UK wetsuits... help and info.

[spaghetti]

Superstretch and any other outside coating is a protection for neoprene. Neoprene is basically a sort of soft rubber, vulnerable to tearing, scratching and cutting. If you cover it with fabric it will last longer, and if you do the "creepy-crawly" spearfishing on shallow rocky bottoms (as I sppose you do, and either I do myself) for sure an outside coating becomes absolutely necessary to make the suit last for more than 6 or 7 dives. So stay away from naked "smooth-outside" suits: they look cool and are best for dive deeps, but are way too delicate for our type of hunting.
Moreover, if you buy a "superstretch-outside" custom suit, it will help if you ask them to add also an extra protection of elbow and knees.

[Marwan]

HUW, i know the excitement of having a custom made suit, like spagetti i agree that a standard omer/cressi will be super (my cressi world comp is the best i ever owned), if you are set on custom made camo's, you could also consider polosub. the guys in medfish swear by them and their materials and camo patterns are very cool...

[sanso]

I'm just about to get this setup for all-season-diving in Lake Constance (5°C right now) and hopefully other waters as well:
- Suit complete of Jacket with torso and hood in 6mm + arms 5mm
- High waist pants in 5mm
- Neoprene: Heiwa, black coating open cell inside / Nylon elastic black outside
- Blue seams
- Knee pads
- Gloves: 3 fingers 5mm, black coating cell inside / Nylon elastic black outside (like suit)

My reasoning behind this:
1. custom-made:
Buying something really good (and most of the time expensive, in this case) hurts once when paying the thing, but will feel oh-so-good every single time You use it. - While buying something cheaper but not as high-quality will feel good when You hand over the bills, but You'll be reminded of the features missing / lack of quality every single time You use the thing. ( A friend of mine said this to me once - I found it true every time I acted against his rule )
This obviously only makes sense if the higher-priced item is actually better than the cheaper one..
Of course one still has to choose wisely, and only start thinking this way for things that matter. If You're going to dive 20 times a year, it obviously makes no sense getting a custom-made suit..
I also read that especially in cold water, a (near-)perfect fit can make up for neoprene-thickness. This would lower the price of a suit fit for my temperature-range as compared to a thicker suit with a not-as-good fit. - So the price difference is less than when I compare a 7mm of-the-shelf with a 7mm custom suit.

2. Materials used:
The thickness comes from my experience when cycling in the winter. I found that keeping my torso warm makes all the difference, so a light windbreaker with a padded vest over that will keep me warm in every kind of winter I have yet encountered. Thinner neoprene on the arms and legs makes for better movement.

Choice of neoprene: I want to stay below the top of the line, a compromise between getting good quality and over-doing it. I, too have to watch where my €s go.
I hope to have found a combination that makes sense for an ambitious (but not too ambitous) spare-time diver who intends to use this suit for a long time, so I go for the stuff that is said to be well durable, but stay below top-notch.

Outside lining: Durability. After doing a lot of reading, I am willing to pay the price (measured in difference in stretchyness between nylon stretch and kanoko-superstretch) again, I stay (just) below top-notch.

3. Accessories:
Knee-pads: Obvious. I don't lean on my elbows much, so no elbow-pads.
Gloves: I want warm hands.
Socks: Will have to try what will still fit into my Fins..

4. Supplier:
I chose elios over diveskins.net for
a) The raving about their suits to be read here and feedback from other divers.
b) Italy is closer to me than the US.
c) elios' helpful pre-sales-support

Geez - sorry for the long post..

Having not much experience with suits so far, this is somewhat of a risk I'm taking. Most of the information I used for this (hopefully educated) decision I found here on DB and some from the nice people at elios.

I'll start whining on this thread as soon as I know what I fogot to think of

[Spaniard]

Huw, will you be spending much time on boats as you zip from spot to spot? If you do then the smooth exterior will dry more quickly and you will lose less heat through the suit. I feel the cold very quickly and yet have used 5mm from March through to Novemeber but in early season can't manage more than 2 hours (10 -12 degree water temp.). In Summer (13 - 15 degree water temp.) I can stay in water for 6 hours or more. Only very few people are lucky enough that their body shape equates to the 'standard' manufacturer sizes; if you can afford it go for MTM. As for cammo I am undecided. I can't say I have caught more or less fish either way but it does make you 'feel' stealthy

[Huw]

Originally Posted by Spaniard

Huw, will you be spending much time on boats as you zip from spot to spot? If you do then the smooth exterior will dry more quickly and you will lose less heat through the suit. I feel the cold very quickly and yet have used 5mm from March through to Novemeber but in early season can't manage more than 2 hours (10 -12 degree water temp.). In Summer (13 - 15 degree water temp.) I can stay in water for 6 hours or more. Only very few people are lucky enough that their body shape equates to the 'standard' manufacturer sizes; if you can afford it go for MTM. As for cammo I am undecided. I can't say I have caught more or less fish either way but it does make you 'feel' stealthy

Sorry spaniard mate, i didnt realise that there was a reply on here that i hadnt noticed . Petey H and i headed over to Daves earlier and got measured up and ordered our suits . we're pretty excited to be honest, and i cant wait for them to arrive. Apparently the waiting time is about a month, so we're in for a little wait now.

Huw.