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Chris asked about Viking suit prices. In October '92, I paid $1295 for a Viking Pro Surveyor (has latex dry hood), not counting underwear. This was about the best price I could find. I got a zero percent twelve month financing deal on the suit, so if I had paid cash I could probably have knocked off 10%. I know an active instructor who paid about $1K for the same suit, so if you teach you can probably get a deal. If you do much wreck diving, you probably don't want to consider the Viking Sport. The Pro is substantially tougher, and has a better dryvalve connecter. I like the dryhood on my suit, although some people find it difficult to get used to. It does keep your head warm when in very cold water. If you don't like dryhoods get the Pro Nautic, which has an attached neoprene hood. I hate to say it, but if you are a wreck diver you might also want to consider a DUI CF200 if you can get a good price (there is a shop in the area offering them to members of a local dive club for $1000 even). I hate to say this because my first drysuit dives were in a leaky DUI TLS suit, and I got soaking wet in 35F water from leaking valves and neoprene seals. I swore I'd never dive in another "Dry Until Immersed" suit. Since then, DUI has gone to the same type of exhaust valve as Viking, and also offers latex seals. The CF200 divers certainly have a lot fewer patches than I do, and the self-donning zipper is nice if you do any solo diving. Having said this, I should note that I have never actually gotten more than a slight leak in my Viking suit from wreck abrasion, and repairs to the suit are trivial to do. CF200s not only can be punctured, but I also understand that the glued and stitched seams eventually leak. When they start to leak, CF200s must be sent back to the factory for repairs. Someone I dive with had to send his CF200 back to DUI for seam repair after only 1 year/200 dives. He was without a drysuit for a full month in the midst of wreck season. John Heimann jheimann@sc*.gt*.co*
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