In January 2009, DUI introduced their XM450 undergarment to the general diving public. Having listened to the divers from all over the world complain about the 400G undergarment, DUI set off to make a product with all of the characteristics that made the 400G great, but without it’s flaws. The result was the XM450. I recently purchased a XM450 as my Weezle Extreme+ just wasn’t cutting it on really long, cold dives. I dove it this past weekend, here are my thoughts.

When I see new products on the market, I’m always quick to point out the flaws. Just part of my nature to look for ways things can be improved. The one thing I look for in new products is the Wow! factor. That being, is there something with this product that makes me say “Wow!”. I’ve reviewed plenty of products in the past that weren’t new or exciting, like the HOG regulator review and the HOG/EDGE Quick Shot inflator. These products didn’t have that Wow! factor for me.

When I received my XM450, I tried it on. It got up to my waist and I almost took it off. It felt really snug. I was afraid I got the wrong size. It wrapped very close around my legs. I was sure this thing wasn’t going to fit, but I pulled it on anyway. As I got it up around my shoulders, I had to do the “shoulder dip” move to get the suit fully on.

The first thing that stood out initially was the close fit of the suit. I gingerly zipped up the suit fearing I was going to tear the zipper. Due to the stretchiness of the suit, it zipped up just fine. It is slightly snug around my gut, but that is more my problem rather than the suit. The fit of the suit is that of a glove and the best part is no restrictions.

The “Wow!” factor for this suit is the mobility. With the suit on and zipped up, I had absolutely no problem reaching behind my head. I was expecting an atomic wedgie, but no luck. Suit felt really good. I walked around in it and did the squat thing I see in the pictures. No tugging or pulling at all. I even sat down and crossed my legs, still felt great. After having the suit on for about 15 minutes, I was starting to get pretty warm. Taking off the suit, I really did say “Wow!”.

Now for the Dive

The biggest thing I was worried about with this suit was the buoyancy change from my Weezle. I talked with my dealer, my buddy Ed Gabe and even Susan Long (CEO of DUI). I really didn’t get much information from them in terms of what to expect for the buoyancy change. I was mostly on my own to figure this out.

I opted to add an eight pound v-weight to my tanks and give it a shot. With the Weezle, I’m about three pounds negative with near empty tanks. I was hoping by adding the eight pound v-weight, that would give me 11 pounds total to keep my rig balanced. By the end of the day, I had my tanks down to 1,000 psi and wasn’t feeling floaty. I’ll be getting a better feel of the buoyancy changes the more I dive it. But my first guess would be that the suit added six more pounds of buoyancy.

For the day, I did three dives in the suit. Water temps were 45F and air temps hovered around 60F. The suit definitely kept me warm. However, I did noticed some cold spots where the fleece stretch panels were at. If I felt it in 45F water, I’ll really feel it in 36F water.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Warmth – The suit is most certainly warm. It should do fine for the really long dives I’ll be doing.
• Mobility – The stretch panels really make this suit one of a kind. No issues with moving around comfortably. This really is the “Wow!” factor for this product.
• Fit – The suit fits much better than the older 400g. Nice close fit and the mobility panels make it very comfortable.

Cons:

• Price – The suit is pricey. MSRP is around $550. That’s a lot for an undergarment whose Thinsulate material may wear out in 2-3 years.
• Support for P-Valve – I dive a lot. So naturally, I use a p-valve. To hook up the p-valve, I had to open the bottom of the zipper to route the tube. Due to the close fit, it left a rather large opening in the zipper area. That left Captain Winky exposed next to the dry suit shell and thus cold. It would be nice if DUI would put a couple small button holes for routing the p-valve tube through.
• The mobility panels are DUI’s PolarFleece material. Basically they are similar to fleece. Fleece doesn’t keep you warm in really cold water. Perhaps DUI could have put some kind of Thinsulate material inside the mobility panels. Don’t sew them into the panels, leave them “floating” between the fleece material. This keeps the stretchiness, and limits the cold spots.

One of the tangible pros for this suit is the support I got from Susan Long. Rarely will you be able to talk to the owner of a dive store, let alone the CEO of a major scuba manufacturer. Susan was great and even commented on my Facebook posts. The only downside to the support from Susan was that she hasn’t let me test dive their electric undergarments (currently in beta testing and not production). Perhaps, I’ll have a special package on my doorstep next week with DUI logos all over it.

Summary

Overall, this is a very nice suit. It’s hard for me to be non-biased. I’m on my second DUI dry suit and love their products, but I didn’t like their 400g undergarment. That’s why I bought the Weezle Extreme+ a few years ago. The new XM450 is much nicer than the older 400g and warmer than my Weezle. I’m happy with the fit and very pleased with the ease of mobility the suit provides. The suit is super nice, but for the price, you’d better be committed.

