New Elios 6mil smooth out review

[DeepRN]

Chris: I really like the look of those Henderson 5mm Insta-dry mits. They look as if they maintain a good amount of dexterity. I KNOW you're diving cold water right now too. Not too sure how long the local dive shop has loaned them to you for, but please add any further conclusions/comments on them. It would be great to see the new suit - say late spring/early summer in Telegraph Cove?

Gene: My two cents on the new suit... I have a 5mm blackshadow from Elios, open cell, nylon out (not superstretch). It's a great suit. Nice and warm. One thing I will absolutely do with my next suit however, is have knee pads put on. I believe Chris did this with his new suit. This is the location of the most wear (in my opinion), and the knee pads will be an asset.

I still lean toward the nylon exterior (at least for the canadian west coast). There IS heat loss due to wicking. I keep a thin rubber, navy blue rain suit (pant/jacket) with me. I can throw it on between dives and retain most of the warmth.

Cheers

Gabe

[Fondueset]

It took about a month - but results may vary. They said 20 days but I know from experience they are optimists. 2nd week in feb seems reasonable though. Make sure your 'measures' are correct - and expect to have to redo them!

[Fondueset]

Hey Gabe,

They actually GAVE me the insta drys. I happened to have a few 19 inch monitors around and, when I visited them one day, was apalled by the yellowed 14 inch jobs they had - so I gave em to them. Thus; the gloves.

In terms of dexterity and warmth they are superior to my 6.5 mil henderson gold cores. They are actually warmer than the 6 mil 3 finger mits I have and, obviously, more dextrous. I think a good set of titanium or smooth lined 3 finger mits like jon describes would beat them in serious cold however. My hands stay comfortable for about 45 minutes at the current water temp - which I think is at or just below 40F. The other day I was in for 90min - 2 hours and the only reason I got out was my fingertips - but I was being a wus (30mph winds and STILL WARM!!). The cuffs on these gloves are a little short and wide - but they do seal well under the suit. They are by far the best gloves I've used. After my last dive I spent another 30 minutes playing with my Riffe MT0 in shallow water and my hands warmed back up!

TC looks a little sketchy at this point. It is a huge priority and some factors that were a real problem last time are WAY better - but I have some other maneuvers I need to pull off first. We'll see - My new suit is PERFECT for those waters. You wouldn't believe the difference in warmth. If you can swing it a smooth top is awesome for cold conditions and endurance. The kneepads are great and really don't interfere with flexibility in any significant way.

I'll post pics of the gloves and suit tonight.

[Jon]

Gene,

The reason I said that is because we all use wetsuits with attached hoods. If you go ahead and get the Elios suit you will be so warm you won't even think twice about wearing it. I would just keep it for a summer suit and go with the Elios suit alone.

In answer to your previous question, a 5mm suit opencell/nylon would be a great suit to start with and keep you warm enough for the ice dive. 5mm socks are fine as you'll find 7mm socks too thick to fit into any normal sized footpockets. 3-finger mitts, around 5mm, are great for your hands. With stock cut suits I used to wear a Henderson ice cap under my suit, but since I switched to custom cut Elios suits I no longer wear it since the hoods on the suit are cut so nice they keep my face warm all by themselves.

Fred,

I've pissed in a few wetsuits, and even a couple of drysuits, and that never seemed to hurt them much.

Having a nylon lining on one side of the suit decreases the warmth but bolsters the strength, and life span, of them so much it makes them last for years- instead of months.

Jon

[Fondueset]

Right - the Henderson Ice cap! As I mentioned - the new suit has a different cut around the face and I don't need it anymore! Which is good because I lost mine a few weeks ago in a strong south wind. Some cormerant up near Charlevoix has probably fallen in love with it by now.

[Jon]

I'll keep a look out for that cap on this side of the lake.

Here's a few quick shots of what I was talking about.

First, there's a shot of an ice cap. It's 3mm thick and smoothskin on the outside so that your mask can seal to it. Costs about $30.

Next, is a shot of my Picasso 3-finger mitts. These are gold coated on the inside and have a double seal on the wrist. This keeps all water out, but the index finger is cut a bit small on them and it gets cold quicker than the rest- must be made that way to fit inside the trigger guard of a speargun? I see where they now sell for $110! No reason to buy them at the price.

