Ladies and Fusion Tech

[JerseyJersey]

Just picked up a new Fusion Tech suit.....

those of you that know the saga of me and Pinnacle may be happy for me although I hopefully wont be able to rinse your gear anymore.....

but anyways..... ladies who have the fusion..... do you use the fusion boots or have you gone another direction? they seemed real wide and have ordered smaller ones but wonderng if you find another option better...... different brand,
chucks or are they best option in water...

[Squirrel Girl]

Just picked up a new Fusion Tech suit.....

those of you that know the saga of me and Pinnacle may be happy for me although I hopefully wont be able to rinse your gear anymore.....

but anyways..... ladies who have the fusion..... do you use the fusion boots or have you gone another direction? they seemed real wide and have ordered smaller ones but wonderng if you find another option better...... different brand,
chucks or are they best option in water...

I wear wetsuit booties--one size up.

[JerseyJersey]

I wear wetsuit booties--one size up.

Ahhhh.... since I was unable to use the Pinnacle neo-sock, I have always used the hard attached boot.... this is new territory for me and that certainly is not an option I would have thought of.... thanks

[Squirrel Girl]

Ahhhh.... since I was unable to use the Pinnacle neo-sock, I have always used the hard attached boot.... this is new territory for me and that certainly is not an option I would have thought of.... thanks

I think it might have been Forrest who made the suggestion to me. I used my normal booties at first, but they were tight over the Fusion. So I bought a 1 size bigger pair. They're a little big, but better.

[LCF]

I tried the Whites boots, Chuck Taylors (which were okay, but my feet got really cold if they were laced up enough to be secure on my feet), ScubaPro wetsuit booties (worked okay, were warm enough, but they wouldn't zip up all the way so they weren't very secure if I had to kick hard) and several varieties of surfing shoes. I finally kicked off a fin AND shoe about 1500 feet back in Twin Cave, and dropped my Fusion off at EE to get TurboSoles installed on it. I've been very happy with them.

[Squirrel Girl]

I tried the Whites boots, Chuck Taylors (which were okay, but my feet got really cold if they were laced up enough to be secure on my feet), ScubaPro wetsuit booties (worked okay, were warm enough, but they wouldn't zip up all the way so they weren't very secure if I had to kick hard) and several varieties of surfing shoes. I finally kicked off a fin AND shoe about 1500 feet back in Twin Cave, and dropped my Fusion off at EE to get TurboSoles installed on it. I've been very happy with them.

Hoo boy. Tell me about problems like that! I had my old booties on (that fit right w/o the Fusion suit on, so were small. I'd done one dive with Carl G in Waterhole, and we swam fine. But doing Peacock to Olsen, he was racing ahead with Neil. Slow down guys!!!! Why are you swimming so much faster on this dive???? Slow Down! THey're like, "What's Barbara doing swimming so slowly?" Well, I finally figure out my fin isn't seated on right. It wasn't until we popped up in Olsen that we found out the zipper had slipped down on my bootie and that was the problem.

So for subsequent dives I pulled out of my gear box the fin keepers and on subsequent dives that helped a lot. Plus my new bigger booties have a velcro latch to stop the zipper from going down.

[carrielsal]

I initially had the Fusion boots. There are several reasons I didn't like them. They have no arch support, my feet would slide around on the inside of the boot when I walked, and I once forgot to close the velcro ankle straps and my feet slid out of the boots as I was ascending. I have since bought a pair of Evo's that I love. They're a pain to lace up, but they are extremely comfortable and have good arch support. Unfortunately, I had to buy a pair of bigger fins to fit them.

[JerseyJersey]

the foot wandering around inthe boot (too much room) has always been an issue for me, specially with the hard boot. I manaaged to kick out of my boot and had my fin on the empty boot while my foot was pulled into the leg of a trilam suit at about 90fsw on a wreck..... was interesting cause my buddy kept telling me my fin was fine, wasnt grasping it was the foot not in the fin as the problem.....

stuffng the neophrene sock which was way too wide into a rock boot was just sooo uncomfortable with all the folds..... learned to deal with the hard boot issue real quick.

thanks for the input...had a feeling the boots were going to be a bit of a slippin and sliddin issue....

[carrielsal]

The fusion is my first drysuit. I liked the concept of the integrated boots. One less thing I could forget while packing. I like turning my DS inside out when I get home to completely dry. This requires taking the boots off, and it was a PITA to re-attach the boots.

[FW]

The fusion is my first drysuit. I liked the concept of the integrated boots. One less thing I could forget while packing. I like turning my DS inside out when I get home to completely dry. This requires taking the boots off, and it was a PITA to re-attach the boots.
I used to turn my suit inside out, but it eventually broke the zipper. Steve Gamble (drysuit repair guy) said to stop doing that, it is too hard on the zipper, and seams.

[carrielsal]

I used to turn my suit inside out, but it eventually broke the zipper. Steve Gamble (drysuit repair guy) said to stop doing that, it is too hard on the zipper, and seams.

Then how are you getting the inside dry? The inside of my suit is always at least damp and many times plain old wet by the end of the day.

[sskasser]

During trips, I "squat" mine down (picture just dropping your suit down loosely around your ankles as you take it off), opening it up wide at the zipper, exposing as much of the interior as possible. When I'm home, I have a DS hanger that it hangs upside down from, again with the zipper wide open without actually putting any stress on the zipper or seams. Works for me, anyway.

[JerseyJersey]

I was actually hoping the inside would be dry....hence the reason for getting a new suit..... tired of diving with the water on the inside as well as the outside....oh well:smt102:

[FW]

I was actually hoping the inside would be dry....hence the reason for getting a new suit..... tired of diving with the water on the inside as well as the outside....oh well:smt102:
Not from leaking, but condensation, perspiration, etc.

[FW]

Then how are you getting the inside dry? The inside of my suit is always at least damp and many times plain old wet by the end of the day.
http://www.atlanticunderwater.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=0

This is a little overkill, all you need are some PVC pipes, and let the suit hang inverted for a few hours.

[carrielsal]

I like that. I'm not a DIY kind of person, but I could put something together like that. I found the inside never dried when I just hung it with the zipper open. I have been turning it inside out but had no idea that was hard on the zipper.

[BabyDuck]

i just count on the undies drying it off the next day...

[FW]

For non-DIY people, there is a hanger, with a built-in fan.

http://www.uwkinetics.com/product/108

[JerseyJersey]

can I just hang it from a fishing wader hanger? one of those the boots slips into and it hangs upside down?

[K Mejean]

http://www.atlanticunderwater.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=0

This is a little overkill, all you need are some PVC pipes, and let the suit hang inverted for a few hours.
I know someone that has that set up and it works great. One of these days I will get around to building myself one.

[FW]

can I just hang it from a fishing wader hanger? one of those the boots slips into and it hangs upside down?
If the boots are stiff enough, yes. The Fusion comes with rubber "socks" though.

[carrielsal]

For non-DIY people, there is a hanger, with a built-in fan.

http://www.uwkinetics.com/product/108

I have looked at this in the past and wondered if it the fan was strong enough to dry everything out and if the hanger was strong enough to not break over time. The fusion is pretty heavy when wet.