new dry suit needed

[milldog]

i have about £900 could anyone recommend a relay good dry suit i have only used polar bear and i am looking at the tec one.

i have been recommended 0' three

any ideas

[Sandman]

You need to speak to Dennis at Predator, custom hand made suits and you will have a lot of change from £900.

I've had mine for 3 years and if I had to I'd happily buy another one tomorrow.

Follow the link.

Cheers

Simon

[Little Pete]

Hey Graham,

It really depends whether you want membrane or neoprene though as to what you might look at. If you're interested in membrane then I've put a few below.

I've had some sizing issues with Polar bears but if you fit a stock suit the Explorer isn't bad.

The Protec Explorer seems to be making really big headway among tech and DIR divers in the UK (http://www.protecdrysuits.com/suits2.html). It's basically a very similar suit to the DUI TLS-350 but at much reduced price. Everyone who buys seems to be in love with it.

The Otter Brittanic is a classic 'tech' suit and has a number of good features (when they stick the pockets on the sides!!! ).

[Kent Tooling]

Originally Posted by milldog

i have about £900 could anyone recommend a relay good dry suit i have only used polar bear and i am looking at the tech one.

i have been recommended 0' three

any ideas

I have an Otter Britannic i am very happy with the suit and the after sales service that you get from Divers Warehouse is excellent.

Jag on here has a Brittanic it might fit you, it will also save you a few quid

[chrisch]

There are lots of "good ones", but so many permutations, front entry back etc etc. It really depends on what you want and why. The DUI is a well liked brand as is the BARE which is a canadian copy of the DUI. As it happens I have a BARE for sale

This one: http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/baresho...10&pf_id=61415

Worn once only and too big for me (Okay I'm a twat...) half you budget buys it... (mens size L)

If it doesn't take your fancy (or is the wrong size) take a look at Seaskin - its what I'm thinking of now along with the O3.

Chris

[yellowduke]

Seaskin and Protec are building a very good reputation at the moment and you will get plenty of change from £900. They seem to have plenty of happy customers on YD.

Jim

[milldog]

Pete the link don't work but i have looked at the predator and i do like it however thanks I'm still undecided will have to see the suit Pete's on about first

cheers

G

[Little Pete]

http://www.protecdrysuits.com/suits.html

Sorry, left a bracket in the address.

Dave did a write up on the other site with good pics.

http://www.direxplorers.com/dir-kit-...ghlight=Protec

[Noel Johnson]

I have an O3 MSF500 which I had made to measure and it is absolutely fabulous. 42 metres in the NDC yesterday for 20 minutes and still warm at depth.

www.othree.co.uk

I paid just over 800 for mine 'cos I had a p-valve fitted as well. Well made, great service and superb backup.

HTH

Noel

[Clare Gledhill]

Hiya.

Most important thing about a dry suit (having seen rather a lot pass through the various Twin F, Adv. Nitrox, DIR F etc. courses I've been on) is fit.

The second most important thing is fit.
The third most important thing is fit.

Am I getting through here?

There's really no such thing as a 'tech suit'. Front entry suits are seen as preferable as you are not fighting against a heavy duty zip when you want to move your shoulders to get at your valves. Telescopic suits also help you reach as they give you a bit more movement.

However, I've seen divers in rear entry, neoprene suits perform flawless shutdowns - without any of the floaty feet syndrome that others get in neoprene boots. As long as it fits well - allowing for a full range of movement.

My own experience:

I had a Hunter suit - well two acually as the build quality on the first was not great. They are tough suits - similar to the Otters. They do not come made to measure so if you don't fit a stock size perfectly - don't buy one.

DUI TLS 350 - my original DUI suit is a Quick Zip which is a pain in the arse as it does up right under your harness. Having said that, after the Hunter it was delightfully light to wear, quick drying and It was a stock size and whilst it technically 'fits' it does not fit me as well as I would like as I can feel the suit pulling against me slightly when I shut posts down. My other TLS is just wonderful - but that is because it fits me properly. Made to Measure done by Andy at Hydrotech.

Otter appear to be good suits when they fit (which unfortunately seems to be rare). The build quality though is excellent although as mentioned above they do seem to like the front pocket option - which I'm sure stems back from commerical diving links.

O3 suits are clearly warm - but some people have had problems with the extra heavy duty zips that they put in them - almost giving divers a coat hanger effect. The boots are huge too - and you would almost certainly have to change your fins as the same time.

I'm quite impressed with the Protec suits - they are certainly getting a good name for customer service and they appear prepared to take the time and effort to get a good fit on a made to measure suit. The business is for sale though so we don't know what will happen there.

Polar bears - well they have produced the least fitting suits I have ever seen - but there does not appear to be anything inheritantly worng with the actual suit - if you can get one which fits. They are a damn site closer to you than protec for the fitting sessions though.


HTH