Wetsuit Search to Date

[SteveR1952]

I have been reading a ton of posts at various forums on wetsuits and have been trying on all the local brands; which is pretty limited. I only used a wetsuit during my OW training dives in a rock quarry and that was many years ago. I am on a steep learning curve at present so forgive my lack of experience and knowledge.

I am looking for a pair of suits....a 3mm or 3/2 for local Summer dives and other warm water locations and a 7mm for winter diving and So. Cal. dives.
I am not interested in dry suits at this time.

I would like a suit with a bit more flexibility than a plain Neoprene rubber suit. I have some motion limitiations on my shoulder so a suit that is easier to put on it better but I don't want to give up warmth and excessive water pumping for it.

My observations so far:
Henderson suits are too long and I am concerned with the Hyperstretch losing thickness at depth moreso than a regular suit. The lack of real wrist, neck and ankle seals concerns me. It seems folks either love them or hate them. I am still deciding at this point but am leaning away from the super strechy stuff right now.

Bare appears to lack adequate seals and has pretty variable reviews.

Scubamax Maxflex is too flashy but seems to fit me pretty well. Can't seem to find any reviews or comments from owners of this suit to see how it really holds up.

Xcel size issue...too long even in a short.

Pinnacle...too much $$$ for what I need at this stage and no local dealers but the Elastipenre with Marino lining seems like a very good suit.

Down130'. No local dealers and limited information but the lifetime warranty and the very decent price makes this very appealing.

I don't want to do custom unless it is a last resort but would consider it if I run out of off the rack options.

Mares...no local dealers. Would like to try the Tropic and the Trilastic Delux. Can't seem to find much information on these from owners.

Akona..no local dealers.

Body Glove..not in my size locally. Heard mixed reviews on the suit. Still on the list at this point.

Scubapro...too $$$ and local dealer has very limited sizes and very high prices.


I am tending to like the zippered wrist and ankles but I can see the fit would have to be pretty good as I have thick wrists and ankles. I am also concerned about the interference between boot zippers and the ankle zippers.

Any comments are welcome.

 

[fran2bo3]

Have you considered the Cressi Lontra, very dry 7mm suit with wrist and ankle zips, also has chimney seals in the ankles. Have used one for past two years and find that due to the great seals I can only feel a trickle water getting in after diving for 20 mins or more. Main criticism is that the "T zip" up the back is too difficult to close by yourself and the pull tag is ridiculously short.

 

[SteveR1952]

Have you considered the Cressi Lontra, very dry 7mm suit with wrist and ankle zips, also has chimney seals in the ankles. Have used one for past two years and find that due to the great seals I can only feel a trickle water getting in after diving for 20 mins or more. Main criticism is that the "T zip" up the back is too difficult to close by yourself and the pull tag is ridiculously short.

I have a shoulder with limited rotation so I need a suit that is "easy" (less difficult) to don and doff. I don't have a local LDS that carries this brand so can't try them on but the suits I have tried with the short back zips are very hard on me so I am looking more at front entry or different back zippers. Also looking for zips on the legs and maybe the wrist depending on fit.

I am an odd size for most suits. I am still thinking about a custom but not sure I want to go that expensive right now.

Thanks for the input.

BTW, my current search is for a Pinnacle Kodiak or Element. Semi-dry front entry with Merino lining.

Also looking at the Xcel Thermobarrier or Thermoflex suit. Keeping an open mind...and NO I am not ready to go dry yet. I need to do a LOT more dives before I am ready to add more complexity and more drag etc.