Lomo Maverick
The Lomo Maverick arrived first. The packaging wasn’t deluxe, just a clear plastic bag, but I’d be diving in the suit, not the bag, so that was OK, and the suit looked good.
It’s all black with nicely muted logos, and on closer inspection the blind stitching was even and very neat. Internally the seams are taped, with extra reinforcement at key points, and there’s a jazzy thermal lining with a red honeycomb pattern covering the torso and thighs.
The Maverick is chest-entry, so you first open the zip, which separates into two like the zipper on a coat rather than opening to a stop like the zipper on a drysuit. You then ferret about to find where to insert your feet – the colourful lining helps – and step in, pushing your feet through the ankles.
Pull the suit up and shimmy your backside into place, pull the top of the suit up and slide your arms into the sleeves, take a deep breath and wriggle your hands through wrist-seals that feel way too tight and you’re almost there.
A sort of cape is attached to the inside of the back of the suit that pulls forward, up and over your head, to reduce water entry, with a cord and toggle to adjust the fit, and then all that’s left is to pull the zipper halves together and do up the zip.
I won’t pretend it falls into place, but the end result felt more like a semi-dry than a wetsuit and promised mucho warmth and cosiness. Getting it off was easier than getting it on, but a second pair of hands were helpful. Very helpful.
Back in the day Navy divers were attended by dressers, whose job it was to help their diver into and out of his kit. The Lomo isn’t quite as tough to climb into as a Sladen drysuit but it sure ain’t easy, and the help of a willing third party is near as dammit essential.
Getting out is easier, but a helper is still more than useful. Fortunately liveaboard crews have been there, seen it, done it, and Hamza appointed himself to look after me, accepting the risk of a hernia. I exaggerate, but only a bit.
You might also like to note that I needed a size larger than my usual medium to get into the suit at all.
Don’t be put off. Once on, the suit was simply splendid. Movement above water was smooth and unrestricted. Dropping into the water produced no noticeable initial flush of cool water and dekitting after the dive confirmed very limited water-entry.
I’ve had drysuit dives where I’ve been wetter. And that meant it was warm. Proper snuggly warm, helped by that thermal lining.
Post-dive was also nice. Reduced water entry means less water on the skin and less wind-chill. I did need an extra kilo of lead to offset the extra buoyancy of the suit, but I liked diving in it a lot.
That white and red lining really stands out on the rack so it’s easy to spot, and come the end of the week it looked good as new, with no sign of wear despite the violence required to get into the thing.
In short, Lomo sells the Maverick as a wetsuit but it actually performs more like a semi-dry. For £135. Cracking. I actually think it’ll do me for my next UK puddle-dive.
