White's Fusion One VS. Fusion Sport

[Cheule]

I am looking into getting a Fusion One, and was wondering if spending the extra $400 to get the SLT is worth it.

The way I see it, the main differences are:

1) back vs front zipper
2) no SLT on Fusion One
3) outer shell is changeable on Sport

the zipper placement isn't much of an issue, as I always dive with a buddy. The outer shell being upgradable on the sport seems like a non-issue because I don't want extra pockets or weight.

So I'm mainly wondering if people think I'm likely to break a neck seal in a relatively short amount of time, and if having the SLT system saves dives. I'm assuming SLT means self changing the wrist seals too?

How hard would a neck seal change be on a Fusion One?

Feel free to give me any reason to get one or the other. Right now I want to choose the Fusion One because it's more streamlined, lighter weight, and $400 cheaper.

 

[00wabbit]

I like the SLT system. If I go on a trip I can bring an extra wrist seal and extra neck with me and if one pops on me I can be fixed up and back in the water in no-time.

The SLT system does include the wrists.

You can also easily add Si-tech drygloves to the SLT system. They are designed to work together.


I can't tell you about the Fusion one vs Sport. I have the Fusion Bullet Skin.

 

[TSandM]

The neck ring is necessary, if you want to use silicone seals. It works very well, but it definitely has downsides. It significantly impacts the mobility through the shoulders, which is one of the nicest things about the Fusion dry suits. This is worse if you are small-framed, but I recently spent some time with a much bigger man who has discovered he can no longer reach his valves in doubles, since he put the ring system in his suit.

Changing neck seals is not a horrible do-it-yourself repair, if you can find the right size and shape of object to fill the neck opening of the suit and get it to lie flat. But I have to confess to not having done it myself on a Fusion, because the urethane bag is rather fussy about what adhesives work on it, and I'm not sure what the best thing is to use. However, I know of several places that do good repair work on Fusions, including Dive Right In Scuba. It's a nuisance to have the suit out of your hands for a couple of weeks, but most of us do have down times in diving (and if you're the kind of obsessed diver who doesn't, you need two suits!)

 

[Cheule]

Thanks wabbit and Lynne for your insights. This is want I wanted (and feared) to hear. These are things that make me think the Sport is worthy of the extra $400. I specifically hadn't realized the Fusion One didn't have silicon neck seals (that's what you meant Lynne?). Are they latex? I test dove a Fusion Bullet, and was especially fond of the latex's feel. Not too constricting.

 

[eelnoraa]

Since you are buying new, I would say go with the Sport. "the zipper placement isn't much of an issue, as I always dive with a buddy" is an over statement. I started with an used back zip suit thinking the same thing, but it is just inconvinient. You need other to operate it. Not always, you have a careful buddy to do this. Getting undergarment material caught in zipper and cause a leak is a real possibility. Another more practical issue is back zipper makes reaching for valve harder. So after 2 years of owning my back zip suit, I switched to front zip. So if you are getting a few one, get it right once. It will save your more money in long run.

 

[TSandM]

Yes, if you want silicone seals, you have to have the neck ring system. The seals on the One are latex.

I don't like the Bullet. I find the heavy skin, the slow drying and the reduced flexibility diminish the positive things about the Fusion.

 

[TravisD]

The silicone seals are pretty sweet. I'm not small, and I'm able to comfortably dive my fusion without trimming either the neck or the wrist seals.

The wrist rings are a little cumbersome, having warm dry hands to go along with the rest of your body is freakin' awesome.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

I would spend the extra money now and go with the sport, I started out with a back zip and now I have two suits. If I did it again I would go with out the neck ring as I find it to stiff and constricting. I would also install the wrist wrings myself as the way Whites installs them it makes the wrist opening around 2/3 the size it should be.

 

[Cheule]

I dove a Fusion Bullet and didn't notice anything constricting about the wrist rings or neck ring. I was only in it for about 30 min, in a pool, but I think I would have noticed if it was bothering me. I really remember their rental reg setup bothering me, so I was thinking about such things, but the suit felt good to me. And this was the heavier Bullet which I'm not interested in. I felt the big @ss pockets on the legs had to go.