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I have owned a CF200 custom suit for over a year and I swear by it. The nylon covered crushed neoprene is very supple and hence the suit is not made to be oversize and hang in all sorts of folds about you to allow you to do simple things like bend over. Unlike a normal neoprene, you do need an undergarment although the suit does provide some insulating ability. Its flexibility is truly its biggest benefit. You can self don the suit. It is a very comfortable suit. The Self Donning zipper (accross the sholder down to the left center waistline doubles as a convenient relief zipper so you do not have to remove the neck and wrists seals to relieve yourself. I have worn jeans and a tee shirt in it for typical northern summer diving (60-70 degree waters) and pile undergarments in cold early spring water (36 to 55 degrees). Diving with summerweight clothing allows me to dive with less weight than a 1/4 inch wet suit. Thick undergarments require me to pile on the weight (as they do for most drysuits). The construction is a VERY durable crushed neoprene (about 1/8 inch thick) covered on both sides by a sturdy nylon facing. Crushed neoprene is a very different animal than normal neoprene. It is VERY difficult to puncture and has no trapped air in it. Regular neoprene can cut very easily as any wetsuit owner who sits on something sharp will find out (I did). I consider the CF200 an excellent drysuit. The disavantage is its price. (about $150 to 300 more than a Viking Pro). I also consider DUI one of the most objective drysuit companies because they make and sell ALL 4 major types of drysuits: Vulcanized Rubber (like the Viking), Bag suits (lightweight, low cost sport suit), Full neoprene, and the CF series Crushed Neoprene). I recommend picking up the DUI catalog because it lists ALL their drysuits and very objectively rates the pros and cons of each one. The catalog also lists neeto keen accessories that are of use for any drysuit owner. One neet toy I got was the suit evacuator. Its a gadget that you hook up to the power inflator hose on a tank and press over the air vent valve on the drysuit. It uses pressurized air to create a venturi effect and literally sucks the air from your drysuit. You use it out of the water before you dive If you use too long, you will end up like a packed piece of meat vacuum packed in the supermarket. It eliminates the need to scrunch down and hug yourself in an attempt to get the air out of your suit before diving. One other neet item I am thinking about getting from the DUI catalog is the small Argon Gas bottle for use as a suit gas. As has neen discussed in either this list or Rec.scuba, Argon has better insulating qualities than air. Another benefit the catalog mentions about argon is the fact that it is a fairly heavy gas allowing you to reduce the weight needed. - Andy Andrew W. Potter Internet: awpsys@ri*.is*.ri*.ed* Associate Director Bitnet: awpsys@ri*.BI* Data Center Operations & Technical Support Information Systems and Computing Rochester Institute of Technology, P.O 9887, Rochester NY, 14623 (716) 475-6994
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