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Warmest Elios suit?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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naiad

Apnea Carp
Supporter
Oct 11, 2003
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I am thinking of getting an Elios open cell suit, but I'm not sure which one is the warmest. At the moment I have a baggy 3mm normal suit, and it doesn't keep me warm enough in the pool. I really need a super warm suit, because even in 27C water I start shivering violently if I don't move around all the time, and this makes static training impossible. I am also planning on freediving outdoors in the UK, so it needs to be good!

Any advice would be appreciated :)

Lucia
 
My 5mm Freedown suit is fantastic and alos lovely and warm... Copes well with the cold waters of the NDC and Wraysbury!!!

Donna
 
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The warmest would be to have a close fitting open cell towards your skin.
But as you know it is quite a nuisance to get it on.
And if you want glide or smoothskin on the outside the suit will be very fragile (no nylon to stich in).
With the new reinforced material (sandwich) you could get a suit without lining (lining in the middle) but still stiched. But yet I havent heard any good comments on that solution.

One option would be to get a suit with thermic plush on the inside (which is said to stop water from moving). Easy to get into and made to be warm.

More ideas on how to choose an eliossub suit I have compiled here:
http://www.fridykning.se/freediving/features/eliossub.html

Sebastian/Sweden
 
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Hi,
I'm the proud owner of an 5mm Heiwa open cell inside superslide coating outside Elios suit. It is fa-bu-ous !!!
The open cell inside sure is a bit of fuss to get in, but you get used to the procedure quite quickly and it's definitely worth it. Just make sure you use lots of shampoo.
I found not having any lining outside really nice since the suit dries very quickly. There is hardly any cold because of evapotranspiration. So as soon as you get out of the water and into the sun (platform, floating tire, whatever) this is a huge advantage. I was the only one not freezing like hell two weeks ago (15°C) :p .
Regarding the superslide-coating: IMHO it's not worth the extra money, smoothskin should do the job just as fine.
Just my 2 cents.

Veronika
 
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Lucia,
I have a 3mm full suit too, and although it fits fairly well, I still freeze in the pool doing static! I now wear my Cressi Supercomp (5mm johns/6.5mm jacket) even in the pool with the hood on! Now I'm warm, and if I get too warm I just take the hood off.

You'll love the elios suits! I've heard nothing but good about them. Probably 5mm will be warm enough unless you plan on winter diving, ie. water temps below 10C/50F.

Happy (warm) diving! :D
Aaron
 
Aaron I was diving at the NDC in water temps less than 10C in my 5mm suit and I was lovely and warm.... Its that body fat coming into play again - think I was a whale in a former life :D

Hope you're well....

Donna :)
 
I have a 5ml Elios open cell freedown suit and find it nothing like as warm as my freeology 5ml suit was. Also a few of us have had problems with Elios suits coming apart at the seams - so next time I plan to get one with a lining to help hold it together.

Given the choice again I would either go for a Heiwa Elios as the neoprene seems better than the freedown and maybe warmer, or another freeology (but you have to incredibly careful with them)

Thinking of getting a 7ml for the winter - has anyone got a Heiwa 7ml?

Sam
 
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Thanks everyone for the help - lots of very detailed answers. I will probably get a Heiwa or Freedown suit, or maybe a Freeology.

Sebastian, the link was really useful, much more detailed than the Elios website.

I'll check out the Freeology website and let you know if I find anything good.

Lucia
 
7mm

I am considering a Eliossub 7mm wetsuit. I hace like zero body fat. Skinny as a bean pole. I am a freezy person. I just dont know though. Everyone says a 5mm would be fine, but I just dont know! My plan is to get a 7mm, if it is too thick, wait a few paychecks, get a 5mm. I could save the 7mm and use it up north (Nor cal) and use the 5mm in so cal. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK???
 
I have a 7mm picasso suit and I love it, however I'm considering getting a 5mm suit for the warmer (above 20C/68F) water because it'll be so much more flexible. However I think you'll love your 7mm if you're diving primarily in water cooler than 68F. I'd rather be too warm than too cold!

For reference I've used my Picasso 7mm suit in water temps as cold as 33F/1C and was warm for about 45 minutes.

Aaron
 
I've got the Heiwa opencell 6mm suit and wish I would have just gone for the 5mm.

This suit is WARM- much warmer than My Cressi Super-Comp. I have the smoothskin outer on it, and have been lucky so far, but my next suit I might go with super-elastic outer lining on the pants and just go smoothskin on the jacket.

The opencell inner lining is the warmest stuff around. I have had suits with nylon, plush, gold core, silver, biotermic, and opencell lining. The opnecell wins, hands down, in the warmth test.

I now use my Heiwa 3mm most of the time, as the 6mm is just for winter/ice diving. I have been utterly amazed at how warm the 3mm has been.

I also bought a 2mm wevst to wear underneath since I just have high waisted pants. I have used the vest with the 3mm suit in early spring, but have never needed it with the 6mm. I can't imagine a 7mm.


Jon
 
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The Heiwa 5mm open cell seems like the best option - I hope to get one soon!

Lucia
 
I'd like to pitch in here that some sort of nylon coating is the way to go, for most people. If you spend most of your time going up and down a line for CB training and you're hitting substantial depths, then pick a smooth-out suit. But be damn careful putting it on and getting in and out of the dive sight. Cut your nails and take all your jewellery off. I've seen a few of these suits literally explode.
If you actually dive off of the CB line sometimes, then a nylon/lycra coated suit is the way to go in my opinion. Even this suit can be damaged by barnacles or the side of a dive boat.
If you're a spearo, get a heavy nylon coating.
Cheers,
Erik Y.
 
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