This year I had to buy a new drysuit as my old one was all worn out
after four hundred dives. I looked around at all the different types,
and had a hard time choosing which one was best for my needs. I
finally decided on a neoprene, as I had a shell suit before. My final choice
was an Abyss Sport
from Abyss diving suits. It is made of RUBATEX® 7mm neoprene.
The reason I chose this suit is twofold, one being the price, two that
it was a custom fit. They run for around $1100.00 Canadian.
The suit has vulcanized rubber boots that will really take a beating. Also
when you are entering the water or walking on sharp objects such as rocks
,they don't slip that easy. The stitching is all double interlocked
so that if you do have a rip over a seam, the rest of the sewing will not
unravel. All seams are triple glued, for a totally waterproof suit. Those were
good reasons to buy this suit, as my last shell suit was hard to fix. Holes were
hard to find and once I did find them, I never could fix them right.
With the neoprene the chance of you getting a pinhole in it is very small.
If you rip the suit it can be fixed within a short period of time.
I found the suit fit really good, and the fact that I did not have to wear
any undergarments in it during the summer was great. The neckseal and
wristseals are all very snug so water has a hard time sneaking in through
them. Neoprene wristseals are still not as good as latex wrist seals, but for
the tradeoffs you do get in return, it is well worth it. I also found
that very little air will ever get trapped in my legs, because of the fit.
The valves are Apeks valves. The inlet valve will give you all the air you
need on demand, and has a very smooth action to it. The exhaust valve
will let air out as fast as you can put it in, or faster, and also has
enough tension on it to not let all the air out if you bump it by mistake.
Overall, I really liked this suit. It was easy to put on and get off, and you
never were really cold in it, or too hot. They also have many options that you
can have added on such as heavy duty zippers, convenience zippers,
pockets, etc. They also have other suits available for commercial diving
and sport diving.
