Hmm, that is a god questoin, basically I am plannigno ngetting into Cave diving in the near future. Originally I wanted the cf200 but was told it would be to heavy, I am basically going off of recomendations from like minded divers and instructors I have meet.
At one time a few months ago I was going to buy the techniflex suit from USIA, but having dove with a bunch of people who have them that say they absolutely love them, i have decided against going with them(yes I know this makes no sense keep reading), not because they are not a good product but mainly due to seeing how my dealer measures the suits. The suits are measured way to large for the majority of the people who have them here, literally looks like three people could fit into it My boss and a few dive buddies had to have them sent back on there own due to not wanting to deal with the dealer because the measurements given to USIA were not even close to what the real measurements were. And unfortunatley they had to do this on there own dime. That being said USIA is a wonderful company just my dealer in the area I do not trust with the measurements when it comes to that much money being spent.
As for trying to fit into the mold of DIR, well yes and no. I am obviously on the path to becoming DIR proficient but the gear doesn;t have to be 100% what the instructors are wearing, heck I want a green force light, I have yet to see a GUE instructor wearing one, always seesm to be HAlcyon(wonder why). I just want the best gear my money can buy, I spent months researching everything I purchase before I throw down my hard earned cash. Sometimes I spend so dam long researching the net, dealers and various boards reading everythign I could find to the point of almost confusion, but all of my research has been pointing me towards the TLS 350, and I figured i would get the exploration package, to make it a tougher suit, I am not the easiest on gear, I take care of my gear mind you rather well, just I am hard on it. That being said I am also not a tiny little fella, so I was not going to get the cave cut, I tend to be in the gym 5-6 nights a week, which has lead me to beign able to throw around a set of double 130's like it is nothing and also to be in a 7mm wet suit with only about 17 pounds of weight(including backplate and lp95 tank). Sorry off topic there. I am going to talk to DUI today to find out what is going on, if the package is truly on ly available from Europe then I will buy the tls 350 and just pay the extra to add the overlay material on.
Sorry about making this so dam long, way to early and I have a feeling I may not make a lot of sense in this post due to it being early in the morning here in Phoenix.
Steve
