which drysuit : Northern Diver CNX25 or Divemaster

[milkathecow]

hi,

I am looking for my first dry suit, for the cold days in mallorca and for my swiss return in the nice alpine lakes.

I have choosen a northern diver, but am hesitating on 2 models.

1) cnx 25, 2.5mm hypercompressed neoprene
http://www.ndiver.com/site/drysuits/drysuit_cnx25.html

2) divemaster : 4mm hypercompressed neoprene.
http://www.ndiver.com/site/drysuits/drysuit_divemaster.html

both seem pretty good, can adapt dry gloves, add pockets and so on.

Use : mainly teaching, and diving for myself. therefore i will be passing a lot of time kneeling down on the bottom, not moving so much, which is why i am hesitating between the 2 thicknesses. The divemaster seems according to description to be a little bit more designed for hard wear, but i'm still not convinced.

Water temperature in mallorca is around 10-18°C in the winter, and in switzerland we reach the 2-3°. Will also be organizing some ice diving somestage, and will use it then too.

I can have a front or back zip, and i am opting for a front zip, due to the fact of teaching... what do you guys think ? front / back ? is it just a in-out issue or is there something more to it ?

Any idea, tips, hints, things i should check, ask, or more before buying ? (will try it first in any case).

thanks in advance,

 

[300bar]

IMHO non of the above:no
Why not you'll say,well i'v been a dealer for northen diver and found out
they don't have any customer service.We had very many suits for customers and staff
that were leaking on the first dive,and i mean leaking big time.Al the seams where so badly made that the suits just burst open.
All the suits had to go back and it always took them from 6 weeks up to 6 months
to get them fixed:shakehead

 

[francousteau]

I must be lucky then. I've had my ND Cortex for about a year and a half, with 100+ dives and haven't had leaks. I've replaced my wrist seals a couple of months ago (with some heavy duty seals I got from Bob3), but that's nothing unusual. I've only seen a few other divers on some NJ boats using ND, but no one has said anything negative about them. Just my 2c.