want advice on Oneil Wet suits

[Darthwader]

How good/durasble are Oneil Suits? I was only familiar with the brand from the Surfing community.
I never really thought about it, but what are the other choices out there and how does the Oneil brand compare?

[cruzan]

What weight are you looking for and where will you be diving. If your diving in Michigan you'll want a heavier weight suit if it's the tropics or warmer water a 3/2 or 3 mil full should be fine. If your like my husband maybe a t-shirt or 1 mil skin.

O'neil make great wetsuits but you need to narrow down some choices weight and style are just 2 of the choices you need to make.

I happen to like Henderson and Bare wetsuits. Henderson will custom make a suit for me and they are about 30 mins. from where we live. I happen to dive a 3 mil full by Neosport I usually dive in the Caribbean. So many of the concerns that you may have ,I don't.

[Darthwader]

Originally Posted by cruzan

What weight are you looking for and where will you be diving. If your diving in Michigan you'll want a heavier weight suit if it's the tropics or warmer water a 3/2 or 3 mil full should be fine. If your like my husband maybe a t-shirt or 1 mil skin.

O'neil make great wetsuits but you need to narrow down some choices weight and style are just 2 of the choices you need to make.

I happen to like Henderson and Bare wetsuits. Henderson will custom make a suit for me and they are about 30 mins. from where we live. I happen to dive a 3 mil full by Neosport I usually dive in the Caribbean. So many of the concerns that you may have ,I don't.

I picked up an ONeil type 2 7mm suit. it works great, but I'm using almost 30# in weights when I'm fully suited up. I know I'll be getting another suit sooner than later, but don't think I want another O'Neill I thought I'd see what the choices were.

[cruzan]

You may want to try talking to one of the more experienced people here. 30# is not unreasonable depending on the rest of your equipment and your weight.

[The Great Kazoo]

With only 24 dives under your belt, you will learn (the more you dive) that you are over/under weighted (I would guess over). I use 10lbs in my 7mm in fresh water (but I use a SS BP). In salt add a few more. I have an AquaLung AquaFlex wetsuit and will be switching when it is done. It is totally crap. I have had Body Glove, Rip Curl, ONeil and a few more. All have lasted longer than the AquaLung. You always use more weight when the suit is new. As it wears in you will lose more lbs. Plus you will be more comfortable with the bouyancy of the new suit. I wouldnt hesitate buying a Surfer wetsuit for diving. I am way more active when surfing than diving. I havent had any problems with Oneil or any I have listed.

[Coastie6]

I dove with a 3mm Oneil "shorty" for years. Got it for surfing and it ended up serving double duty. As far as durability, this suit is still going 18 years later as a warm water option for my wife.

That being said, another probably wouldn't be my choice for a cold water suit. I've been looking at several options myself and think I'd look toward a Pinnacle or Bare. I owned a Henderson 3mm jumpsuit, in the past and had some minor stitching issues, nothing some wetsuit glue didn't resolve.

It's been a while since I dove a cold water wetsuit, but 30 lbs sounds pretty darn heavy even with a 2-piece 7mm Farmer John. Good luck in your search.

[Smoochy]

Oneil makes great suits! My boyfriend has had his for 5 years with over 100 dives on it. It is just now starting to show it's wear. His is a 3mm with extra core warmth. Everything has held up great on it, no rips tears, piling or anything.

I will NEVER buy a Henderson ever again. The Hyperstretch suit is comfortable, but you need 2mm extra just to stay warm. My Henderson started to pile (neoprene balling up) after 30 dives. Apparently, my harness rubbed against it too much for it's liking... or at least that's the only explination I can think of. Funny because my Bare suit is fine, and so is the boyfriends Oneil....

[Darthwader]

Originally Posted by Smoochy

Oneil makes great suits! My boyfriend has had his for 5 years with over 100 dives on it. It is just now starting to show it's wear. His is a 3mm with extra core warmth. Everything has held up great on it, no rips tears, piling or anything.

I will NEVER buy a Henderson ever again. The Hyperstretch suit is comfortable, but you need 2mm extra just to stay warm. My Henderson started to pile (neoprene balling up) after 30 dives. Apparently, my harness rubbed against it too much for it's liking... or at least that's the only explination I can think of. Funny because my Bare suit is fine, and so is the boyfriends Oneil....

part of my worry was the "hyperstretch" fabric, or whatever ONeill calls their version. I'd heard (after I already bought the suit) that this fabric doesn't hold up as well. I am, howver a complete noob. My wife, who's from San Diego, had to school me on ONeill actually (I thought it was a off brand)
I've experiemented with differing weight, and do see that i'm trimming down with each consecutive dive, but I doubt I'll dip below 20#; I'm diving an Al backplate. . . sure sorry I didn't flip for the SS now!
Regardless, thanks for the input folks, it was very helpful.

[cruzan]

Originally Posted by Darthwader

I've experiemented with differing weight, and do see that i'm trimming down with each consecutive dive, but I doubt I'll dip below 20#; I'm diving an Al backplate. . . sure sorry I didn't flip for the SS now!
Regardless, thanks for the input folks, it was very helpful.

You may want to eventually get a ss BP and relegate your al one for travel.

[neogeo]

I dive an O'Neill drysuit, its very durable and has many dives on it