Thinkin about an Isotherm

[Diver Dude]

I tried my wet suit on this afternoon just to check it out before the new season starts.
It has shrunk over the last few years and has so many holes in it, it looks like I got in a bad knife fight and lost.
I was ready to order a new 7mm farmer john when I started to read about the Isotherm.
Lots of info in this forum on them. I still have a few questions.
Is the Isotherm more difficult to put on than a wetsuit? I dove with some guy last year who had a semidry(don't know what kind) and he really struggled getting that thing on.
Can less lead be used when comparing to a 7mm farmerjohn?

 

[FFMDiver]

These suits are wierd. The sizes are tricky, its tough to fit a stock size. Youll need to fold all the openings and burp it in the water. Go for the drysuit.:05:

 

[Diver Dude]

These suits are wierd. The sizes are tricky, its tough to fit a stock size. Youll need to fold all the openings and burp it in the water. Go for the drysuit.:05:

I should have mentioned I have a drysuit.
I'm beginning to see that getting a semidry would blow my main premise on dive gear and that is KISS.
Thanks for the input, FFM.

 

[Zak OHara]

You know there is nothing weird about these suits. For all intensive purposes they are no different than a one piece wetsuit. Happens to zip in the back rather than in the front. The big difference between this suit and and the wetsuit is, it almost eliminates water transfer. It is not a dry suit it is a semi dry. The zipper is dry, it does have seals at the entry points (wrist, neck and leg). They are designed to be rolled under creating a seal similar to a neoprene drysuit.

Because it is 8mm in the chest and 6.5mm everywhere else, it will have less neoprene than a traditional farmer john, thus allowing you to remove some lead from your weight belt.

As far as ease of putting it on. Shouldn't be any more difficult than any other wetsuit. As with all things, the more often you do something, and more familiar you are with it, the easier it becomes.

As for fit. Well each manufacturer has there own pattern and most suits will fit differently, this is something you have to try on and see for yourself. With the Isotherm it is not as critical to have a tight, form fitting suit because the suit minimizes the water transfer, unlike the normal wetsuit.

I hope this dispells some of the unknowns about the isotherm. Our new suit has been very popular, due to function and value.

Best Regards,

Zak

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

I used an isotherm for around a dozen dives. Prior to that I was using a two-piece.

The isotherm was easy to don and I dropped several pounds of lead (around 3-4+ lb from memory) going to it from the two piece. If you have a normal-sized body they fit well.

Both suits were similar in warmth - the two piece had an edge here thanks to having around 14 mm of insulation: however the isotherm was far more flexiable and more comfortable to wear. For colder dives (12-15 C) I would add a small diving undershirt (I forget its name) under the isotherm.

In the end though I bit the bullet and went dry - and will never dive cold water wet again. However I liked the isothem when I was diving it.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[5ata]

Hey Zak, how goes it???

I dive a suit similar to the Isotherm, the Cressi Semistagna, and to be honest, I prefer to dive this kind of suit over a drysuit unless diving VERY cold water. One less thing to have go wrong as far as I'm concerned.