88 replies to this topic

[annasea]

What is your experience with wetsuit colours fading?

I'm in the process of deciding the colour placement for my wetsuit and accompanying hooded tunic -- black with purple accents or purple with black accents -- and am curious to read about others' experiences.

A rather wise bird and I are both under the impression that black fades, too, not only bright colours. So with this in mind, in addition to the amount of diving I'll be doing in this suit (not enough ), I'm leaning towards a predominately purple suit (80%) with black accents (20%).

Does anyone have any stories from hell regarding fading they'd care to share?

[novicediver]

as you stated, all colors will fade over time. My question is what is the purpose of the multicolored suit? Is it to look attractive above water or to add visibility under the water? If above, pick whatever color suits you. If below, what color is visibile? In my extremely limited experience, I have found that only yellow remains visible. Blue, purple, even lime green tends to lose its luster at 40-50 feet or less.
I am a royal blue fan. Probably my favorite color but I try to get everything yellow because it is visible underwater and I want my fellow divers to see me.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Any color other than black will look pretty bad after a while from rubbing on wrecks and such. So, it is not really the cool factor that makes a lot of experienced divers go with black suits; it's just the best color that will stay close to the same from when it is new.

[hnladue]

My suit is blue and black, and has over 50 dives on it. All freshwater too. It has not faded at all. Also at depth, my buddy can tell me from anyone else because I'm not all black. Go with the colors, as bright as possible. Your buddy will always be able to see and find you.

[Diverbrian]

My suit is blue and black, and has over 50 dives on it. All freshwater too. It has not faded at all. Also at depth, my buddy can tell me from anyone else because I'm not all black. Go with the colors, as bright as possible. Your buddy will always be able to see and find you.

I typically wear all black (really the only color scheme in an Andy's drysuit other that a blue that looks alot like black at depth) and haven't had a fading issue. I have seen lots of brown suits that were black suits after spending time in chlorine (pool). I haven't seen open water dives fade exposure suit colors to any great extent though.

However, I would add that the bright colors sometimes don't help much on a caribbean type boat. Many times, most of the divers are wearing bright colors on their three to five mil wetsuits. Bright colors tend to be more difficult to find in the two piece 7mm suits. It just happens that my primary buddy has one that is NOT predominantly black. I will say that it helps, but we don't get more than an armlength away from each other in any case. She has never had a problem keeping track of me in my all black drysuit .

[drbill]

As Henry Ford is reported to have said, "You can have it in any color you want... as long as it is black!"

[cdtgray]

I am inclined to say that you should just select the wetsuit that fits you and your needs the best and with the most appealing color without regard to fading in the future. By the time your wetsuit fades enough to start looking bad, there is a good chance that it would be time to buy a new one anyway.

Remember that zippers and stitching fail, tears happen, and suits compress over time.

[Scubatooth]

the only real high viz item i have are my fins which are high viz yellow so that in look viz conditions students or buddys can see me. as for wetsuits and other items that can fade i tend to keep them out of pools as i dont want them faded like the t-shirt and trunks i used for my open water that are gray now (there where black). I try to match the colors as best as possible but sometimes it just doesnt work out.

FWIW

Tooth

[Desert_Diver]

Since the reds disappear first, your purple & black (or vice-versa) suit will probably look all black below about 70 feet / 20 meters. I didn't keep track, but one of mine is black & purple, and I noticed that it was black & dark gray? at depth, unless you hit it with a light.

I have another that's black & yellow, and it didn't survive. After 40-50 dives it looked pretty tatty. The yellow had acquired that nice 'rust red' piping from several wreck dives, along with some green, blue and black marks that wouldn't come out. It's more of a 'fruit salad' look, now.

[ScubaDadMiami]

If you really want color, you can always buy a colored lycra hood, and then you can put that over your head (or even a standard hood). When that looks bad, you can get a new one and even change colors. They are inexpensive to replace when they don't look so good anymore.

[piscesgirl]

My 3/5 wetsuit happens to be black with purple accents (sleeves). Since I don't really use it that much down here in Fl, I am not worried about it fading out. If you are going to use it constantly, it may be a concern. Either way I think purple will fade faster than black.

[jextract]

Remember that diving's supposed to be fun. So pick colors and patterns that are fun to you. If you have something unique, it makes keeping track of you easier for your buddy ... for example, there's no missing my high-viz yellow and black fins and the huge jellyfish on my tank. When I was Kamala's buddy, it was impossible to miss the "Great Plains of Texas." No one can miss Walter's do-rag (or that he's the guy hitching a tow from many an unsuspecting diver). No one can miss Dr. Bill's "trap-door" wetsuit.

[annasea]

So far, this isn't looking very good.

To answer some queries that have come up... I agree that fit is most important which is why I'm going the custom route. (I have no choice really... I'm slim and leggy.) But one of the benefits of custom is that I can pick my colours! Stitching isn't really an issue either. I'm going with double blind stitching that has a lifetime warranty on it. My suit is being made right here in Vancouver so I have easy access to the manufucturer. (In fact, I'm dealing with them directly, not via a dive shop.)

Howard, what do you mean that "any colour" will look bad after rubbing on wrecks and such? Based on Stan's post, I'm hoping this only affects the lighter colours. (My purple, although bright, is quite a dark one.) Thx for the hood idea, but I'm having a hood attached to my tunic. I will be wearing a beanie though for warm water dives but I haven't found any other than black.

Thx for the encouragement, Jamie! No real need to worry about being visible to my buddy. I've already informed two that I'll be sticking to them like glue. (Now I've just informed three! )

Please keep your experiences coming though.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Howard, what do you mean that "any colour" will look bad after rubbing on wrecks and such? Based on Stan's post, I'm hoping this only affects the lighter colours. (My purple, although bright, is quite a dark one.) Thx for the hood idea, but I'm having a hood attached to my tunic. I will be wearing a beanie though for warm water dives but I haven't found any other than black.

The lighter the color, the worse the stains will get. Your suit will look like it has a bunch of rust stains and oil marks in these areas. It will look great the first time you try it on. However, the more you dive it, the more it will get stains on it. Black hides the best.

You can put the lycra hood over the hood that will be on your suit. It is just thin material that they use for making dive skins. So, you can get one that is colorful, and then you can toss it for a new one once it starts to look bad.

[drbill]

No one can miss Dr. Bill's "trap-door" wetsuit.

Hey, that one went into semi-retirement two years ago! However, with surface water temps as high as 78 degrees I'm thinking of returning it to active duty just for the fun of it! However bottom temps have been as low as 50 F and those weren't on my really deep dives so I may have to rethink it.

As for Caetllonn, I can vouch for skinny and leggy... sigh! My kind of woman. Too bad I'm "too much man" for her.

Edited by drbill, 24 July 2006 - 11:39 AM.