve and pee valve hose tidy. I really like this feature. it's easy to use, low profile. I did replace the connecto with quick disconnects to make things even easier. The tidy option helps keep it from getting in the way of my leg when donning.
Move Dump to DIR: It's in the right location for me to reach it if needed (I dive with it open) and it's the right spot to slightly lift the left shoulder when I need to vent.
40mm Braces: I leave the bottom half of my drysuit on during surface intervals and walk around with the top off. These wide suspenders make that very comfortable. I did modify these slightly by folding the end over and taping them with a nylon repair tape. This makes a thick end that won't pull through the buckle which did happen when it was loose (not while wearing).
Elastic Back Panel: This might be unnecessary. I don't really notice it and the waist straps of the back plate webbing cinch that area in to me when I have it on, so I'd probably skip it next time.
Expedition Pockets: I was worried these might be too big but they are great. They do have an inside thin pocket that is the same width and depth but for narrow items (good for wet notes) and the main pocket, as well as a small zipped pocket on the flap. There are two large loop bungees and one small loop bungees in main pocket as well as 2 medium sized bungee loops in the zippered flap. I found the large bungees in the main pocket got tangled pretty easily so I slide some heat shrink over them to make the loop part smaller. The inside narrow pockets also do not have grommets to drain so I added two holes in them very carefully in the same place as the main pocket grommets using a soldering pencil so water can drain out from the bottom. I keep wet notes and spare mask on my right with extra room, and on my left I can fit a divevolk camera and SMB with spool no problem.
Custom Feature: I asked them for a name patch but to sew it on velcro square so I could remove it and swap it with other fun patches. See photo for an NC patch I put on.
Tech Boots: This is the only issue I had with the suit. I do not blame Seaskin and they have been very helpful. My size falls right between XL and XXL. I wish I had thought more about this and would have requested to pay for a pair of them to try first before completing the order. In my order I have down that I'm a Euro 44/45 with a 28cm foot length. I have a slightly wide foot, so the 44/45 usually gives me better room. The XL boot they use is a 43/44 and the XXL is a 45/46. Logically, they put on the XXL since too big is better than too small. And it was just way too big. I had about 1.5cm of extra space in the toe and the ankle was huge. I temporarily dealt with this using gaiters, triple insoles, double socks, foam in the toes, but it wasn't great and the fit was sloppy. I talked with them about it and they volunteered to make it right. I asked them to ship me a pair of XLs so I could try them, and then if they fit, I'd take care of installation. They agreed without hesitation and shipped me the XLs at no charge. I've since swapped over to the XLs and they feel wonderful. I am still using a thick wool insole since the insole that comes with them is very thin rubber, but no need for gaiters and they finally feel right. If anyone is curious, they use Beaver Sports D4 4mm drysuit boots.
Overall I felt communication with SeaSkin was great (email sometimes took a while, but calls always got answered). They were excellent about shipping me the neck seal tool later and a new set of boots all at no cost. I haven't felt like I'm missing any features I'd want, and I think the only one I would skip if were to order again is the elastic back panel.
Thank you to all of you on this thread for helping me research and order this!
