my compressed picasso wetsuit- 8 months old

[sniper nick]

these are pics of my 8 month old picasso dark wet suit, in the new "soft and stretchy" yamamotto neoprene.

divide the number on the digital caliper by two to get the thickness of the neoprene.

This was a 5mm suit.

i dive on average to 7-15m, and have been to 17-22m about 10 times.

the suit is so compressed, it has gone baggy and saggy, and lets in lots of water, and i get very cold, very quick.

i am currently looking at getting a heiwa neoprene wetsuit from elios.

[sniper nick]

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[sniper nick]

the thickness of the top of the long johns here are its actual thickness.

[sniper nick]

ive looked after my suit as best as anyone can.

it is stored on hangers, where the long johns are hung by the shoulders, and the jacket is not "hung" but draped through the middle of the hanger.

after every dive i througherly rinse out my suit in fresh water, drape them on the fence/deck in the shade to drip off, then i put it on the hangers on the garage.

the only time i roll up my suit is when i put it in my pack when i have to walk to shore dive spots. all other times the suit stays in the boat till we get home on the deck with everyone elses.

before i stow or put the suit anywhere i turn it the right way out.

this has happend to my friends picasso suit aswell, even worse than my compression!

ive been told ive done 8 months of hard core diving, but realy it equates to about 60 days diving at an average of 2.5-3 hrs in the water. so thats 1.75 days of diving on average per week.

[Huan]

If I was you Nick, I would go back to the place you got the suit from and complain.
Picasso is a big company and usually makes products of good quality.
I would imagine that they would be most interested in your story.
FTR my Omer mimetic med 6.5mm is still looking like new after nearly 3 years of hard use, bar a few barnacle holes.....

[sniper nick]

we have both let the importer and distributer of picasso suits know, he saw daves suit and was "concerned". both suits were from the same shipment, i go mine 3.5 months later, one black apnos, and one black dark. we have probally used our suits more than most who have bought teh new soft and stretchy neoprene imported, and beleive the other suits will begin to show simalar signs after the same use. dave stoped using his suit in november last year. and got a omer med mimtec.

i have written an email to picasso simortal group, but have not heard back yet. the importer is also contacting them.

when i started diving it in in 11 degrees water, it was realy warm, 6 months later when i was stalking trevally, i noticed i was shivering a 8m, in 20 degree water. and now the temp has dropped to 13 degrees, i lasted about 15 dives to 12-13m before i was shivering more than i was breathing!

[donmoore]

I wonder what this “new "soft and stretchy" yamamotto neoprene” is? I have an Elios suit made out Yamamoto 45 with spandex on the outside. I understood the 45 to be Yamamoto's softest neoprene and this is what I assumed Picasso was using. I have done many dives with it over the last 16 months and its fine. Still fits tight.

I have also had a couple pairs of Picasso socks with metallic coating on the inside. They have stretched. Wet suits are the most expensive freediving gear when you consider how often you have to replace them. It’s a shame when they don’t last as long as they should.
don