need help choosing an elios suit

[Hypersquid1]

hey all at DB! i need a wetsuit for the upcoming spearfishing season, and i was looking at the elios suits and it is just mind boggling. can anybody translate this page into something that i could remotely understand? http://www.fridykning.se/freediving/.../eliossub.html
i have no idea what to get, but i will be spearfishing off of rocks with tons of barnacles and mussels on them so i will need a durable suit. any information would help me immensly.

[Jon]

Forget the long john and go with the high waist pants instead- it's easier to breath in.

Go for something in a 5mm and get a nylon outer lining for the type of diving your planning on doing- spearfishing.

You also want an attached hood with no zippers anywhere on the suit. You may want to get a chest loading pad as well for your speargun.

Inner liners are up to you. You have a few options that go something like this:

Opencell- cheapest/ warmest, but hardest to put on. I have this on many of my suits and love it.

Gold/silver/copper lining- makes sliding the suit on eaiser, but is more expensive and doesn't stick to your skin quite as well as opencell. You'll never know the difference since you've never owned a suit like this before. I also own a couple of suits with theses linings on the inside. Things to know about them: First, the lining wears off over time. Second, they do NOT keep you any warmer than a standard opencell- no "reflective heat" crap works in a wetsuit. They will give you suit a little bit extra tear resisitance, especially if the outside is smoothskin, but they are mainly to make the suit go on easier.

Black Shadow- This is just another spray on coating that ELios puts on the inside of their suit. They call it one of their best glide skin liners that makes the suit much easier to slide on. I have known many people who got this on their suits and loved how much easier they were to slide on. I've never used it before, but oredered it for my new summer monofin wetsuit- my new suit is thin and delicate so I wanted to make sure I wouldn't damage it when putting it on.

Nylon/plush/ super elastic- These are super tough, just like a scuba wetsuit, but no where near as warm as a standard freediving wetsuit. They also are harder to breath in since you loose so much flexibility in the suit due to the extra material lining the inside and out. I wouldn't reccomend them for cold water diving.

No matter which suit you get, aside from the nylon inner lining, you'll want to use some sort of lube to put it on with. I use lube even on my silver and gold lined suits. Lube is a mixture of water and hair conditioner that you can mix up in a spray bottle. Everyone has their own favorite mixture and it pays to experiment on your own. I start out wit a 50/50 mix of each and then just keep adding water to it everytime I use it until it gets to thin to help slide the suit on anymore- then I add more hair conditioner to it.

No matter which one you get your going to love it!

Jon

[Fondueset]

I have the black shadown/superstretch suit. It has very stretchy nylon on the outside - open cell with a silvery coating inside. You need lube to get into it though I can do the bottoms without the neoprene tends to chunk up and tear a little if my heels get stuck. Since this is my first open cell suit - I have torn up the inside a little here and there - mostly from grabbing it too tightly putting it on - or not using enough lube - the nylon outside has prevented these from becoming serious and they are easy to fix with neoprene cement. The neoprene is very comfortable. I dive off rocks covered in Zebra Muscles - which are literally razor sharp. Get knee pads! I didn't and have been lucky - but I'm super careful. You definitely want some kind of nylon on the outside.

My 5 mil suit is good here year-round - which means water temps down to freezing.

In other words I agree with Jon's call.

[johnny]

get a 5mm,exterior brown camo (if spearing around alot of rocks, dirty water) , open cell, 2 piece, high waist pant suit.

Telephone Elios and ask to speak to Stefano, he speaks English.

you wont be disappointed.

[Hypersquid1]

whoa hang on. the suits are 2 pieces? i wanted just a regular old wetsuit, 1 piece. as for getting in, i have had many cheap wetsuits that did not fit at all, and i had to literally fight my way into the suit. im not worried about not being able to get in. is it also possible to get a suit without a hood and get a removable hood with a skirt instead? and also, the water im diving in will be at the coldest, 50 degree F, warmest 70 degrees F. should i think about getting a 6mm suit? also, is there an outer lining (not color) or is it just the same for all suits?

[Fondueset]

Your talking about a suit with a zipper - way less efficient. Elios has one piece suits but if you really want warmth you've got to loose the zips.

As I mentioned - I use my 5mil suit down to freezing with no problems. I can't vouch for the ones with the zippers.

[Hypersquid1]

aight aight i will forget the zippers. but is there any way i can get one without a hood?

[Fondueset]

If you regularly dive in water below 65f I'd stick with an attached hood. I got a 3 mil plush lined suit from them that I use most of the spring/summer/early fall and it has a separate hood. I like this suit for relatively brief dives down to probably 55-60f. In 50f water if you want a separate hood I would probably go with some sort of hooded vest that goes over the suit. All the basic info is in this thread - nylon out - open cell in - 5 mil. I'd check with them for specifics on the options.

FYI - if you've not had an open cell suit before - you really do need lube to get it on - otherwise you'll trash the suit. but they are extremely comfortable and warm.

[Hypersquid1]

ok i will get some lube. i just wanted the removable hood because i want to hood for early and late season dives, but i dont think i need it in the middle of the summer when the water is 75 degrees. and how much would this all cost about? i do not want to spend more than $200 on this suit, and if the price of this setup is over that range, i will need to reconsider my order.

[Fondueset]

You'll have to check with them on pricing options - it changes with the euro/dollar relationship. I don't like the hood in summer either.

Mine was well over that there is a guy alot of people have mentioned here who also makes outstanding suits and they are less expensive than Elios.

[Hypersquid1]

if i can get 3 years out of the suit, i will be fine with the price being over my limit. if i can get 2 out of it, then it depends how much more expensive, but if i can only get 1, the suit is not worth it. i will figure something out. since i am still growing, can i get a bigger suit, like a size bigger, or will it restrict my movement, heat etc.?

[Fondueset]

If I were in your shoes I'd get one of their ecoline suits - email them and tell them everything you've told us - and be patient - they take a week or so to reply. They are very experienced taylors.

3 years is no problem in terms of durability.

[Hypersquid1]

no im not talking durability. im talking size. im still growing and i really want this suit to fit for a few years.

[arriflex]

I just ordered a tailor made 5mm suit with open cell inside, and standard nylon elastic outside, in the Heiwa neoprene cost was 201 euros delivered to the states. To get under $200 US, in a 5mm, you'd have to go with a cheaper neoprene, or an off the rack type suit. I dunno how much cheaper the 3mm suits are, don't hesitate to use Elios' form on the website to get some quotes for different configurations, they're quite helpful.
edgar

[aesop]

My advice is go to www.diveskin.net. Click on spearfishing and pick what you want. You have some options with every suit, attached hood or not attached, waist up pants or a longjohn, custom made or not. All wetsuits are 159.00. Take the advice from above and apply it to diveskin.


Good luck,
Chris