WETSUIT WATERPROOF CAPRI 3

My instructions to take it off were confused because she was so focused on getting her wetsuit off. She was angry. It was because she had suffered a very uncomfortable dive in a suit cut to what, in those days, a British wetsuit manufacturer thought a woman should be like.
My wife has large breasts, a narrow waist and small hips. The suit she had borrowed was cut for someone with a flatter chest and a big bum. The result was a dive on which she felt that her chest was constricted and her softer parts were pushed under her arms.
I too have suffered the use of a suit that left my wedding tackle crushed up into a place where it is not naturally kept. So when I chose
a full-length suit in which to go to the Red Sea in midsummer, I was drawn towards one designed by Waterproof in Sweden.
It was cut to be "gender-specific", and so accommodate the bits that stick out and the bits that don't, whether you are like me or Mrs B.

Appearance
Fellow-divers observed that the Capri 3mm suit was a lot more colourful than others from Waterproof, which tend to be finished in sombre shades of grey. This one is in light and dark blue, with white shoulder panels.
To be as anatomic as possible, many panels of material are used. These are held together with glue and what appears to be high-quality stitching without a flaw in sight.
There seems to be no chance of the suit becoming unravelled and falling apart as it gets older.
This is a semi-dry suit, in that there are seals at ankles and wrists, but these are covered by the main material overlapping, and closed by zips. The seat is finished with a non-slip material that looks quite fetching on the right person.

Comfort
This non-slip seat did nothing to alleviate the effect of long, punishing RIB rides, because 3mm of neoprene was not enough to stop me from getting sore buttocks! Had I known, I would have chosen a 7mm suit. However, I didn't slip!
The suit has flexible corrugated neoprene sections at the small of the back, in the centre of the chest, and behind the elbows and knees. These give it a snug fit and make it comfortable whatever shape you take up as you crash down in the RIB from high waves.
The collar has a small zip at the front, so there's no gagging while in a sitting position.
Under water, it was sublime. My only criticism was that the ankle zips could give a nasty scrape to the skin if I was careless about how I pulled my feet through the seals when taking the suit off.

Efficacy
In water of 32°C at the surface, I was never going to be cold, but I was protected in a full-length suit against the effects of man-eating plankton and the hard knocks associated with being out at sea with the hard men.
It was also comfortable. I cut off the long tag on the rear zip, because it drove me crazy as I tried to take underwater photos. No matter how I attempted to stow it, it constantly floated in front of my face when I was stationary.

COMPARABLE WETSUITS TO CONSIDER:
O'Neil Explore £100
Cressi-sub Summer £83

SPECS
PRICE £132
THICKNESS 3mm
SIZES 7 men's and 7 women's (XS - XXL)
CONTACT www.cpspartnership.com
DIVER GUIDE