Fourth Element Kevlar Argonaut - First Dive

Still been diving my FE Argonaut. Everything fro FL cave diving, to Utah Ice diving and Lake Mead trimix courses. Still dry and looking good.
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Still beating the crap out of it and it's keeping me dry... now I just need to get my hands on a MTM model cut nice and close for my FL cave diving.

One of these suits is not like the other! :chin: Ha ha ha - yesterday we have 3/4 divers diving Kevalr Argonauts.

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emmbee said:
Fourth Element Argonaut Kevlar, eh? For cave diving?

You expecting to run into much gunfire in these caves?

Cheers,

Matthieu
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Well.. once I had machineguns pointing at me when exiting a cave in Mexico. But that's 14 years ago and out of date by now :shifty:

Who said cave diving isn't safe :thumbsup:
 
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Curious as to how the sizing compares to the 4th element underwear sizing. Reason I'm asking is that fourth element I'm pretty sure they body mapped me for the xl sizing and I'm hoping that the dry suits are the same., which would basically have me avoid custom sizing for once.


Thanks

Steve
 
It's now almost 2.5 years later.

I just received my Argonaut 2.0 today. Improved fit, flexibility etc etc- basically fine tuning a great suit into something even better.

My first suit is still going strong, showing almost no signs of use or wear. So it's not like I "needed" the new version.

I'll update with a post or two as I use it more.

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Got my new custom made Argonaut 2.0 from Fourth Element today. Based on my experience with the Argonaut 1.0 I'm going to love it! The good news is that over the next couple months I should have somewhere around 100 hours on it in a variety of conditions from Florida caves to ice diving in Utah.


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mente said:
Any update on the 2.0?
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Yeah!

I have been diving it in the following conditions thus far:

  • Ice Diving in Utah - 2 hours (COLD!)
  • Trimix CCR diving in Lake Mead - 11 hours (55 F / 12.7 C)
  • CCR cave diving in Florida - 20+ hours (70 F / 22 C)

Loving it so far. To be honest, I don't notice anything drastically different than my 1.0, other than this suit fits much better.... which can make a huge differnce.

It is holding up well so far and still looks brand new! I'll be back in FL in a couple of weeks and put another 20 or so hours on it, then it will come back to Utah with me to do some more cold water cave exploration :)
 
CCR Josh said:
Yeah!

I have been diving it in the following conditions thus far:

  • Ice Diving in Utah - 2 hours (COLD!)
  • Trimix CCR diving in Lake Mead - 11 hours (55 F / 12.7 C)
  • CCR cave diving in Florida - 20+ hours (70 F / 22 C)

Loving it so far. To be honest, I don't notice anything drastically different than my 1.0, other than this suit fits much better.... which can make a huge differnce.

It is holding up well so far and still looks brand new! I'll be back in FL in a couple of weeks and put another 20 or so hours on it, then it will come back to Utah with me to do some more cold water cave exploration :)
Click to expand...

How much did you pay for it?


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CCR Josh said:
Yeah!

I have been diving it in the following conditions thus far:

  • Ice Diving in Utah - 2 hours (COLD!)
  • Trimix CCR diving in Lake Mead - 11 hours (55 F / 12.7 C)
  • CCR cave diving in Florida - 20+ hours (70 F / 22 C)

Loving it so far. To be honest, I don't notice anything drastically different than my 1.0, other than this suit fits much better.... which can make a huge differnce.

It is holding up well so far and still looks brand new! I'll be back in FL in a couple of weeks and put another 20 or so hours on it, then it will come back to Utah with me to do some more cold water cave exploration :)
Click to expand...
Josh - can you enlarge on the better fit? One man's 'fits better' is another's 'fits no-so-good' surely.

My Ursuit BDS which is essentially the same suit fits me very well so a 'better fit' might not be an improvement. In the picture the suit look a bit baggy in the thigh, how was the old one?
 
nickb said:
Josh - can you enlarge on the better fit? One man's 'fits better' is another's 'fits no-so-good' surely.

