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Oceanic Shadow Titanium |
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Wet suits are warmer, cheaper and more comfortable than ever. BBC on-line reporter and cold water surfer, Steven Shukor, picks five of the best Click to view Top 5 Wetsuits.
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Best for Diving (Oceanic Shadow Titanium, £239) |
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 If you dive, this is the one. Whether you are beneath the Atlantic, the Red Sea or the Med, the supremely versatile 3-piece Shadow Titanium can be adapted to suit. It's stylishly-designed, easy to put on, flexible and warm. Experts love it and so, almost certainly, will you. |
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The 5mm Shadow Titanium first hit the market in 2003 and has been a runaway favourite with both dive experts and customers ever since. "From the moment we opened the box this suit cried out quality," writes Andy Clark in Dive magazine, which gave the suit 9/10 for performance.
The key to it's success is simple: it allows you to mix and match according to the conditions you encounter. It comprises three pieces, a 5mm one piece body suit with long arms and legs, a 5mm shorty jacket - which fits comfortably over the top of the body suit and can be also worn on its own - and a 3mm hood.
The suit is available in male and female styles and allows you to build up the layers to suit the conditions. "It is both extremely flexible to wear and gives you the flexibility to wear exactly the right amount of insulation for any conditions that you might encounter," writes John Bantin for Divernet.
"I felt that I would have been confident enough to use it in the sea around the coast of Britain, provided there was someone standing by with a warm towel when I took it off!" |
Very Versatile |
 The Shadow Titanium scored highly whether tested as a full suit in 8 degrees Celsius water in Stoney Cove or in 22 degrees in the Red Sea, diving with the body suit alone or just the shorty.
The suit has contoured knees and elbows with high-stretch neoprene at the back of the knees, the underarms and the crotch - offering an easy fit and greater freedom of movement. "It looked incredibly well thought out," says Clark.
Heavy-duty material has been placed at points of wear and tear such as reinforced shoulder pads on the shorty, and rubberised ribbed knee pads on the long suit. "This suit looks unlikely to fall apart too quickly," writes Bantin. |
Highly Durable |
When worn as a full suit, the Shadow is very warm. The spine pad and kidney areas are of 10mm thickness and the neoprene has a titanium layer both to the inner and outer face.
The body suit's interior is lined with a soft plush interior which doesn't compress under water, according to the manufacturer. The wrists have double seals and the ankles have an added zipped seal - designed to work with the Shadow boots.
The hood integrates fully and has a smoothskin seal long enough to mate with the collar and top seals of the one-piece base layer. "Together with the double ankle seals and wet cuffs, our diver remained virtually dry," says Clark.
"This suit offered a very warm and comfortable dive with plenty of stretch without becoming a loose fit. A second dive? Certainly!"
Warm, comfortable, robust, flexible and versatile, "inside and out, the Oceanic Shadow Titanium Suit more than measures up," raves Simply Scuba. |
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Pros:
- Very Versatile (three suits in one)
- Titanium linings make it v warm
- Excellent quality
- Good value for money
Cons:
- You've got to keep track of the different bits! |
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Other great reviews in Sport:
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