Anyone tried the new iDry Probe wetsuits? They come out of the same warehouse as the new ripcurl Flash bombs. The fact that they dry so quickly will probably make me reach into my pocket and fork out the $500 (5mm wettie).

Demo: http://probewetsuits.com/divingwetsuits ... ntroAnchor

I know it's a lot of money but down here in Victoria I can hang my wettie up in the garage inside out (to dry the inside) after washing it and it'll still be a bit damp on the inside after 5 days. This was never a problem when I use to live in Qld, which is probably why it gives me the shits.

What type of wetty are you using now? Because the interior of open cell suits dry very fast. That suit is fleece lining and looks like a surfing suit, you will probably get cold wearing it diving.

Its a diving suit - probe do mainly scuba stuff (sub company of ripcurl i think?).

As a company they make pretty good quality stuff.
I've not used one, but I've seen em and they look pretty sweet. I'm currently diving in a 5mm Probe iFlex steamer and its a very well made suit. My missus has the previous incarnation of this suit (without the quick dry) and has no complaints. Im eyeing off the 7mm iDry at the moment for when it gets colder (as I scuba as well it can get pretty cold at 25 metres in winter...).

You probably cant go wrong with it.

Even for scuba you'd be better off with an open cell surely. You don't even know you're wet inside a 7mm open cell

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Civilisation ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.

For sure, I'd even go surfing in an open cell now!

My smoothskin suit dry in 10 second.

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http://lokus200.blogspot.com/

I'm new to the world of spearfishing. I've been using a friends 4/3 ripcurl Fbomb (2 generations before the current Flash bomb w fleece lining). It's a surfing wetsuit and it keeps me completely dry, and so far, warm for my 2.5hour dives . I haven't been diving to depth so I haven't ruined it. But I've recently found out how much I love spearfishing and wan't to take a freediving course in the not too distant future. That and the fact that a full 5mm can accommodate for pretty much the whole year round is why I'm looking at buying a new wettie.

Ossk, yeah. The dive shop owner said that I woudn't have a problem with the 5mm in winter if I was only spearfishing. He said that if I was going to be scuba diving and remaining at depth for long periods of time with the wetsuit compressed to 1/3rd of full thickness that I would need the 7mm to keep me warm.

If you're dropping $500 on a wettie I can't see why you'd buy anything other than an open cell suit. Yor suit will be colder, less flexible and fit more poorly than an open cell suit of the same price. Go to any.club dive, you won't see anyone diving a closed cell suit. There is a reason for this.

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Civilisation ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.

I suspect this might turn into a religious war....

I've never used an open cell suit but I can see three disadvantages to an open cell - compression (at depth - might not be an issue with shallow water spearing), toughness and getting into the damn things.

From everything I've read and heard about open cell is they are absolute princesses in terms of toughness, and you need to 'lube up' to get into them.

The two suits I have (a Sonar reversible camo 3mm and a probe iFlex 5mm) are both excellent suits - and both closed cell.

The sonar however does suffer from all of the points raised - it fits poorly (I've lost a bit of weight since i bought it though) - doesn't offer a lot of flexibility and is cold (in winter). It also suffers a bit from compression at depth (took it to 30 metres on a dive recently and was constantly readjusting my weight belt).

The probe however is super stretchy, tough as nails, fits like a glove still (even though ive lost weight). It doesn't restrict movement and has really nice seals around the wrists, ankles and neck which doesn't let much water in, and is warm. It did me through last winter no problems (spearing - on scuba i had insulators on as well) - it also doesn't compress that much - even at 25+ metres my (webbing) weight belt doesn't slip.

I don't know, maybe closed cell is less buoyant for the equivalent thickness? That would be a major advantage...

ALL WETSUITS ARE CLOSED CELL.


Sorry about the shouting but if they weren't they would act like a sponge. When neoprene is cut from a slab the cut "opens" the cells on the cut surface. When this is left unlined it is referred to as open cell.

The soft, stretchy comfortable neoprene that will compress more at depth can either be lined or open cell as can the tougher and less stretchy neoprenes that don't compress so much at depth. If it's soft and stretchy it will compress more.

A 2 piece suit with long johns and a jacket with attached hood will always be warmer than a steamer with a vest/hood because of the need for a zip in the steamer.

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WARNING: CONTAINS CARROT

I was just about to ask why haven't the open cell suits penetrated the surfing industry, and vice versa, why haven't the neoprene surfing wetsuits penetrated the freediving/spearfishing market? I'm just asking the simple questions to get a better grasp on the whole situation. I see that OSSK has already touched on a few issues. However, do open cell wetsuits really have compression issues? With all the people that use them to dive to depth I would have thought they would cope fine with compression / springing back to original shape. Maybe you had a dud suit? Or does this commonly occur with open cell suits after a while?

Greg, the FBomb surfing wetsuit I'm currently using keeps me completely dry. Once I get out of the water and remove my wetsuit I don't feel the need to even have a shower because I don't have that sticky salt water feeling, due to having been dry the whole time. This wasn't the case with previous wetsuits. I guess this was a 4/3 high end market wettie, and I guess the technology has improved over the years.

[quote="ossk"]



From everything I've read and heard about open cell is they are absolute princesses in terms of toughness, and you need to 'lube up' to get into them



not true mate, i dont use lube in any of my open cell suits.

Open cell suits aren't any more or less compressible than closed cell suits, as Greg pointed out its the type of neoprene that is important not the style. Neoprenes range from cheap soft neoprene, which is a comfortable fit but compresses easily to tougher grades that have little/no compression at depth but are more stiff. Somewhere in the middle is popular (eg Yamamoto 45). The fragility of open cell suits is a bit overhyped, the only hole I've put in a suit was jumping over the side of a boat via a metal rope hook. A closed cell suit would have done the same. I use lube in my suits, but its not a downside to me (pre-warmed in winter) and it more than pays for itself in improved fit. If you're only in the water for a short period you won't notice the cold so much and can get away with a crap suit - bubblies are only in for as long as their tank lasts (maybe an hour?). A spearing dive is more like 5-6 hours, and you will notice the cold a lot more. The double thickness over the chest comes in handy too.

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Civilisation ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.

Eh, maybe i should try an open cell before I rat on them anymore



Neoprene surfing wetsuits DO suffer from compression issues at depth - much worse than the suits being talked about in this discussion. They tend to be made out of a less dense (more gas) neoprene cut - which offers more warmth for the thickness.

That probe wetty you're looking at is made from "diving neoprene" (as most "scuba" wetsuits are) - i believe that its injected with nitrogen rather than straight out air - pure nitrogen being less compressible than air for the same exerted pressure. The neoprene in diving wetsuits tend to be much more dense than surfing wetsuits (so less embedded gas - also meaning less room to compress) - but as was pointed out offer decreased flexibility in comparison. They're also much heavier.

When it comes down to it - go to your dive store, try some on, see how it feels to you. Make sure its snug around the crotch and under the arms, and seals well around the neck, wrists and ankles. Make sure its not too tight, but not too loose, and make sure that you're comfortable in it.

Buy a spearfishing suit for spearfishing!

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Like a farken underwater ninja!

The fish were blinded by overexposure to his pure awesomeness!