To Gold or Not To Gold, THAT IS THE QUESTION

[Wristshot]

my buddy has a Henderson Gold core, and he swears that it is the greatest thing ever.

Last year I replaced my Mares 5mm gloves with the Henderson Gold Core 5m gloves because he was constantly bragging about how wonderful the Gold Core was. Guess what? The Gold Core gloves go one easier and they remove easier so they are as advertised.

Is the Gold Core worth the extra $$? Only your budget can really define that, but based on the experience of my buddy and myself, I would suggest that the answer would be YES.

Just my 2 mm of neoprene,

Wristshot

 

[fdog]

Had a pretty reasonabally fitting 3mm that I felt was keeping me warm. Happened to read a few complementary reviews of the gold core, so I replaced my suit.

Wow! Forget such trivialities as being significantly warmer. The best part was how easily it slips on. All these years I've groaned through donning a wetsuit (especially wet!)... suddenly gone. Poof. Plus, it dries fast. As in really fast. Like, bone dry over lunch.

My wife bough a 7mm GC, which impressed her enough to replace her quite new O'Neil 3mm with a GC Henderson. She, too, remarks often about the warmth difference.

Delhi Diver, I dry my suit with the gold coating outside for about 15 minutes (when it's dry) then flip it back to rightside out to finish drying. In about 75 degree air temps, the whole suit is dry inside & out in about 30-45 minutes. Not sure where I read this, I think it came with the suit, but they caution you against baking the gold coating in the sun, so I hang mine in the shade when gold-out. When it is in the closet, I hang it nylon-out.

Yes, the Hyperstretch is very compliant. I tried it on. The first thing I noticed is how thin the material (as in non-insulating) would stretch in places. Also, I had seen examples of the nylon delaminating, and the failed material looked very new. Our LDS said their experience was poor with the Hyperstretch, and the neoprene was quite friable. So I chose the GC.

Now the bad part. Since I am tall and thin, my suit is custom made. After plunking down the $ and being measured, it took 3 (three) months for the suit to arrive, and the shoulders were waaaay too wide. So the shop took digital photos, measured, and sent the suit back to be tailored. Another month and a half. Sheesh! The fit now is perfect, though, just like spray paint, and the quality is flawless.

I am inclined to think the slooow service was not an anomaly, since I just went through the same thing with a custom semi-dry from Henderson, all the way down to the 3 months + 2 months. Of course this doesn't apply to stock sizes; my wife fits the stock size like it was custom, and recieved hers from LP in 2 days.

I have tried on a suit from Excel, which has a material very similar to the GC, only silver in color. Even when new it is only half as slippery as the GC. Someone else, Harvey's I think, has a material called Kobalt that is perhaps in the same vein.

Like I said, worth every penny. Did I mention how easily it slips on?

All the best, James

 

[5615mike]

So I got myself a Gold Core 3mm jumpsuit for my Caribbean/Indian Ocean trips, but I have one question about drying the suit.

The instructions say "always dry Gold Core with the fabric side facing out." Now which is the fabric side, the gold core lining or the neoprene exterior?!

Core in.....
by the way. Hyperstretch is much easier to layer suits under than the gold core if you plan on diving colder waters. Also much more comfortable.....dries fast IMO.

 

[PeaceDog]

After working in a shop for two years and instructing for even longer, I've had the opportunity to try out various Henderson suits. I've dove Gold Core and Hyperstretch in temperatures as low as 48 and as high as 83. In my opinion, there is no better suit on the market for warmth than the Gold Core series by Henderson.

My experience with Henderson suits is pretty wide-ranging and extensive, and I say that not to brag but to qualify. I also should point out that I don't get any suits for free, so I can say how much I love the GC without feeling like a whore. I've used suits, hoods, hooded vests, and gloves in that line, and in almost every scenario, they beat every other product I was using before. Up here in Cape Ann, Massachusetts, we put ****e like this through a pretty intense litmus test.

In an effort to be objective, though, I will say that there are several drawbacks to Gold Core products:

1) Gold Core is not especially durable when compared to standard neoprene or even other lined suits I've used. I've had no problem so far with holes in my suits, but I will say that the GC gloves that I use got holes between the fingers after one solid, active season. They're incredibly warm and easy to repair, but it still shouldn't happen. I was usig Deep See's Titanium gloves prior and although the Deep See gloves proved to not be nearly as comfortable or insulating as the GC, they take a beating like a mule.

2) GC hooded vests have a bit less length in the chin-to-neck area, so I always felt like the hood was slipping down my chin througout the dive. I didn't find the product any better than the Seaquest Isoflex hooded vest I was using, so I imagine I'll switch back to that this year.

