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Skin for Dynamics
- Thread startermattbigblue
- Start date
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.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Just want to add a comment, not to misenterpret my words - I am still a fan of Orca, and think it is superior in some parameters to the Aquasphere, and perhpas in comparison to other wetsuits too, but unfortunately it became a wetsuit for those who don't mind spending four times the necessary amount for some relatively minor advantage.
It would be a shame for a company to spend a lot of money making a good product for it then not to sell.
It might be worth doing an online poll to see how much freedivers would pay.
Some will certainly pay for that quality piece of kit whilst others simply could not afford it. There must be an optimum price to charge based on supply and demand that Orca could make maximum return. It sounds a lot to me. If it were 100-200 Euro cheaper they would sell more. Its a hard call
With the old swimming suits being banned there will be less top of the range suits to choose from.
Maybe we should all start working harder and stop freediving as much
Or maybe not...... rofl
It might be worth doing an online poll to see how much freedivers would pay.
Some will certainly pay for that quality piece of kit whilst others simply could not afford it. There must be an optimum price to charge based on supply and demand that Orca could make maximum return. It sounds a lot to me. If it were 100-200 Euro cheaper they would sell more. Its a hard call
With the old swimming suits being banned there will be less top of the range suits to choose from.
Maybe we should all start working harder and stop freediving as much
Or maybe not...... rofl
The Orca Free is designed to be the highest standard in performance - that is the main intent of the company: to supply the best quality equipment possible to a sport (triathlon, cycling, freediving).
There are other entry level products such as the Orca Breathe, to be released in a few months, which will be more in the price range of the Aquasphere and probably still outperform it.
The Free was the most used suit at the Bahamas World Champs (myself, Winram, Rob King, Mads Becker and about 6 others) If anyone is interested I have sizes 5, 8, and MT available for US$500 (€370) + shipping.
Oh and Trux, 469/146 is 3.2 - I would round that down to 3 rather than up to 4
There are other entry level products such as the Orca Breathe, to be released in a few months, which will be more in the price range of the Aquasphere and probably still outperform it.
The Free was the most used suit at the Bahamas World Champs (myself, Winram, Rob King, Mads Becker and about 6 others) If anyone is interested I have sizes 5, 8, and MT available for US$500 (€370) + shipping.
Oh and Trux, 469/146 is 3.2 - I would round that down to 3 rather than up to 4
Yes, but as I wrote, you can find Aquasphere for 120€ (and perhaps even less), while I did not see the Orca Free anywhere else than directly at Orca for the catalogue price. And the 469/120 is already pretty close to 4 (3.91)Oh and Trux, 469/146 is 3.2 - I would round that down to 3 rather than up to 4
But yes, I see it is a product for elite freedivers who don't mind spending little bit more money for squeezing a few more decimeters out of it. Just a pity Orca discontinued the much better priced RS1 before they brought a corresponding alternative on the market.
Orca RS1 was really popular among freedivers (I have still it, and I use it now and then in DNF). Let's hope that Orca Breathe will offer something like it or more, at a reasonable price. It's surely a common interest to the Orca company and the freedivers.
Waiting for the Breathe news ...
Hi guys,
I would like to join this discussion. Some months ago I bought an Orca Equipe Lite wetsuit for 239 euros. I was a bit seduced by the good image Orca suits have and also by the fact that Will advocates them and uses them himself which is a pretty good recommendation. In fact, I am quite happy with my Equipe Lite. 1mm Neopren throughout, so almost no buoyancy change, just one more kilo to add, very good gliding properties - quite a good suit for my pool sessions.
However ...
Some days ago, for a friend, I ordered exactly the Elios suit mentioned by SofaKingDeep above: The 1,5mm Freedown blablabla, for 240 euros. That's the same price I paid for the Orca. And to tell the truth, I regret it a bit now having spent my money the way I did.
As I told, the Orca is good. But: it is not tailormade, it has no hood (a hood resolves the water infiltration at the collar and, if thin like this, doesen't really disturb), it has a zip, it is made of a lot of different neopren patches, the seams are not, like those in the Elios suit, made with non-through stitching, but simply stitched, which means quite permeable for water and hence very weak thermal protection - in short, if I had to choose again between the 2 solutions, well, no doubt, I would go for the Elios (and I now Elios, since I have 3 other suits from them). Beeing so thin and with such little insulation capacity, the Orca Equipe Lite is, at least for me (I am always freezing), restricted to the use in warm pools or extra warm waters. I am shure I could use the Elios Freedown 1,5 mm much better also out in the sea, even at temps below 27°C ...
