Wet Suit Feedback, which have you loved, and which do you find issues with?

[GerrysGlitterGirl]

I have been in the market for a new wet suit. Trying them on, learning what I can about each one, and watching for sales, LOL! :cool2:
I thought I had decided upon one, but then learned that the manufacture makes another one I might like more.
And then in questioning "sales" people, oh everyone has an "opinion" based on what they have for sale.

I am looking for quality first, style second. And yes, I am a girlie girl so perhaps some color too.

Store number 1, "Henderson is the Cadillac of wet suits, you can't find better."
Store number 2, "Aqua Lung is the only wet suit made for a real woman's body."
Store number 3, "Bare is based on "real sizing" and would be the only comfortable true fit."

Help please, I am looking for "real" reviews, from humans not wishing to sell me something.

THANKS in advance!

 

[t-mac]

While these are all fine wetsuits, obviously each store is going to try to sell you their own cadillac. I have no dog in the show and in my opinion, Waterproof makes one of the best quality suits. They are not cheap -- at least not the flagship models, but they have amazing quality. I get comments and compliments all the time about the obvious quality. And I find them warmer than their rating because they tend to fit better and have neck, ankle and wrist seals, resulting in very low water movement. My 3 is almost as warm as a 5 from other folks. I use my 5 with a 3 hooded vest and get nearly the same thermal protection as a 7 on 7 farmer john with a fraction of the neoprene. Although being in south Florida, perhaps this isn't as important to you. I can't advise you on the other things, which are personal, though in all honesty the style factor probably goes to the other makers. Have a look at them. They have a close out on 5 mm suits at the moment (or did recently). Good luck!

 

[Tortuga68]

The best wetsuit is the one that fits YOU

 

[uncfnp]

My husband and I both have Henderson H2 wetsuits that we have used for about 100 dives and they are still in great shape. No rips, tears or open seams. A little fuzziness in a few areas from Velcro but other that that they look almost new. But we also take very good care of our gear. They fit great and are very easy to put on, even wet. I have read that they tend to lose thermal protection with time though.

The extra padding in the lumber area is a great feature that I would look for in any wetsuit that I might buy in the future.

i don't know their current styles but I would imagine them to be even better than my older suit.

i know some who swears by Waterproof as well but I found they did not fit my admittedly tomboy frame.

Good luck with your search.

Lisa

 

[Nemrod]

Wet suits see a bunch of abuse and live a rough life. Most rarely endure more than a few years unless you only dive once a year. I would just get whatever fits and make sure it is a scuba suit and not a water sports suit. Some of the water sports and cheap scuba suits have open foam or cheap neoprene that breaks down and are colder than wearing nothing. As well, they compress paper thin at depth offering absolutely no insulation factor. A good suit is nitrogen blown. But, nearly, anything short of US made Rubatex G231 is second rate for deep diving and durability.

N

 

[g1138]

Off the rack, assuming all styles fit you here's what I found.
Keep in mind I'm leaving out water temperature as a factor to make it easier. For me, it's always custom or altered to fit me perfect. I'm not a off the racks shaped guy at all.
I prefer full suits with a hooded vest or hood for skin diving, and a beaver tail jacket/farmer john 2 piece for scuba diving in local 54F waters.
For warm water (75-85) it's a 4/3 fullsuit with gloves and booties (skin and scuba diving). Hood/hooded vest optional.
60-70F it's 4/3 full w/ hood, gloves and booties for skin diving. Add a jacket top for scuba. If I had a 5mm, I'd go with that, but I don't.
I wear gloves all the time because I'm so used to it, and I like the added abrasion protection.

Now my experiences with suits:
1 piece shorties are a hit and miss because sometimes your arms are so skinny that you get a huge water flow through the arm holes. Not a huge issue in warm water, but imagine getting a jelly in there (half kidding, but really).
Remember water flow is what will get you cold quicker. Suits actually insulate you by means of the air bubbles in the material, not the thin layer of water in the suit. If you can keep all water out, that would be ideal but it's not realistic, nor comfy when your suit crimps and sucks in certain places.

