Henderson Hyper Stretch Review

[headhunter]

So, I thought I'd post my thoughts on my Henderson Hyper Stretch wet suit.

Having owned a very warm and extremely durable old neoprene (Rubatex aka N231 neoprene) 1/4 inch farmer john style Blue Water wet suit for many years, I was ready for a new suit. The old suit was built like a tank, but was a real pain to get in and out of.

My number one consideration for a replacement was comfort. I don't get cold easily, so this was secondary. I was not really looking for durability, but would not have minded finding something durable that was extremely comfortable. I decided that a 7mm full suit would fit my needs and that for me, anything else would be overkill.

I tried many wet suits on one day and left the Henderson for the end since I had been told by quite a few people that this would probably be the most comfortable one. I tried on so many suits that I actually had blood blisters on one finger of each hand. I was exhausted and somewhat over heated. It was now time for the Henderson.

Well it popped on so easily I couldn't believe is was really a 7mm wet suit. That was enough for me. I had found what I was looking for.

Now I'll tell you my experience with it up to this point.

I've got 180 dives on it.

At about 100 dives it lost a good deal of its thermal protection. That doesn't really bother me because I don't get cold very easily. When it was new, I was quite comfortable for an hour long dive down to about 50º. Now it's fine down to about 55º for about 45 minutes. From about 48º to 52º, I do notice I now get quite a bit colder than when it was new. I have not noticed that it has lost much more of its thermal protection since around 100 dives.

At around 150 dives, the zipper started to come out and I had it sewn back in at about 160 dives.

At 180 dives it's looking a bit like swiss cheese with the biggest holes under the arms and in the knees above the knee pads. I've noticed that above the knee pads seems to be a common place for these to get holes in them when I see other Henderson suits around the area.

I don't remember exactly what I paid for it, but remember it being a bit over $300.

So, what's the bottom line? Would I buy another one?

Absolutely! The comfort level and ease of getting in and out of this thing is worth throwing it away around every 200 dives. I think it still beats the cost of ownership for a dry suit, but probably not by much.

Instead of replacing this one anytime soon, I'm going to buy a dry suit instead. Then I'll probably get another one that I'll only where occasionally.

Has anyone out there had a similar or very different experience with a Henderson wet suit?

Christian

[alaity47]

I'd say I've had a pretty similar experience. I've got somewhere around 200 dives on my Hyperstretch, which I bought in 2003 (switched to a drysuit about a year and a half ago, then gained too much weight to wear it and have been back in the wetsuit for the last 6 months).

I find that the ease of getting it on and off helps me stay warm, in that I can take it off between dives and get nice and dry. Lots of divers on the boat find it too much effort to squeeze out of their suits, and so stay wet and shivering between dives.

This last year, I've definitely noticed it isn't that warm anymore - these days, I often wear my 1mil tropical suit (also henderson) underneath it if I think I might get cold. Still easier than hauling on a non-hyperstretch.

Last year's ADP class (lots of beach diving, lots of crawling around on rocks) put the first few noticeable nicks in the suit, and now that I'm helping out with ADP this year, it's starting to come apart at the kneepads. You can also nearly SEE THROUGH the bum if I'm bent over and stretching it out, to the bathing suit underneath - no wonder I get cold!

I'm definitely going to buy another one. I still like having a wetsuit for beach dives (though I fit into my drysuit again at last, so I'll use that for multi-dive days). And I don't miss those blood blisters and torn fingernails.