3) GC suits are very, very easy to get into when you and the suit are both dry, yes. That's true. But if your skin is damp due to a previous dive or just getting out of your car on a hot July day, that's another story completely. I find they're harder to get into than conventional suits, and in a 7mm suit it's just downright torture. This goes for any lined suit, not just GC. The good news about this is that GC suits dry incredibly fast, so this shouldn't be too much of an issue.

In my estimation the Gold Core line is the warmest suit on the market today. But no product is perfect. What you need to decide is how much you need that added warmth in direct proportion to how much you can afford to drop on a suit.

Hope this helps.

 

[jplacson]

Get a wetsuit that fits right... the article stated above in scubadiving.com about wetsuit BS is a good read.

Wetsuit fit is very critical in it's efficiency to keep you warm... but I will tell you this, my first wetsuit was a Henderson Black Maxx fleece suit (supposedly equivalent to 2.5mm) ... I still have no complaints with it, as I still use it for volunteer work when there may be chances of damaging my suit... I currently use a 1.5mm closed-cell Mares Samoa suit which keeps me a lot warmer than the Black Maxx ever did.

I'm not prone to feeling cold... I've gone down with both the Black Maxx and the Mares Samoa in 74 deg waters and never felt cold when most people use 3mm.

But, the Samoa keeps me warmer since it has a tighter fit over-all... the Black Maxx was just a bit loose in some areas (small of my back, neck seal, and around my calves)

The Mares fits a lot better (my build seems to be closer to Mares' body fits than the US brands) and it really does keep me warmer. (I have to let some water in my neck to cool off sometimes)

Don't buy into the whole 'magic thermal properties' BS... a wetsuit works by minimizing water flow through your body... good fit, good neck, wrist, and ankle seals are the 1st line of thermal protection... second is the way the suit is stitched together... glued seams are supposedly better since they do not puncture the neoprene and create a water-tight (or at least as close to it as possible) bag around your body.

Scuba divers don't really pay that much attention to the wetsuit... but take hints from freedivers where wetsuit insulation is vital. I'm not saying go out and buy the most expensive freediving suit you can afford, but freedivers have a better understanding of what to look for in a wetsuit since they rely on every last bit of thermal efficiency that they can have.

 

[PeaceDog]

Don't buy into the whole 'magic thermal properties' BS... a wetsuit works by minimizing water flow through your body... good fit, good neck, wrist, and ankle seals are the 1st line of thermal protection... second is the way the suit is stitched together... glued seams are supposedly better since they do not puncture the neoprene and create a water-tight (or at least as close to it as possible) bag around your body.

John, as a fellow AOW Instructor I have a ton of respect for you and your position, but I disagree with you regarding the lining of a suit not making it warmer. Where we do agree is that absolutely nothing is a substitute for a properly-fitting wetsuit with good stitching and tight wrist/neck/leg seals. I'd even go a step further and say that if your suit has gaskets in the legs and arms as some manufacturers do (Seaquest X-Flex comes to mind here), then you're sound as a pound.

However, I have absolutely, positively found an increase in warmth in lined suits, and it's because that slick lining is far, far better at radiating heat back towards the body than conventional neoprene suits. In the same way water is absorbed into neoprene, so is heat. That's a major factor in pulling warmth away from the body, form-fitting or not.

Scuba divers don't really pay that much attention to the wetsuit... but take hints from freedivers where wetsuit insulation is vital...freedivers have a better understanding of what to look for in a wetsuit since they rely on every last bit of thermal efficiency that they can have.

I couldn't possibly disagree with you more, and I think this is almost a dangerous quote. I won't go so far as to say that scuba divers rely on warmth more than freedivers, but freedivers are generating far more heat energy in their sport than divers are. We move much slower, we don't move anything but our legs if we can help it, and not very fast at that. To say scuba divers don't pay much attention to their wetsuit is about the most rediculous thing I've heard. I'm not a free diver and don't profess to be an expert on it, but I can tell you that as a scuba diver top-notch insulation is absoolutely essential to not only my enjoyment of the sport, but also my safety. It should absolutely be at the top of every diver's prerequisites, second only to air delivery systems.

 

[jplacson]

However, I have absolutely, positively found an increase in warmth in lined suits, and it's because that slick lining is far, far better at radiating heat back towards the body than conventional neoprene suits

i agree with you on this as well, but only to a certain extent... I've found that more people tend to look for 'features' on their wetsuit more than fit. All the lining in the world wouldn't help a poorly fitting wetsuit... on the other hand, a wetsuit with normal lining would keep a diver warm as long as it had a snug fit.

