Pinnacle Black Ice questions

[jasondbaker]

I think I've only seen one or two people diving a neoprene dry suit locally in the past 10 years.  I'm sure more are probably out there -- I just haven't seen them.  I've met guys that dive neoprene dry suits exclusively when doing recovery work under the ice. 

A shell suit (whether trilam/cordura/compressed) is your best bet for flexibility and potential resale value.  One of the benefits is you can vary the under garments depending on the conditions.

At the end of the day it is all about personal comfort, fit, and preference. It's hard to get it right on the first try with little experience.  Try to rent a couple different types of suits.  Or buy a used suit and dive it for a year or two.

[LKunze]

Yes, very rare to see divers diving "uncompressed" regular 7mm neoprene drysuits. I'd steer clear of those. There are several divers locally though that dive DUI CF200 crushed neoprene drysuits.  Dan G, Jeff Leech, Kirk to name a few.

[joekarels]

You had wondered about the merino line suits.
I have the Pinnacle Evolution II (I think). Now this my first dry suit, and I've had it for 3 years now, but I love it.
I have the Pinnacle Merino lined undergarment. I have never been cold in it. It is a bit bulkier, and I think adds a little more to your weighting that you will need. I also have the Merino lined hood. And again, my first dry suit, but I've never been cold. It does take longer to dry though. But for a weekend of diving, once your head hits the water, it's all wet anyway.

[arcFlash]

I was talking to this young fella named Grumpie, and he told me that if I was to make a drying rack out of PVC that I should use a womans hair drier as the fan as they have a round outlet thingy that would mate up nicely to a PVC "t". Just a thought...
[/quote]

A Computer fan works great. I use a 120v 120mm fan. It runs for days.

[DetectorGuy]

I was talking to this young fella named Grumpie, and he told me that if I was to make a drying rack out of PVC that I should use a womans hair drier as the fan as they have a round outlet thingy that would mate up nicely to a PVC "t". Just a thought...
[/quote]


A Computer fan works great. I use a 120v 120mm fan. It runs for days.
[/quote]

I use a PEET boot dryer... Drier... however you spell it, for drying out my neoprene gloves without the boot shaped plastic insert 'cause they seem to take the longest to dry, but I always wanted to make two perforated PVC pipes that run up from the PEET boot drier to armpit level then glue a TEE on each vertical pipe. Then loosely place a perforated PVC pipe head out of each tee toward the arms. cap the end of these arm pipes to force the heat/breeze through the perforations. If a person was to get fancy, he or she could glue two 90 degree elbow's to the top of the TEE's in the shape of an inverted "U". If this inverted "U" was high enough... say 6' off the ground, then you could plop your hood on it and it would dry at the same time. OR if you really wanted to get crazy with it, you could add a TEE in the middle of the "U" and a short piece of PVC pointing front and back of the contraption to stick your gloves on it too.

Who knows... your insurance company will probably give you a break on your premiums....  A burglar breaks in... see's this monster standing in the middle of the room... dies of a heart attack... crime solved!

I need to go to bed, Im getting punchy :

[Scouter]

This sounds like a perfect winter time project. A pile of PVC, some glue, a computer fan or hair dryer. A beer or two and the playoffs.  ;D ;D

Poor dry suit will never be the same.

Hey everyone, THANKS for all the feed back. I am still undecided and will probably remain that way until spring when I plan to take the dry suit course. I can then try out some different rentals to see what, if any thing lights up in my own head.

So far I seem to be leaning towards the DUI CF200 signature with the zip seals, footies and rock boots. Big $$$ though. That is holding me back and I will probably try a Pinnacle Evolution 2 if I can get one for rent. I may just like the Evo 2 well enough that I decide the DUI features are not worth the extra money.

[aknelsonone]

I use a Pinnacle Evolution now for a couple years . I also got a Weezle Extrem underware
This combination works fine for me at least for cold water.
I used to dive a neoprene  dry suit and I have not much negative to say exempt it needs more weight and you need to be a bit carefully what you wear. The big advantage is you do not need any huge thick underware.
Shirt and jeans will work.
Regarding the fit this is what you need to research very carefully. The Brands have different fit and you need to know your measurements. Then go and shop with the measurements and try the models you like best.
I do not think the DUI is the best model. The best model is the one who fit best.
I went away from dry gloves for now. Snug fitting regular gloves are doing the job too.
I think the biggest cold shocker is exposed skin on your face and this is another post to talk about.javascript:void(0);

Andreas