I almost forgot, I want to give a huge thanks to Jan at Do Dive In in Peoria, IL. Jan was the one who hooked me up with the suit and was great at addressing all of my concerns. She also gave me a great deal on the suit. Contact her if you are interested in buying DUI dry suits and undergarments.

This summer I had an opportunity to test out the new Highly Optimized Gear (HOG) D1 cold water regulator. A dive store, who sells them, sent me a first and second stage and asked me to dive them for a while to give them my feedback on how they performed when compared to my Scubapro and Apeks regulators. If you’ve read a few of my other product reviews, you’ll know that I am very leery of new products unless they can solve a reoccurring problem.

HOG Regulators – My Initial Thoughts

Testing the HOG regulators on a Single Tank

I first put this reg on one of my single tank rigs and took it to my local quarry for a few shallow water dives in the 20 to 50 foot range. Water temps were in the 50F range. I did four dives in one day and the HOG regulator performed equally to my Apeks in terms of work of breathing (WoB) and gas delivery. However, my Scubapro regulators have always had an easier WoB and gas delivery. The HOG did not perform the same as my Scubapro MK25 with G250 second stage. Scubapro wins hands down, even when compared to my Apeks. Hose routing was the same on the HOG as my Scubapro due to the 5th LP port on the end of the first stage.

Testing the HOG regulators on Doubles

I did notice a change on deeper dives. My Apeks regulators had an easier WoB and delivered a good volume of gas. I felt that with the HOG, I had to work slightly harder at breathing. I’m not talking about anything extreme here. Just a slight difference. WoB is critical. If you have a high WoB, then carbon dioxide can build up and lead to blacking out.

Testing the HOG regulators on Deco/Stage Bottles

My Overall Thoughts

Overall, the HOG D1 coldwater regulator performed similar to my Apeks. There were slight differences that I noticed about WoB and position of the first stage. Otherwise, the HOG and Apeks were similar. When comparing the HOG to my Scubapro, there is no comparison. The Scubapro had an easeir WoB and gas delivery. The Scubapro also beat the HOG in first stage placement as the Scubapro doesn’t stick out as far as the HOG and interfere with reaching a valve knob. The only down side to Scubapro is that they can free flow quite easily in very cold water. Which is why I use Apeks on my doubles and Scubapro on my deco bottles.

While the HOG regulator was fine, I can’t justify replacing my Apeks and Scubapro regulators. The primary reason is that I can work on my Apeks regulators. Since the HOG and Apeks are very similar, I can’t see spending a bunch of money on another regulator repair class for something that I already can do. HOG is the only company that allows their customers to learn how to rebuild the regulators, but it is limited to technical divers only. I haven’t looked at the course in great detail, so I don’t know the specifics.

When I look online, I’m seeing the HOG regulators being sold as a cheaper alternative to Apeks. I can’t justify the cost of replacing my Apeks with HOGs. Especially considering that my Apeks have performed flawlessly for me in the eight years I’ve owned them. There is nothing new or innovative about the HOG regulators. While the HOG regulators are cheaper than Apeks and Scubapro, if that is their only selling advantage, I’ll pass. If you are looking for a cheap regulator to use in shallow depths, the HOG is fine. But if you are looking for a regulator with great work of breathing, then I’d stick with Scubapro and Apeks.

Vindicator Valve Handle

What is it?

The Installation

My Opinion

I’m also concerned about the material they are made from. From what I can tell, they are made from plastic. Plastic can become brittle in cold water. If one cracked and broke, then the diver may not be able to shut down their valves (assuming diving double tank configuration).

The think I did like about this product was the large knobs it has. When wearing thick dry gloves, it felt easier to grab my valves handles and manipulate them. Another benefit to these things are that if you were to come into contact with an overhead environment, an aware buddy will be able to see if your valve has rolled off. Of course, technical divers have a protocol to always perform a flow check whenever coming into contact with an overhead. Even though I like this feature, I will not be switching my valve handles over anytime soon.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Earlier this summer, I was asked to try out a Whites Fusion dry suit. I have only owned Diving Concepts and DUI suits. My only experience with Whites was when I dove the Nexus suit for my dry suit certification course. My experience with that suit was so bad, I questioned if I wanted to dive dry or not. So I was more than reluctant to try out the Fusion suit.

Whites Fusion Dry Suit w/ tech skin

The inner layer of the suit didn’t feel like many of the laminate suits that I’ve seen. It seemed to me that this material was thinner and more flexible than other suits I’ve felt. They outer shell was made out of a Spandex like material that felt like it could wear out easily.

Putting on the suit was different than other suits I’ve put on. First, you have to unroll the suit down to the top of the legs. Holding onto the crotch of the suit, you put your legs in making sure you do not pull on the outer shell, but instead pulling on the inner layer to get the suit up. Once you got the suit up to your waist, you could then gently pull up the outer layer to make it snug. My overall impression of putting on this suit was that it felt like putting on two condoms at the same time. It just didn’t seem natural and was clumsy.