And with regards to divers not paying much attention to their wetsuit... maybe you do. And I too feel that your wetsuit is a vital piece of equipment. But most divers I've gone down with, instructors, tech divers, etc... don't really seem to know much about wetsuits other than what catalogs say. Some tech divers I know dive with just a rash guard and board shorts down to 150' ... now I know cold-tolerance differs from person to person... but I know that the warmer you can keep yourself, the less chances of DCS, regardless of how much cold you can 'tolerate'. I only know of a few people who go through the trouble of having a custom suit made for proper fit... others will just take whatever is off the shelf and not really care if there's a loose section under their arm or neck, etc.

If you read my post, you'll see that I am totally on your side regarding the importance of a proper wetsuit... my only thing is, a lot of wetsuit manufacturers claim 'magic' properties of their suit with some 'space-age' material or lining. Some of these new features do help... but ONLY if the suit fits properly... otherwise, everything else is totally negated.

My post was to show how the 'hi-tech' Black Maxx, despite all it's tri-laminate, torso sheild, fleece lined, etc... was a bit cooler than my better fitting Mares Samoa which is just a basic skin-out suit with excellent neck and wrist seals.

A properly fitted suit with all the trimmings and linings will be a lot warmer than a properly fitted suit without the new features. My main point is... if it doesn't fit right... all the titanium in the world can't keep you warm.

**On the freediver issue... yes they exert more effort and use up more energy, which is why their suits are essential to keep all that radiated heat in and keep them warm. The more heat your body loses, the more energy your body wastes trying to keep warm. Scuba divers are rarely taught the real importance of a wetsuit and the effects of cold and DCS.

 

[PeaceDog]

my only thing is, a lot of wetsuit manufacturers claim 'magic' properties of their suit with some 'space-age' material or lining. Some of these new features do help... but ONLY if the suit fits properly... otherwise, everything else is totally negated.

I agree completely. Like I said, there's no substitution for a good-fitting suit. My whole position is that a good fitting wetsuit with a lining of some sort is definitely going to be warmer than a good fitting wetsuit without. In any case, I don't think custom suits need to come into the picture unless you play pro basketball or are a sumo wrestler. Or maybe the governor of California.

I would also point out that you're correct in saying manufacturers tend to exaggerate the nature of material used in these linings. Seaquest and Deep See are notorious for this, although I love, love, love the Isotek/Isoflex line. It's not real titanium and it's not gonna keep you warm on the space shuttle, either.

I didn't think about your point regarding more heat used is more heat used is more heat lost in relation to free divers. Thanks for the education. It makes perfect sense.

 

[reubencahn]

However, I have absolutely, positively found an increase in warmth in lined suits, and it's because that slick lining is far, far better at radiating heat back towards the body than conventional neoprene suits. In the same way water is absorbed into neoprene, so is heat. That's a major factor in pulling warmth away from the body, form-fitting or not.

Neoprene is a closed cell foam that does not absorb water. If a wetsuit absorbs water, it's time for a new wetsuit. Also, the slick linings of some wetsuits work, not by reflecting heat back but by creating a seal that prevents the flow of water through the suit. Instead of seals at your neck and wrists, the whole suit becomes a series of seals--so long as the suit fits tightly. You can acheive the same effect with a really well fitting suit with good seals. This is where custom suits come in. Where I live, I can purchase a custom suit with great seals and rescue suit zippers for about $125 more than a GC. The suits are made of Rubatex neoprene and will hold up much longer than a GC. So if you're in a similar situation, a custom suit is well worth the effort.

 

[PeaceDog]

Neoprene is a closed cell foam that does not absorb water. If a wetsuit absorbs water, it's time for a new wetsuit. Also, the slick linings of some wetsuits work, not by reflecting heat back but by creating a seal that prevents the flow of water through the suit. Instead of seals at your neck and wrists, the whole suit becomes a series of seals--so long as the suit fits tightly. You can acheive the same effect with a really well fitting suit with good seals. This is where custom suits come in...The suits are made of Rubatex neoprene and will hold up much longer than a GC.

Can you explain to me why it is that standard neoprene suits take hours longer to dry than a GC or similar style suit? If water isn't absorbed into regular neoprene suits, and that great seals are what make the difference, why am I reaching for my GC 3mm over my still-damp standard suit? I don't mean to sound smartass - I really would like clarification.

My experience with custom, standard and lined suits is that lined suits do have a distinct advantage. But that's just my experience. However, I agree with you 100% that the achilles heel to GoldCore suits is their durability.