Third, is a shot of my Elios mitts. These are my current favorites- and at $25 you can't go wrong. Silver coating on the inside seals well with my freediving suit even though it doesn't have the fancy double cuff like the Picasso's. The fingers have a nice cut to them and my hands have never gotten cold in them- yet.

Last, are my "ultimate" dry gloves that are so warm, and such a pain to put on, that I rarely wear them. They have drysuit wrist seals on them and can be worn with either a wetsuit or a dry suit- I mainly use them with my kayaking drysuit for winter paddling. They also have some very nice fleece lining which keeps your hands toasty. Only downside is the large size of the fingers- would be just as useful if cut as a mitt. The gloves are so bulky that I have a hard time with my camera controls when I use them. They retail for around $100 but can be bought off of ebay for less. They are good to around 20 meters, but below that they would either squeeze your hand or flood- unless your wearing a drysuit that will allow you to 'burp' air into them.

Jon

[fjohnson]

Originally Posted by icarus pacific

Howzit, Fred? Getting a tad bit cold and white there I see.

just a tad.... the vehicles are on the ice... it's 8" thick already. Little communities of ice houses are springing up on the area lakes and we'll soon have to dig out the 14" bar chain saw to find soft water.
Fred

[Pinggene]

Thanks for all the info/help guys.

I posted my last requests (had included knee pads) and confirmed measurements last night. I'm waiting for the exact quote. Then I will pay and wait.... I feel like a kid in a candy store.

My wife is finding it hard to contain herself from laughing at me, but I don't care. She just doesn't understand. I hope to get her "involved" next year. All of my kids really enjoyed it.

As far as the 7mm socks, I have really small feet (8-1/2), so should be ok to fit in a pocket. Right now, I don't have regular freediving fins...just the strap around the heel kind, but they have worked for surface diving & down to 25' or so...

Any way. Thanks again.

Gene

[Fondueset]

YOU MUST GET FREEDIVING FINS!!!!!!!!

Let the recommendations begin!!

[sanso]

Okay, I´ll start:

Cressi Gara 3000 - my first and only pair of Freediving fins after I used some mares avanti quatro for scuba-doing.
I chose the 3000s because the footpockets fit me really well and they seemed quite not too soft and not too hard.
They make such a he** of a difference that I was completely stunned when I first tried them.

I only know a comparable situation from climbing: have You ever tried rock climbing with sneakers and then with real climbing shoes? That's about how it felt to me.

I can't say anything about the other fins there are, but these definitely rock hard.

sanso

[Pinggene]

Don't worry guys.

Freediving fins are the next thing on the list. One thing at a time...at least on my limited budget.

4 Kids still @ home, 1 in college & 2 married (1 with 2 grandchildren & 3rd on the way), keeps the pocket book kinda light. I feel blessed to be able to do as much as I do...I feed them beans & rice for a couple of weeks to save up LOL

Peace,

Gene

[bjpete]

Hey Gene,
We are planning on a new years day dive/carp shoot here in Madison. Do you think you might be in the area then?
later,

Brian

[Fondueset]

Damn,

I've got some 7-8 garas but I think a tad too small.

[DeepRN]

Nice pic of the ice cap, Jon. That's some serious exposure gear.

FINS: My garas were a mere 30usd on ebay. Straight to me from some guy's dusty closet... and they'll last longer than I'll need'em. I started with pretty much two chunks of stiff blue plastic that were wayyy over-priced at the local dive shop. At least they were blue. I've been shovelling snow with them lately...

Waterway fins are very nice. I'm considering some Nemo Power Fins.

Fondueset's ice fins are way cool.

All this said... once you pick up a pair, you'll wonder how you ever did without.

[Pinggene]

Brian,

I'd love to go to the dive/carp shoot, but I kind of doubt I will have my Elios by then. Right now, I just have a 3mm hooded vest (open cell inner) and a cheapo wetsuit from Fleet Farm. I think I would not last long.

I'm planning on attending the ice dive 2nd weedend in Feb.

Thanks for asking.

Gene