My Ursuit BDS which is essentially the same suit fits me very well so a 'better fit' might not be an improvement. In the picture the suit look a bit baggy in the thigh, how was the old one?
Click to expand...

I'll let Josh answer as well but wanted to give my thoughts on the better fit. When they did the Argonaut they did stock sizes and then would customize those based on your measurements. Shorten or lengthen arms or legs etc. I had a Large tall but it was not quite long enough. Limited my mobility a little bit when I would bend my knees while being slightly large in the chest.
With my 2.0 I did the bio map. The suit is finally long enough I can squat without stressing the Achilles or over my knees. It looks a bit baggy in pictures trying it on because it is fitted to go over a Halo 3D.

So to sum it up I would say with the 2.0 and the bio mapping it is easier to get the correct size suit and the customization they do is much improved. If you fit into a stock suit you may not notice a benefit over the original but many need a custom cut and now they have that.


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Michael Thornton said:
I'll let Josh answer as well but wanted to give my thoughts on the better fit. When they did the Argonaut they did stock sizes and then would customize those based on your measurements. Shorten or lengthen arms or legs etc. I had a Large tall but it was not quite long enough. Limited my mobility a little bit when I would bend my knees while being slightly large in the chest.
With my 2.0 I did the bio map. The suit is finally long enough I can squat without stressing the Achilles or over my knees. It looks a bit baggy in pictures trying it on because it is fitted to go over a Halo 3D.

So to sum it up I would say with the 2.0 and the bio mapping it is easier to get the correct size suit and the customization they do is much improved. If you fit into a stock suit you may not notice a benefit over the original but many need a custom cut and now they have that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thanks Michael. I must say, the BioMapping looks like a great innovation but I've only seen the plate. The whole kit is a bit too pricey for my GF's shop at the moment - unless she came back from this week's Suunto/Fourth Elephant shindig with a bargain negotiated ;)

I guess I'm lucky being the mythical 6' 180lb type of guy that fits into a stock L - albeit with bespoke boots as I have small feet.
 
nickb said:
Josh - can you enlarge on the better fit? One man's 'fits better' is another's 'fits no-so-good' surely.

My Ursuit BDS which is essentially the same suit fits me very well so a 'better fit' might not be an improvement. In the picture the suit look a bit baggy in the thigh, how was the old one?
Click to expand...

Michael pretty much already answered for me.... but I will add that I have crazy long, and skinny legs. So, you are right, I could shave a bit more out of the thighs and still fit my Halo 3D, but this is a great improvement over my 1.0 (which I still loved by the way). The nice thing is Fourth Element is using the biomap system to constantly improve their suits, so theoretically as they do more and more maps, the fit should get "better and better".

I still have yet to find a custom dry suit that adjusts the height if the knee pads to accommodate what I have been told are "freakishly long tibia and fibula" - this is coming from the nice women who has been working on the biomap project from the beginning and was comparing my measurements to other people of the same height :lol:
 
Last week I was gearing up to do a 3.5 hour cave dive and got something caught in my zipper. Like a dummie I just yanked on it and the zipper pulled off one side. The Argonaut uses a plastic zipper (YKK brand). I thought I would not be able to do the dive as there seemed no way to get the zipper back on. I ended up going to where the zipper ends when it is closed and could barely get it back on there but then had to back zip or open a zipper that was not done up. I was worried I would ruin the plastic teeth. But after unzipping the zipper was back in place and showed no signs of being broken. I quickly tested it in the water and then did the whole dive and stayed bone dry. This isn't specific to FE but plastic zips as a whole. I am a fan. I had heard they could repair themselves but it's another thing to see it in person and then dive with it.


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It has not repaired itself - you now have a weak spot in the zip. I suggest that you think about getting this sorted out because it will happen again and again if you don't.

The effort of forcing the slider pass the obstruction has weakened the teeth(s), normally just one goes, in that area, the tooth will now move (wiggle) and cause the slider to "derail". Be very careful in the same spot on the zip and use plenty of lube to help the zip slide.

regards Baz
 
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