Once the suit was up to your waist, you could put your arms through and then your head through the neck seal. Again, making sure you are pulling on the inner layer and carefully pulling tight the outer shell. This suit differs from your traditional front entry suit. Most traditional entry suits zip from should to hip. The suit zips shut across the front of your chest from shoulder to shoulder. I dove this suit with my Weezle Extreme+ undergarment. The suit felt too small with this undergarment. At least on the surface.

Now for the dive. I wear a standard DIR rig, which is a one piece harness on a backplate and wing. With the zipper in the front, it restricted my shoulders and I had difficulty reaching my valves. I was still able to do a couple valve drills, however it didn’t feel natural like in my DUI suit. There was certainly more “pinch” in my shoulders than other suits I’ve dove. During the dive, it occurred to me that the Spandex like outer shell was there to pull the inner layer tight and keep any extra material streamlined. This may be good in theory, however I did notice that the suit was trapping air and it was difficult to move that air up and out of the suit.

In summary, this suit was no where near as bad as my experience with the Nexus suit. It wasn’t the greatest experience in a dry suit I’ve had, but not horrible either. I will also concede that the suit was not custom cut to my body type and the stock size may have contributed to my experience in it. I’m not impressed with the outer shell of the suit. There is the normal skin, that I dove, and a tech skin. I’m not sure what the difference is, but I can’t see it being a dramatic difference in the suit. But I could be wrong.

Personally, I still like the Diving Concepts Z-Tech and DUI TSL350 suits and highly recommend those.

Dive Safe,
Duane Johnson
Precision Diving

Technorati Tags: dry suit, Whites Fusion, Weezle, tech skin, Diving Concepts

A while ago, a dive store manager asked me to try out this new gizmo called a Quick Shot. It is a device that is supposed to help divers inflate SMBs or lift bags easier when wearing deco, stage, pony bottles. I have always been reluctant to try new gear that is advertised as an improvement on something that doesn’t need improved, but I tried it anyway.

The Quick Shot is basically the mechanism of the end of an inflation hose, without the hose, that has the 3/8″ threads. It screws into a low pressure inflation port on the first stage of a regulator. This device is meant to go on a deco/stage bottle, not on tanks on your back. This device can only be used with SMBs or lift bags that have the inflation nipple (like a BCD inflation nipple) for inflation.

Normally, SMBs or lift bags are inflated orally or by using a low pressure inflation hose, such as your BCD or dry suit inflation hose. I have always preferred orally inflating my SMBs. So when I tested this device, I did it in a scientific method. That is, I used my normal way of inflating a SMB as a control and compared how to inflate the SMB using the Quick Shot to my control. Below are my findings.

I first found that the Quick Shot needs to be on “top” of the first stage in order to fit the SMB inflation nipple to the Quick Shot device. So my dive was cut short and I had to head back to the bench to move the device to a different port on the regulator. Once back in the water, I used the Quick Shot to launch SMBs. I found that there were two methods to shoot the SMB. One, I had to wrap up the spool and access SMB material in my left hand then inflate the SMB with the left hand as well. The Quick Shot does inflate rather fast. I found this out the hard way as the SMB took off and I was left searching for the spool. The other thing that went wrong with this method of inflation was that if the SMB is in front of you, when it inflates, the SMB may dislodge your mask due to the fast inflation rate. So I had to be careful to keep the SMB away from my face. My second attempt at shooting the SMB, I kept the spool in my right hand and inflated the SMB with my left hand. This gave me more control over the SMB. Again, I had to make sure that the SMB was away from my face. However, this method didn’t leave me with a free hand. If you read my blog article on how to shoot a bag, it is a team activity. If a member of my team had an emergency and I had both hands full with the SMB, it could lead to even more problems. In order to get more practice at shooting the SMB using the device, I shot a total of 12 SMBs using both methods I just described. I even tried using this device when I was in a near vertical position (one I’m not comfortable in). Still the same results. It became even more difficult when carrying two bottles and the bottle with the Quick Shot device is on the bottom. The SMB and spool wanted to get tangled up in the deco bottles. Plus, I had to remember which bottle the device was on.

In conclusion, my theory is that a diver shouldn’t let equipment replace what can’t be done with skill. This holds true with this device. Shooting a SMB the “old-fashioned” way is more effective in that it 1) doesn’t inflate the SMB too fast. The diver can control how fast he/she blows into the bag. 2) It allows the diver to be in more control of the process and also keep an eye on the team. The MSRP for this device is around $20 USD. So if people buy one and never use, then you aren’t out much money. Heck, we’ve all spent a lot more money on more useless things. My suggestion is, learn how to inflate the SMB the right way and stick with that. It is a process that has been proven to be effective time and again.

FWIW, I did not purchase this device and was not paid to test it out.

I welcome your questions and comments.

Dive Safe,
Duane Johnson
Precision Diving