For shure I see no reason to spend the double of the price for a suit like the Alpha Free. with all due respect for Orca suits - that is too much money for a purpose that another product of at least the same quality can provide me at half the price.
Also the Orca Breath, which is announeced to come soon, is supposed to be sold here in Europe for about 300 Euros - not really cheap.
Just my 2 cents
Cheers,
Ivo
I would like to join this discussion. Some months ago I bought an Orca Equipe Lite wetsuit for 239 euros. I was a bit seduced by the good image Orca suits have and also by the fact that Will advocates them and uses them himself which is a pretty good recommendation. In fact, I am quite happy with my Equipe Lite. 1mm Neopren throughout, so almost no buoyancy change, just one more kilo to add, very good gliding properties - quite a good suit for my pool sessions.
However ...
Some days ago, for a friend, I ordered exactly the Elios suit mentioned by SofaKingDeep above: The 1,5mm Freedown blablabla, for 240 euros. That's the same price I paid for the Orca. And to tell the truth, I regret it a bit now having spent my money the way I did.
As I told, the Orca is good. But: it is not tailormade, it has no hood (a hood resolves the water infiltration at the collar and, if thin like this, doesen't really disturb), it has a zip, it is made of a lot of different neopren patches, the seams are not, like those in the Elios suit, made with non-through stitching, but simply stitched, which means quite permeable for water and hence very weak thermal protection - in short, if I had to choose again between the 2 solutions, well, no doubt, I would go for the Elios (and I now Elios, since I have 3 other suits from them). Beeing so thin and with such little insulation capacity, the Orca Equipe Lite is, at least for me (I am always freezing), restricted to the use in warm pools or extra warm waters. I am shure I could use the Elios Freedown 1,5 mm much better also out in the sea, even at temps below 27°C ...
For shure I see no reason to spend the double of the price for a suit like the Alpha Free. with all due respect for Orca suits - that is too much money for a purpose that another product of at least the same quality can provide me at half the price.
Also the Orca Breath, which is announeced to come soon, is supposed to be sold here in Europe for about 300 Euros - not really cheap.
Just my 2 cents
Cheers,
Ivo
For Trux:
As far as I know, the Orca Equipe Lite is supposed to be the successor of the RS1. Its made of 1mm Neopren throughout, like the RS1. The price here in Europe is 239 Euros. If you are lucky, you get some some small discount in the shop where you buy it, but that's it. I have it, as i wrote, and i like it!
Cheers,
Ivo
About Elios 'pool suit' : earlier it was very popular, but nowadays you rarely see it in competitions, excl. depht disciplines.
Some reasons for that:
In tri-suits and competition swimming suits you have a little better glide and get easier hands for the streamlined position.
The hood can reduce diving reflex.
When you are training hard, Elios is too warm.
BUT an Elios pool suit is a good choice if you want:
- good thermal insulation (if you feel cold in pool)
- a hood
- a very durable suit lasting for years (good value for the money)
- use your suit in warm open water divings, especially if you want a hood for that.
For competitive, hard training pool freedivers it's maybe not the #1 choice anymore, but for other freedivers it can be a very good and durable solution.
Elios suits are top class, no doubt. Just today I got a message from Elios: they have sent 3 Elios suits, one of them that 1,5mm pool suit and 2 open water 5 mm suits. Not for me this time, but i ordered them to newbies, waiting to get under ice (5 mm Elios is enough for that, too, cause it's taylor made with no lining inside). 1,5 mm suit was ordered for pool.
Some reasons for that:
In tri-suits and competition swimming suits you have a little better glide and get easier hands for the streamlined position.
The hood can reduce diving reflex.
When you are training hard, Elios is too warm.
BUT an Elios pool suit is a good choice if you want:
- good thermal insulation (if you feel cold in pool)
- a hood
- a very durable suit lasting for years (good value for the money)
- use your suit in warm open water divings, especially if you want a hood for that.
For competitive, hard training pool freedivers it's maybe not the #1 choice anymore, but for other freedivers it can be a very good and durable solution.
Elios suits are top class, no doubt. Just today I got a message from Elios: they have sent 3 Elios suits, one of them that 1,5mm pool suit and 2 open water 5 mm suits. Not for me this time, but i ordered them to newbies, waiting to get under ice (5 mm Elios is enough for that, too, cause it's taylor made with no lining inside). 1,5 mm suit was ordered for pool.
hmmm, hmm. Not making my decision any easier
The Alpha/Free are out of question. So much money for a suit is not in my kind of budget. Well or let's say I need that budget for my new monofin...
