|
20 DRY SUITS Aquatek X480 Aquion Pro Rear-Entry Beaver Iceberg Ultra Body Glove Pro-Lite Diamond Saxon 200 DMS Atlantis DUI FLX50/50 Gates PRO-VSN 1100 GUL Commercial Hydrotech Evolution IST Dive Team Proline Northern Diver Vortex Oceanic Flex O'Three RI 2/500 Otter Technical Superskin Poseidon Jetsuit TNG Roho Tech Seaway Arctic Pro Typhoon Nexus Viking Pro 1000 Return to GEAR Page |
Gates PRO-VSN 1100 First impressions A serious suit for serious divers, made with a heavy-duty but stretchy material. Price £649 (includes hose and a very useful bag). Material and construction Unique flexible tri-laminate material. A high-quality suit, very nicely finished, with all stitching taped on the outside and taped with seams vulcanised on the inside. We thought it was let down slightly where the neck seal was joined to the suit inside. Boots We expected a lot from the company that makes the famous Hunter wellies. These boots are nicely padded on the inside with hard-wearing sole treads. Probably the best fixed boots of all the suits in this review. Zip The cross-shoulder zip is nicely bonded to the suit. Gates is obviously confident with its method because there is no over-taping. Seals Conical latex wrist seals and bellows-style latex neck seal, both very heavy duty. Wrist seal contact length 80mm. Knee pads Heavy-duty knee pads that are a little small but "will never wear out". Valves Gates' own-make valves look identical to the Apeks product. There is an inflation valve at the centre of the chest and an auto-dump at the shoulder; both are mounted on rubber gaskets. Other features The plastic loops for the detachable braces exude quality and are well joined to the suit and reinforced. Ease of dressing "This suit was remarkably easy to get on and off. It was a perfect fit. The seals felt strong yet flexible brilliant!" In the water "Excellent in the water; the suit felt flexible yet bulletproof. I was unable to rotate the shoulder dump sufficiently to shut it down completely. Is this a safety feature? Although the cross-shoulder zip felt a little restrictive, this may have been because it was the only area of discomfort." Approximate weight of test suit 5.5kg. Made-to-measure service Stock sizes only. Tested by John Bantin. |
|