Who hates their White Fusion Dry Suit?

[Eric Sedletzky]

True......I use a weight belt.....I am sure I need a few more pounds.....I am just so tired and sick of messing with this dam thing. It is hard every step of the way.....I see people donning a DUI or other trilam suits and they put them on without feeling like they are in a WWE match....and they walk around and look so comfortable. Maybe because of my body type I am 5'7 about 195. I am not obese.....I wear 33 waist pants....but I am muscular and thick so to fit my size I need a suit made for someone 6'1" and there is so much extra material. I am just exhausted messing with this thing. Thank you for the advise. What is the best advise to off loading a Dry Suit in excellent condition? Donate and take a tax deduction or try to sell it....if so sell it where Scubaboard?

I ran into a lot of the same problems you experienced with trying to dive dry. I decided to just go back to custom wetsuits that are thick and fit well. I don’t dive very deep anymore, 100’ is a push for me and when I do it’s not for very long. Most of the action is 60’ and shallower where I dive so a wetsuit is fine. No problems, no sweating, no leaking zippers, no leaking seals, no more miserable hikes in full gear feeling like I’m going to black out because I’m roasting to death plus a tight neck seal. No more buddy needed to zip up the back, no more worry about chafing and holes. I’m so much happier just diving wet. Pull on your suit and jump in.
Nothing to fail.
Believe it or not most people around here dive wet, and this is supposed to be dry suit country?
I like to dive off a kayak. Have you ever dived off a kayak using a drysuit? F’ing nightmare!! Miserable doesn’t even begin to describe the experience!
You have to be fully zipped before you get anywhere near the water. Roll your kayak with an unzipped drysuit and it could be a disaster, possibly fatal.

 

[Gareth J]

I have had three DUI's, and the Whites.

Two DUI membranes. Both where as 'wet' in side as the Whites. I have come to the conclusion this is the issue with membrane suits. The other DUI was a crushed Neoprene, notably the neoprene made it appear drier inside (although it wasn't).
Getting it off is always a two man job, but then the same could be said with most drysuits.

Notably, you can dry the condensation out inside a membrane much quicker than a crushed Neoprene.
Also membrane make much better travel suits, they are lighter and much quicker drying (in and out).

My Whites must be 6 years old now, and still going strong. In fairness all my suits have lasted. I didn't expect much from my Whites. It was a temporary suit. My crushed neoprene DUI had passed its use by date. If the quality of the more recent suits hadn't been so poor, and backed by such poor customer service I would have bought a new DUI.

Although my Whites is still going strong, I have considered a new O3. Maybe in the Autumn for next year. That said, I keep putting off buying a replacement camera.

It's a very easy suit to dive.
I changed the Sitech cuffs for Kubi's, an excellent upgrade. At the same time I had the arms shortened.

I would say they are a great suit for a school, minimal number of suits to fit a wide range of diver 'shapes'.

Gareth

 

[sfdiver140]

Hello Steve,

Evolution ll, sounds like a Pinnacle suit.

It's all in the sizing.

Example: if you normally wear ''large'' in your clothing, and just happen to be ''tall'', your dry suit has to be a large/tall.

If you jump up to an XL to get the extra inseam length, the suit is going to be far too big! A large mens suit is for the 180/200 pound range, and XL will fit a 230/250 pound range male.

The suit will be very uncomfortable due to all the creases, especially when the air inside the suit is exhausted, the suit will trap air in the over abundant creases that will not exhaust, keeping you positively buoyant.

A properly fitting dry suit/undergarment set should be no more positively buoyant than a properly fitting 7mm wet suit.

I've been on dive boats, where some dry suit divers are wearing enough ballast to sink the Queen Mary, totally unnecessary.

I dive with a dry suit full time at home (North Pacific), I have a neoprene DUI CF 200, it fits me like a glove, and I wear no lead ballast, don't own any. I dive with HP steel, double 80's. My suit was custom made for me, it wasn't cheap, but far less expensive than what some folks are going through with a dry suit that does not fit properly.

You really need to do your homework when buying a dry suit, especially if it's your first one.

Shop associates get all starry eyed, when they think $3000. is about to go into the cash register and sometimes are more focused on filling the register, than they are in ensuring you're getting the proper product for your needs.

I don't believe dry suits are something you can easily buy on-line, unless you're replacing exactly what you have.

Rose

Very good advise thank you Rose for your response.

 

[sfdiver140]

I ran into a lot of the same problems you experienced with trying to dive dry. I decided to just go back to custom wetsuits that are thick and fit well. I don’t dive very deep anymore, 100’ is a push for me and when I do it’s not for very long. Most of the action is 60’ and shallower where I dive so a wetsuit is fine. No problems, no sweating, no leaking zippers, no leaking seals, no more miserable hikes in full gear feeling like I’m going to black out because I’m roasting to death plus a tight neck seal. No more buddy needed to zip up the back, no more worry about chafing and holes. I’m so much happier just diving wet. Pull on your suit and jump in.
Nothing to fail.
Believe it or not most people around here dive wet, and this is supposed to be dry suit country?
I like to dive off a kayak. Have you ever dived off a kayak using a drysuit? F’ing nightmare!! Miserable doesn’t even begin to describe the experience!
You have to be fully zipped before you get anywhere near the water. Roll your kayak with an unzipped drysuit and it could be a disaster, possibly fatal.

