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best wetsuit?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Pekka

neoprene dreamer
Aug 22, 2001
790
61
118
44
I am planning on buying a wetsuit what is the king of all wetsuits? for freediveing naturally..:)
 
Try Omer

Picasso is fine, I quess, but if the water is cold, O.M.E.R.'s 5mm suit is for some reason much warmer than 5mm Picasso. And a friend of mine who owns both is of the opinion that Omer is at least as comfortable as Picasso, even though it is not made to measure. So my advise would be to try Omer's (the one made of Yamamoto neopren) first, as it is much cheaper.
 
Hi, I have an OMER 5mm suit and a Picasso 5mm suit. The OMER is regular neoprene, and nowhere near as warm as the Picasso (Yamamoto). I'm sure the OMER Yammy suit is as warm as the Picasso suit, but I must tell you that I have been ice-freediving in 2C water with the Picasso, up to an hour before getting cold. I agree that the Picasso suits are expensive, especially my BioTec suit, but the OMER Yamamoto suit is even more money over here.
Cheers,
Erik Y.
 
I quess the disagreement about the relative prises is at least partly due to high duties on textiles traveling from Europe to North America (and from North America to Europe). Picasso here costs more than twise the price of Omer Yamamoto suit (aren't sold in Finland currently, but I'm quoting a shelf price in Italy).
 
Diving in cold water

My problem whan diving in cold water is the feeling of freesing my toes to is.... The rest of tehe body is almost dry and ok, so is the hands in my titan thre finger gloves, but my poor toes....
:waterwork

Is there some "colddivers" out there who have some good advice and experiences?

L
 
diving in cold water

Hi,
i always put on a pair of 100 % wool socks under my neoprene boot when i dive, it help me stay warm. The problem with foot pocket fins is that you can't put a 7mm boot one season and a 3mm the next. With strap fins you can. But strap fins and boot are not as good for free diving as foot pocket with socks are. So you have to choose between performance and comfort.

Filling your socks with hot water before putting them on. It will prevent the cold water to fill it too much. BUT be carefull, if the water is too hot, you feet will try to cool so you'll get cold MUCH faster.

You can also put some GOOP or any other silicone glue on the sewing of the socks to prevent the water exchange. The more water proof it is, the better.

good diving!
 
Personally I like Dessault and Apnea (the greek ones)! But the material used for these suits are very delicate. The Submarine Nice suits are also very nice.

Deeply, Jorg
 
Try the 5mm Picasso Bio Mimetic lined socks. I have been freediving in 1C water with them. They are the warmest thing out there.
Cheers,
Erik Y.
 
Hi Pekka,

Likely the king of all wet suits for warmth is the 9mm Picasso Commercial. I have a 7mm one and it is ok for up to 2 hours in winter diving. Some people have suggested; small heat packs in the arch, and closing the toes of the fins.

Best wishes,

doug
 
Originally posted by freediver48
Hi Pekka,

Likely the king of all wet suits for warmth is the 9mm Picasso Commercial. I have a 7mm one and it is ok for up to 2 hours in winter diving. Some people have suggested; small heat packs in the arch, and closing the toes of the fins.

Best wishes,

doug

....but does not come supplied with the mandatory 15kg weightbelt!
I'm sure it's warm though:cool:
Cheers,
Erik Y.
 
thanks for all of your opininons!

Thank you for sharing your opinions I have ordered a wetsuit..it is not picasso..it is not OMER...I think it is 5mm Imersion sabre lycra Metallite..well I hope it is warm enough..
thak you fellas and have great diving..or pooltrining ar what ever!:eek:
P.S. Do you guys have any experience about that suit?
 
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whatever suits you...

One of the latest twists (fads?) with suits, Pekka is the incorporating of a metal powder, sometimes titanium, as with Henderson and Xcel, into the rubber. The thought is that the metal will reflect the heat your body generates back to you.:confused:

My personal recreational suits are currently Picassos, 5mm commercials that I had altered to fit more exactly. I agree with free48 that they're a good suit. Problem is that the material they're made of is very prone to compression- that is the deeper you go, the thinner the rubber becomes. So if it's a little cold at the surface, it's really cold at 80 feet. But the flexibility of the rubber is just unreal, so it's a tradeoff.