Now I'm asking myself if this aqua sphere suit or the elios one would be best choice.
I like the idea of not having a hood - for me personally the dive reflex is pretty strong and I rely a lot on it.
I couldn't find it anywhere for less then 150€ here in europe.
If I could get it for around 120€ I think I'd test it.
Trux you have any tips for me where to get it that cheap :inlove ?
The Alpha/Free are out of question. So much money for a suit is not in my kind of budget. Well or let's say I need that budget for my new monofin...
Now I'm asking myself if this aqua sphere suit or the elios one would be best choice.
I like the idea of not having a hood - for me personally the dive reflex is pretty strong and I rely a lot on it.
I couldn't find it anywhere for less then 150€ here in europe.
If I could get it for around 120€ I think I'd test it.
Trux you have any tips for me where to get it that cheap :inlove ?
I think there was a page linked at the beginning of this thread comparing all the three options: Orca RS1 vs. Elios 1.5mm vs Aquasphere. Check it out, it is worth of it.
EDIT: I checked it out, but the blog where the comparative test was, does not exist anymore, and the article is not on the new blog of Kimmo Lahtinen. Try writing him, I guess he still has a copy somewhere.
EDIT: I checked it out, but the blog where the comparative test was, does not exist anymore, and the article is not on the new blog of Kimmo Lahtinen. Try writing him, I guess he still has a copy somewhere.
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Kimmo tested: Arena competitive swimming suit, RS1 and Elios.
For some reason he canceled old blog texts some time ago, already before he was elected to the AIDA president (although I don't believe there was anything unsuitable for a president )
The main result of the test was about that RS1 had the best combination (some thermal insulation, excelent glide, stronger than a swimming suit, but stretchy enough). Elios had the best thermal insulation.
Later Kimmo has tested Speedo LZR swiming suit and he said to me that is the best suit for DYN (performance) he has ever tested. But he has not a B70 Nero Comp (as good and stonger than LZR) or a Aqua Sphere suit either (as fas as I know). But ofcourse Speedo and Nero don't have so good thermal insulation, which can be very important for many freedivers.
For me and for many others Nero's insulation is enough in 27-29 C pool water.
About a glide, not bad for a newbie (she has a Speedo Fastskin):
She was just starting to train freediving (not the right hand stroke here, yet), but here you can see what a nice and easy glide looks like. The pool is normal 25 m. Lately she has done 25 m DNF with one hand stroke and a kick. Ok, I can tell you, she is already now in our national freeding AIDA-team training for her first competitions.
You can benefit from reading hints from DB: We got 10 pieces of top competitive women suits from Norway under 300 € total. This Speedo Fastskin was 29 €, it was almost 300 € earlier (90 % sale). The best deal we ever have had, thanx for the hint Bjarne http://forums.deeperblue.com/wetsuits/81721-skin-dynamics-8.html#post791278 (but don't check this sale anymore, there is nothing left).
For some reason he canceled old blog texts some time ago, already before he was elected to the AIDA president (although I don't believe there was anything unsuitable for a president
)The main result of the test was about that RS1 had the best combination (some thermal insulation, excelent glide, stronger than a swimming suit, but stretchy enough). Elios had the best thermal insulation.
Later Kimmo has tested Speedo LZR swiming suit and he said to me that is the best suit for DYN (performance) he has ever tested. But he has not a B70 Nero Comp (as good and stonger than LZR) or a Aqua Sphere suit either (as fas as I know). But ofcourse Speedo and Nero don't have so good thermal insulation, which can be very important for many freedivers.
For me and for many others Nero's insulation is enough in 27-29 C pool water.
About a glide, not bad for a newbie (she has a Speedo Fastskin):
She was just starting to train freediving (not the right hand stroke here, yet), but here you can see what a nice and easy glide looks like. The pool is normal 25 m. Lately she has done 25 m DNF with one hand stroke and a kick. Ok, I can tell you, she is already now in our national freeding AIDA-team training for her first competitions.
You can benefit from reading hints from DB: We got 10 pieces of top competitive women suits from Norway under 300 € total. This Speedo Fastskin was 29 €, it was almost 300 € earlier (90 % sale). The best deal we ever have had, thanx for the hint Bjarne http://forums.deeperblue.com/wetsuits/81721-skin-dynamics-8.html#post791278
(but don't check this sale anymore, there is nothing left).