1 piece full suits without wrist or ankle zippers are the best of stock suits because they can reduce water flow to the point that you get almost no water in the suit at all (assuming you fit it like a glove; ie no real loose space).
Add wrist and ankle zippers and you have a huge amount of water flow that starts at your legs when you walk in and rushes up to your bum and all the way to your neck even. Rarely will a suit with ankle zippers fit and conform to your legs exactly. They're made to be baggy so they can fit a wide size range of legs.
If you have thick calves or booties, you may not be able to zip your ankle zippers all the way down even.

2 piece farmer johns are specific to the style.
The bottoms are real similar, if it fits you great you might not get any water flow at all unless you have zippers on your booties.
The tops are a different story.
Jackets without an attached hood let a lot of water flow in at the neck. There really is no neck seal to speak of, it's hard to pull off with the design really.

There are jackets with integrated hoods that have a zipper up to the hood's chin. Fit is real hard to find, so often you aren't able to zip it up fully and get a lot of water flow or a real chaffed chin. Depending on your shape, the zipper might even cover your mouth.

Beaver tail style with integrated hoods I find are the best. However these styles are rarely made outside of freediving and custom dive suits. Minimum water flow. They're a pain to take off, but having a half zipper from crotch to chest helps a bit. That or a buddy willing to make light of an awkward situation.

 

[rongoodman]

I've been the most pleased so far with the Henderson H2 suit and hooded vest.

 

[SangP]

I have been in the market for a new wet suit. Trying them on, learning what I can about each one, and watching for sales, LOL! :cool2:
I thought I had decided upon one, but then learned that the manufacture makes another one I might like more.
And then in questioning "sales" people, oh everyone has an "opinion" based on what they have for sale.

I am looking for quality first, style second. And yes, I am a girlie girl so perhaps some color too.

Store number 1, "Henderson is the Cadillac of wet suits, you can't find better."
Store number 2, "Aqua Lung is the only wet suit made for a real woman's body."
Store number 3, "Bare is based on "real sizing" and would be the only comfortable true fit."

Help please, I am looking for "real" reviews, from humans not wishing to sell me something.

THANKS in advance!

Hendersuits are indeed really good and as far as wetsuits go they r pretty much one of the best around. Very high quality neoprene

Fourth element is also another great entry however, their prices are way too much for my tastes.

Scubapro is another every good suit and fit most Asians or slimmer folks very well. Durability is pretty decent too.

Bare velocity is a decent fitting suit but the neoprene used tends to get stiff fast and I've seen many with huge rips in em.

However, if fashion and price is no object, the Japanese make some funky cool custom wetsuits that are over the top in prices too!

 

[in too deep]

I wear a scubapro everflex 5/4mm and a hooded vest, as the name suggests, everflex!, I tried their oneflex and it was too constricting.
If you're lucky enough to fit a stock size it's worth a try.
I tried many other stock suits and the everflex felt the best. I imagine if i went with a custom made suit I could choose from the endless companies and end up with a suit made to measure. This of course is your best option if you can't be fitted correctly.

 

[Token]

I have a Bare Velocity 3/2 that I like a lot...it's stretchy and fits me well, despite my non-standard frame [big torso, short arms and legs]. Can't speak to durability...I only have 15-20 dives on it. I also have a SeaSoft custom semi-dry that fits great and is surprisingly warm for a 5mm suit...but it was very expensive and the custom manufacture process was a heckuva wrangle.

I would be inclined to say that the leading brands of wetsuits all have lots to recommend them. The most important thing is fit. Unless you are a very standard size, you _must_ try them on. Don't pay for brand name or irrelevant features...pay for the suit that fits you perfectly, cause that's the one you'll be happiest with. Try it on!