The Omer suits I've seen also have this flexible rubber from Yamamoto and all I've heard from my friends that have them is to make sure you trim your nails as the stuff is so soft.

Another thing with a suit is to reduce the zippers and openings to a minimum, none is best.

There's a new, at least to me, rubber that has the metal foil on the inside of the suit that limits the compression without comprimising the flexibilty and I'm waiting to hear from the owners later next year to see how they work. They tout that it's easy to get on, but so is any suit that fits correctly, with a little soapy water. They're being made by Blue Water Hunter in Santa Barbara, CA, USA. Tell Andy that Sven sent you...

All that's left is to make sure you do your bladder maintenance before you go out, as while it'swarm at first, it's just more water in your suit to have to heat...;)

sven
 
Hey Pekka, and every one else.
I dive in the UK... kinda murky and between 8 and 14 degrees C most the time.
I use a 5.5mm beuchat two piece suit and 3mm titanium gloves and booties. I dive for around 4 hours plus at a time and only get cold feet right at the end but not too bad.
My advice for keeping warm...
Stay out of the wind when your not in the water
Make sure your suit fits well
Make sure your hood is snug
Keep your energy and fluids up.
And Pekka I started diving with a 5mm Surfing suit not far from you used to dive for a few hours at a time got cold in the end but I'd have at least two hours of diving and never wore a hood or gloves!
Joe
 
Yes I remember diveing with my surfing suit, no gloves no hood...it was ok as long as water was about 16+ or more, but as it got cold it was amazing how diveing became impossible bottomtime dropped I could only dive to about -10m or so but that's it. and that is not fun, I hope my new suit will change that..and if it is really cold I can always put my surfing suit on top of the one I have now..right;)
I also got a new belt, it is one of those rubbery ones..what kind of weights you guys use?
The big led ones that scubadivers use? I would like to use some little smaller that would share the weight more evenly..
 
Hi Pekka,

Picasso makes some interesting weights, but because of the cost of shipping lead, I use
the 2lb scuba weights. Here is a good trick, find a used mountain bike tube, and cut 2"
slices and use them a weight retainers, one on either side. Depending on the buckle of your belt you may want to experiment with some lubricants, mine does not release well at all. It is the friction syle so caledl "quick release", well it is not quick. I think the buckles from France are better, but dive test the release.

Soft weights are very nice, but very expensive.

Best wishes,

Doug
 
thanks freediver48, I'll try out your mountainbike trick, I am sure I either come up with a little altered idea or use yours..I don't like the big scuba weights..
I'll let you know how things work out..:)
 
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Hi Pekka, that sounds like a nice warm suit that you ordered.
I use a rubber belt that my friend Tony in Victoria gave me, and 2lb oval rubber coated "bullets" for lead. I also use a chiclet style neck weight that is 4 lbs; it takes some of the weight off the waist, and helps with descents.
Icarus' comment about Metalite interiors is right, there is a big push on to use this material. I agree that they have the physics wrong when they're talking about reflecting heat back to the body....that's not what happens....however, these suits are WARM, so something is going on. I think it might just be that the material seals so well against the skin that it all but eliminates water transfer.
Stay warm dude, let us know when you've test-dived that new suit.
Cheers,
Erik Y.
 
Originally posted by freediver48
Hi Pekka,

mine does not release well at all. It is the friction syyle so called "quick release", well it is not quick
Doug

Doug, I think you ordered the wrong buckle...I looked it up, and that's the "Certain Death" model #13. You must have checked the wrong box on the order form ;)
Humorously,
Erik Y.
 
Originally posted by Pekka
"..I rally don't like the big scuba weights.."

I don't know if you've tried any of the old methods. The cylinder weights are easy to make out of galvinized pipe. Melting and pouring lead is no big deal outside with a breeze. Probably get 90% of the density by sealing very small lead shot in epoxy.
My latest weights were fashioned out of balsa wood. When I had the shape that I liked, I made a plaster mold. By suspending one or two bolts in the mold before you pour you get ready to mount lead. Just a hole in the rubber belt, a nylon bolt and a washer.

Bill
 
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