Henderson Gold Core Wetsuits

[Freedive WI]

Hendedrson's "gold core" is nothing other than a sprayed on coating over opencell rubber. It's been used in freediving suits for a long time- although they called it 'bio-termic' lining first.

There are different types of spray linings- gold, silver, copper, black, and just plain open cell. The one thing to know about all of these is that they WILL wear off eventually. The best way to slide them on is with a spray bottle full of hair condtioner and water- about a 50/50 mix to start with. It will make the suit glide on pretty darn fast. ;D

I have suits with both gold and silver linings, but have since switched back to normal opencell rubber. It's cheaper, warmer, and easier to move in. It is a bit tricker to put on, but worth it in the long run.

I have also owned a Henderson "Gold core" suit, but it wasn't anywhere near as warm as my freediving suits. This is because it wasn't cut the same and the zippers allow too much water through. If you really want to dive in a wetsuit, then look into a real freediving suit. You can get a custom cut one from Elios for less than a stock suit from Henderson.

Fred and I both dive smoothskin outer suits, but I wouldn't recommend that for scuba. For normal scuba diving you want to get some kind of a nylon outer lining to take the abuse that the tank straps on the BC will dish out.

Here's the link to the best wetsuit company I have ever found:


Jon