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Freediving
HEY GUYS, been there with you looking for the RS1 but I'm size 9, no more available, I bought one yesterday for a friend size 5 from sierra trading post, when it get's here I'll post. I really wanted an Apex2 since it's the one will trubridge recommended but after at least a month looking I found one. You guys should try instead of RS1 the ORCA EQUIP OR EQUIP LITE which is apparently the same as the RS1, they even look alike, here is the link
Orca Men's Equip Lite Fullsleeve Wetsuit
and it's a new 2010 model!! for $274.99 which is not bad even for me(i'm broke)
here is the description:
The Orca Equip Lite Fullsleeve is constructed from a unique 1mm Yamamoto SCS neoprene with flatlock stitching construction, to provide an ultra-flexible wetsuit perfect for warmer water conditions, and for those transitioning from pool swimming to open water swimming competition.
The 1mm Hydrocell SCS neoprene outer layer is combined with the world's most flexible 1mm SuperStretch neoprene inner layer, providing an extremely fast, comfortable and skin-like result.
1mm neoprene all over for excellent stretch and flexibility.
Perfect for warmer water conditions and free diving.
100% SCS coating for speed through the water.
IT SAYS FOR FREEDIVING, and this one is a 1mm all around as the rs1, I'm gonna get this one too for the summer. I just hope you guys don't buy them all cause I can't buy it right now, my apeex was 299 :blackeye
I'm a freediver/spearo, I don't use the pool except for when I can't make it to the ocean.
HEY GUYS, been there with you looking for the RS1 but I'm size 9, no more available, I bought one yesterday for a friend size 5 from sierra trading post, when it get's here I'll post. I really wanted an Apex2 since it's the one will trubridge recommended but after at least a month looking I found one. You guys should try instead of RS1 the ORCA EQUIP OR EQUIP LITE which is apparently the same as the RS1, they even look alike, here is the link
Orca Men's Equip Lite Fullsleeve Wetsuit
and it's a new 2010 model!! for $274.99 which is not bad even for me(i'm broke)
here is the description:
The Orca Equip Lite Fullsleeve is constructed from a unique 1mm Yamamoto SCS neoprene with flatlock stitching construction, to provide an ultra-flexible wetsuit perfect for warmer water conditions, and for those transitioning from pool swimming to open water swimming competition.
The 1mm Hydrocell SCS neoprene outer layer is combined with the world's most flexible 1mm SuperStretch neoprene inner layer, providing an extremely fast, comfortable and skin-like result.
1mm neoprene all over for excellent stretch and flexibility.
Perfect for warmer water conditions and free diving.
100% SCS coating for speed through the water.
IT SAYS FOR FREEDIVING, and this one is a 1mm all around as the rs1, I'm gonna get this one too for the summer. I just hope you guys don't buy them all cause I can't buy it right now, my apeex was 299 :blackeye
I'm a freediver/spearo, I don't use the pool except for when I can't make it to the ocean.
Yes, interesting, it indeed looks much more like RS1 than the other Equips I saw. I did not like the Equip as much, but this one looks better. However, when using for spearing, I am afraid you'll destroy it pretty fast. For that purpose a coated suit would be likely a better choice.
Thanks for posting
Thanks for posting
o noo, I use other suits for spearfishing, orcas are for freediving only!! I'm getting more serious about freediving now.
Strangely, the photos on Orca's own website still show the old Equips. And even more strangely, the Orca UK/Ireland still (or again) lists the original RS1 for just 107.50 pounds, while telling in the description "all new". The European or NZ version do no show the RS1 Fullskn. A few months ago I ordered the RS1 from the UK, after confirming by phone they have them on stock, but they wrote me a few days later they do not have them. So I wonder whether they forgot to remove it from the website or got a new batch. The 107 pounds would be a bargain in comparison to the 280€ for the new Equip.
Titan, do you mean this:
Decathlon - CLOTHING / GARMENT bathing / swimming costumes.. boxer bain SPEEDO 2008 - Thinswim pro 1.0 suit SPEEDO 2008 - swim training (both indoors and out).
Looks interesting. Have somebody tested it in freediving?
Edit:
much cheaper here ($):
https://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/10166.htm
Maybe somewhere in Europe less than 140 €?
Decathlon - CLOTHING / GARMENT bathing / swimming costumes.. boxer bain SPEEDO 2008 - Thinswim pro 1.0 suit SPEEDO 2008 - swim training (both indoors and out).
Looks interesting. Have somebody tested it in freediving?
Edit:
much cheaper here ($):
https://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/10166.htm
Maybe somewhere in Europe less than 140 €?
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