5mm wetsuit

[TOOmas]

So i got my wetsuit yesterday! My fins should be getting in today as well, and now that im out of school hopefully i can use them this week. I havnt tried it on yet but it looks great, the interior feels almost sticky to the touch and the camo is perfect for the lake.

 

[johnnybuoy]

hey guys,
from ireland and asyou probably know the waters here are fairly cool. my suit should be arriving in a week or so. i ordered a slick open cell camo from elios. 5mm. i have heard some horror stories about them tearing aesily and being a nightmare to put on and take off without tearing them. anybody here put my mind at ease?? losing sleep over it!!!!rofl
johnny

 

[youngstu]

I was worried about that too, how easy they are to get on and off. The elios site has a page on how to get in and out of the suit. I got stuck the first time, but as numerous people have said before, if you lube the suit it's easy. quicker than putting on my surfsuit I found.

Stuart

 

[sheepeck]

Yes, no worries about putting it on - just don't forget to lube it well. You can use hair conditioner and mix it with water - you have to find out yourself the proper mix ratio though. Putting it on and off then is almost fun.

 

[spaghetti]

Yes, no worries about putting it on - just don't forget to lube it well. You can use hair conditioner and mix it with water - you have to find out yourself the proper mix ratio though. Putting it on and off then is almost fun.

In the warm season I just "wash" my open cell suit in sea water before wearing, no need of lube.
When I do use lube is in the cold season. Just take care if you mix liquid soap and water to make your own home made lube. Use just a very LITTLE bit of soap, or you'll be spreading foam around all along the dive time!

 

[sheepeck]

Yes, you are right. When I use my suit in the pool I also don't use lube - water is enough.

 

[johnnybuoy]

thanks lads. was on a different thread where they were exchanging stories about how easily they tore their skin suits. ill look up the mix ratio and instructions on getting in and out of it,
johnny

 

[sheepeck]

Well, maybe they were talking about suits without outer nylon layer - those can be ripped way easier than lined ones.

 

[johnnybuoy]

thats what i ordered! bad mistake??

 

[sheepeck]

No, I wouldn't say it's mistake. Just be careful and you will be able to enjoy it for long time.
Especially do not sit on rocks while wearing it and so, you know... Just the basic handling rules.

 

[johnnybuoy]

thanks for all the advice lads. waiting 2 months and 1 week now for it so hopefull it comes this summer!!:head

 

[sunfish]

hey guys,
from ireland and asyou probably know the waters here are fairly cool. my suit should be arriving in a week or so. i ordered a slick open cell camo from elios. 5mm. i have heard some horror stories about them tearing aesily and being a nightmare to put on and take off without tearing them. anybody here put my mind at ease?? losing sleep over it!!!!rofl
johnny

Hi Johnny, I only just noticed this thread. I use an organic hair conditioner as the normal kind is based on medicinal paraffin, which is rumoured to degrade wetsuit glue. The manufacturers call it "paraben" on the label so you won't think you're putting paraffin on your hair.
I put the organic one in a plantspray bottle with about four times as much water. To spray the trousers, turn them inside out, leaving the legs the right way out. Spray the inside of the legs. You can then slip your legs into the trousers and the rest will just roll into place.
I then turn the jacket inside out, leaving the arms and hood the right way. I spray into the arms and around the armpit area and across the shoulders and back. My arms go in easily and slipping my head through the neck, I can roll the rest down my body.
If this all sounds confusing I can show you when we dive together.
It's nothing to worry about but you do need to be careful with fingernails and don't try it without lube to begin with.
Also, with a slick suit, try not to knock your knees etc off of rocks.

 

[johnnybuoy]

cheers dave,
that sounds easy enough to do. anymore interest on the camping trip??

 

[sunfish]

anymore interest on the camping trip??

I'm interested depending on when it is. I'm having car troubles at the moment but I hope to sort it out in the next week. (At the moment I have to disconnect the battery whenever I stop otherwise it goes flat).

 

[johnnybuoy]

if the battery is flat after a long drive its the alternater but then again it could be the battery itself so check the acid level. try a new battery first though because alternaters are expensive.
oak just pm'd me just now about the meet up. he rekons august. ok with me so ill let him set adate and we can follow up on that.

 

[samdive]

the open cell suits do rip easily - but the good news is they also mend easily. I have shredded several, and they glue back together fine if you take a bit of care with it. Just buy yourself a few tubes of black witch and a box of ear buds (for painting it on the tears) and you'll be fine.

Sam

 

[TOOmas]

so im just about to head out into the lake for the first time this year, finally get to try my new toys. the diveskin wetsuit and a pair of OMER millenium greens, ill let you know how it goes... the lake is still really cold... lol

 

[TOOmas]

so i did end up getting in the water this past sunday. all in all im pretty proud of myself. getting into the wetsuit was A LOT easier than expected, used diluted conditioner as lubr, the hardest part was getting my head in through the neck hole... the lake temp was around 52dg F but it felt great! at one point i thought i had a lot of air in my suit so i tried flushing it out... it was freeezing, and now i have a cold. the fins were awesome too, size 46-48 with 5mm booties. while i could see the potential i couldnt fully appreciate them since i didnt have any weights yet, i felt like a fishing bobber :head

fishing was horrible... visibility was 3-5ft so i disregarded the gun on the beach after a little while and just messed around in the water w/ my new gear.

Getting out of the wetsuit was an entirely different story than getting into it... i completely underestemated this part and it bit me in the ass. must have taken me at least half an hour to get the jacket off... i was trying to use the way elios shows on their website and was not having any luck, just couldnt get a grip on it to pull over my head. eventually i had to roll it up as high as it would go on my chest, then quickly flip my head down so the beavertail would slap me in the head. once there i help onto the beaver tailed until i could grab the back of the suit to pull it over my head. i tried to stay away from the tail but in the end i had to resort to it... i did have a lot of fun and all of this week has been great up here in idaho. hopefully it keeps getting warmer...

Thomas

 

[foxfish]

Thomas, I use the beaver tail grip! The Elios method seems almost impossible for me, in fact I have never seen anyone use it?

 

[TOOmas]

Thomas, I use the beaver tail grip! The Elios method seems almost impossible for me, in fact I have never seen anyone use it?

well hearing that someone w/ as much experience as you uses the beaver tail makes me feel a lot better... i worked and worked at the elios method, but i just could not see how it would work w/ a wetsuit.