Hey guys, I'm going to buy a Speardiver wetsuit they have great reviews and appear to be the best all round spearfishing wetsuit in quality and price. Should I get the Speardiver Reef wetsuit or the Speardiver Predator red wetsuit? First, this suit is for when the temps start to drop so I'm going to get the 3mm and will be hunting SE Florida anywhere from Wabasso down to Ft. Lauderdale, and hopefully a few blue water trips sprinkled throughout the year as I progress (Also hoping to find some spots closer to home--Orlando and/or Gainesville).
So, to start things off, I realize the safety benefits of the red Predator suit and that it will make locating me easier, more visible at the surface, but am wondering what the drawbacks are. I realize that the longer wavelengths disappear at depth and the red predator suit turns to grey (I'm guessing??) but at what depth does this occur? What if I'm hunting in shallow--15-20ft--water, will I be a red blob on the bottom? For this reason, is the Reef camo a better choice for the location that I will be diving? Is one more advantageous in open water when blue water hunting? I know there are differing opinions on whether color matters at all and breaking up one's figure is the most important function of a suit's pattern...Do the safety benefits of the Predator wetsuit outweigh the functionality benefits of the Reef camo?
Also, are Speardiver suits made with Yamamato neoprene? It seems like that stuff is the 'talk of the town'...if that plays an important role.
Lastly, I'm wondering why spearfishing suits use open stitching, exposed to the environment and thus more prone to fraying whereas my surf suit has either glued seams or stitching that is covered by an additional rubber material to protect the thread.
Thanks in advance for any help! Cheers
Speardiver Reef wetsuit.
Speardiver Predator wetsuit.