In 2010 Aqualung "aquired" the brand/company Whites Diving from Frank White, the original maker of the Fusion drysuit. Aqualung initialy continued producing/marketing the line of drysuits with little in the way of changes under the "Whites" brand name.
In 2015, Aqualung dropped the "Whites" branding and began marketing the Fusion suits under the Aqualung brand name.
In 2016, Aqualung introduced the "AirCore" version of the fusion suit. This was quite the improvement as the new material was a waterproof breathable material akin to Gore-Tex, that made significant improvements to the Fusion lineup:
-Comfort was improved as the original "DryCore" version of the suit was not breathable. The waterproof breathable fabric made the suit much more bearable on warm weather days prior to splashing.
-Durability was improved as the "DryCore" fabric was very thin and prone to cutting/tearing, whereas the "AirCore" material was a bit thicker and less prone to damage. Although the DryCore material was very easy to patch, having a suit that was less prone to this need was a definitive improvement.
-Overall the DryCore fabric was not well received as it had a plastic bag like handling and made a certain "crunching" noise when the diver moved that earned it the moniker the "trash bag" suit among many circles of divers.
Sometime last year, Frank White reaquired the production rights of his design(s) from a financially strugling Aqualung, and restablished his company as "Whites Drywear".
While browsing Whites Drywear's website, one will note that their ad copy for their Fusion suits states they are made from "DryCore" material. An email exchange between myself and Whites confirmed they are indeed making suits out of the older non-breathable DryCore fabric.
In my opinion, the major steps in the wrong direction are as follows:
1. They have returned to using the "DryCore" material instead of the sturdier and waterproof-breathable "AirCore" material.
2. They have abandoned the rapid zip system and gone back to the velcro attachment for the outer skin of the suit.
3. They are continuing to use the Si-Tech Neck Tite neck ring system which is Si-Techs 1st generation, and while a decent system, Si-Tech has produced 2 other generations of their neck ring system made from materials that have more flexibility and hence, increased comfort compared with the Neck Tite ring system.
I am not sure what direction Whites Drywear is heading, but at first it seemed that buying their company back was a good thing....not so sure since they are abandoning the advances made in their product. It will be interesting to see if they can hang on to any part of the market segment given the changes they have reverted to.
Anyone else have any thoughts or insight on this?
-Z
In 2015, Aqualung dropped the "Whites" branding and began marketing the Fusion suits under the Aqualung brand name.
In 2016, Aqualung introduced the "AirCore" version of the fusion suit. This was quite the improvement as the new material was a waterproof breathable material akin to Gore-Tex, that made significant improvements to the Fusion lineup:
-Comfort was improved as the original "DryCore" version of the suit was not breathable. The waterproof breathable fabric made the suit much more bearable on warm weather days prior to splashing.
-Durability was improved as the "DryCore" fabric was very thin and prone to cutting/tearing, whereas the "AirCore" material was a bit thicker and less prone to damage. Although the DryCore material was very easy to patch, having a suit that was less prone to this need was a definitive improvement.
-Overall the DryCore fabric was not well received as it had a plastic bag like handling and made a certain "crunching" noise when the diver moved that earned it the moniker the "trash bag" suit among many circles of divers.
Sometime last year, Frank White reaquired the production rights of his design(s) from a financially strugling Aqualung, and restablished his company as "Whites Drywear".
While browsing Whites Drywear's website, one will note that their ad copy for their Fusion suits states they are made from "DryCore" material. An email exchange between myself and Whites confirmed they are indeed making suits out of the older non-breathable DryCore fabric.
In my opinion, the major steps in the wrong direction are as follows:
1. They have returned to using the "DryCore" material instead of the sturdier and waterproof-breathable "AirCore" material.
2. They have abandoned the rapid zip system and gone back to the velcro attachment for the outer skin of the suit.
3. They are continuing to use the Si-Tech Neck Tite neck ring system which is Si-Techs 1st generation, and while a decent system, Si-Tech has produced 2 other generations of their neck ring system made from materials that have more flexibility and hence, increased comfort compared with the Neck Tite ring system.
I am not sure what direction Whites Drywear is heading, but at first it seemed that buying their company back was a good thing....not so sure since they are abandoning the advances made in their product. It will be interesting to see if they can hang on to any part of the market segment given the changes they have reverted to.
Anyone else have any thoughts or insight on this?
-Z