Eric wow......so true......I am like you I really don't dive that deep and with all points you brought up you make perfect sense.....a well fitted wet suit or even a semi-dry (just a better wet suit) is put on and go.......honestly with a wet suit my buoyancy is perfect, I never had an issue always felt super confident in all of my diving skills......I wonder if my desire to go dry years ago was just because I thought that was the progression of a good diver. Yet in a dry suit I am terrible, buoyancy issues, never comfortable, too hot, hard to put on, need help, exhausted by the time I am ready to hit the water, I have spent hours reading, talking to other divers, putting the suit on, taking it off...all to learn and feel comfortable. This weekend I tried (for the last time) to use the White drysuit I had a new undergarment to test out...(thank you dive shop) after an again terrible dive as I was exiting through a light surf as I stepped up I lost my footing and down to my knees I went.....so I crawled until I was completely away from the water. Now.....as I tried to get up I could not get my right leg in a position to stand because the suit with the undergarment was so binding I had no range of motion.....SO.....I was so embarrassed because I needed help to stand....yup we have all seen those new diver who can't get out of the water and need help.....well I was one! Diving wet never looked so good......Thank you for you advise!

 

[sfdiver140]

I ran into a lot of the same problems you experienced with trying to dive dry. I decided to just go back to custom wetsuits that are thick and fit well. I don’t dive very deep anymore, 100’ is a push for me and when I do it’s not for very long. Most of the action is 60’ and shallower where I dive so a wetsuit is fine. No problems, no sweating, no leaking zippers, no leaking seals, no more miserable hikes in full gear feeling like I’m going to black out because I’m roasting to death plus a tight neck seal. No more buddy needed to zip up the back, no more worry about chafing and holes. I’m so much happier just diving wet. Pull on your suit and jump in.
Nothing to fail.
Believe it or not most people around here dive wet, and this is supposed to be dry suit country?
I like to dive off a kayak. Have you ever dived off a kayak using a drysuit? F’ing nightmare!! Miserable doesn’t even begin to describe the experience!
You have to be fully zipped before you get anywhere near the water. Roll your kayak with an unzipped drysuit and it could be a disaster, possibly fatal.

Eric, I have heard about many people diving wet in your area.....I have quite a few friends in your neck of the woods....I have been on several dive trips with Sonoma Coast Dive shop, I began travel with them when it was Bamboo Reef and Pam was the guide. I really like your explanation!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Eric wow......so true......I am like you I really don't dive that deep and with all points you brought up you make perfect sense.....a well fitted wet suit or even a semi-dry (just a better wet suit) is put on and go.......honestly with a wet suit my buoyancy is perfect, I never had an issue always felt super confident in all of my diving skills......I wonder if my desire to go dry years ago was just because I thought that was the progression of a good diver. Yet in a dry suit I am terrible, buoyancy issues, never comfortable, too hot, hard to put on, need help, exhausted by the time I am ready to hit the water, I have spent hours reading, talking to other divers, putting the suit on, taking it off...all to learn and feel comfortable. This weekend I tried (for the last time) to use the White drysuit I had a new undergarment to test out...(thank you dive shop) after an again terrible dive as I was exiting through a light surf as I stepped up I lost my footing and down to my knees I went.....so I crawled until I was completely away from the water. Now.....as I tried to get up I could not get my right leg in a position to stand because the suit with the undergarment was so binding I had no range of motion.....SO.....I was so embarrassed because I needed help to stand....yup we have all seen those new diver who can't get out of the water and need help.....well I was one! Diving wet never looked so good......Thank you for you advise!

You betcha!
I’ve had several wetsuits made since my drysuit days, all from M&B wetsuits in Long Beach.
I wore them all out and am now using a Yazbeck freediving suit. I thought it was just going to be a temporary thing but it’s been working so good that I’m just going to keep using it until it’s toast then I’m probably going to try one from JMJ wetsuits in Torrance. They make a great two piece. Or the other one is a place in Oxnard that makes custom suits for urchin divers. Look for commercial quality suits if you have one made, they are heavy duty and warmer.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Eric, I have heard about many people diving wet in your area.....I have quite a few friends in your neck of the woods....I have been on several dive trips with Sonoma Coast Dive shop, I began travel with them when it was Bamboo Reef and Pam was the guide. I really like your explanation!

Oh yeah I remember Pam, little miss sales lady.
Mendocino County is where it’s at man, it’s like point lobos on steroids. I don’t like to tell too many people about it, but then I think, they’ll never make it up there anyway. There’s some world class diving up along that stretch of coast.
In your location is the garlic capitol of the world you could make a weekend out of it, grab a campsite or find digs at a b&b or get a house, bring all your tanks because SubSurface dried up (tears) and do shore dives. Some of the best shore diving in CA AFAIK.

 

[Grey Goose]

If you are judging your latest decision on your weight check and the fact you floated up, this would have occurred in any suit you had. Also, sounds like you did your weight check wrong. When you exhale, you should sink not float at chin level. This suggests that you were underweighted.

 

[sfdiver140]

Oh yeah I remember Pam, little miss sales lady.
Mendocino County is where it’s at man, it’s like point lobos on steroids. I don’t like to tell too many people about it, but then I think, they’ll never make it up there anyway. There’s some world class diving up along that stretch of coast.
In your location is the garlic capitol of the world you could make a weekend out of it, grab a campsite or find digs at a b&b or get a house, bring all your tanks because SubSurface dried up (tears) and do shore dives. Some of the best shore diving in CA AFAIK.

I love that stretch of coast.....like many I used to Ab dive around Salt Point area and we camped at Still Water Cove regional park. Where would I look in to a commercial suit? You have been diving wet post dry suit for a while and sound like you have great knowledge of custom wetsuits.....what is your wet suit maker recommendation to have a custom wet suit made? Do they all make commercial wet suits? Thank you for your help.

 

[Sol]

I've just gone to an FLX after almost six years in a Fusion. I'm still getting used to it -- buoyancy, weighting, trimming out, dumping gas, etc. -- but whoever compared getting into and out of the Fusion to a WWE match, be assured that's still the case with the FLX. But that's just me. YMMV.