For over a year now, SEAC has introduced a top-of-the-range wetsuit into its catalogue: the Snake wetsuit. Thanks to the particular camouflage pattern developed, the Seac Snake wetsuit presents itself as something truly different in the panorama of wetsuits for spearfishing and freediving.
The livery and basic pattern of this camo wetsuit recall the scales of a snake’s skin, hence the name.
A wetsuit, finalist of the Best Choice by Apneapassion in 2023, that impressed us for its fit, even with greater thicknesses, 7 mm, and for its Aquastop system, that significantly reduces cold water infiltration during spearfishing.
Let’s analyze it with our “X-rays“.
Offer and Price
The Seac Snake wetsuit is offered in thicknesses of 5 and 7 millimeters for the men’s model (Snake Man) and in a thickness of 5 mm only, for the Snake Lady model. Available sizes are from S to triple XL (XXXL) for the men’s model, and from XS to XL for the Lady one.
The 7 mm jacket of the men’s model can be purchased at a price just over €150. The 7 mm pants at around €130. As for the Lady model, the jacket at €125 and the pants at around €100 (both in 5 mm neoprene).
A reasonable price, competitive with respect to the other brands in the face of a product that appears to be of excellent workmanship and very satisfactory quality.
The company offers the buyer the possibility of purchasing the jacket and pants separately.
Materials
The Seac Snake wetsuit is made of 100% Ultrastretch neoprene, lined on the outside and open cell on the inside. This neoprene appears medium density with excellent elasticity in all directions, even near the seams.
The face contour, wrists and ankles, are delimited by the Aquastop system. This is a consistent smooth neoprene tape that limits both the infiltration of cold water and the escape of body heat. The system appears effective when tested, and once worn the garment appears warm and gives the sensation of sealing.
When putting on the Seac Snake wetsuit, these edges do not create great difficulties, especially if you are careful to use a minimal amount of hot water and shampoo. The operation of undressing from the pants seemed a little less easy. But this is certainly the natural counterpart of the thermal seal of the wetsuit.
Reinforcements and protections on the knees, as well as on the sternal area, are made with PU Print technology (3D polyurethane printing) that significantly protects the parts, resulting in being very resistant to abrasions. At the same time, they do not stiffen the part thanks to a modular and segmented design. This, for the elbows and knees, means not limiting the mobility of the joints during the dive.
Certified quality
Among the few on the market, SEAC specifies, for this item, the CE 14225-1 certification. This is a UNI-EN standard that specifies the construction and performance requirements (including thermals) of wetsuits. The standard also specifies detailed marking, labelling, information to be provided at the point of sale and instructions for use. Laboratory tests and practical use tests are indicated.
Sternal protection
The part of the sternum, typically used to arm the speargun, is characterised by a PU Print.
Having only the male model, we were able to verify, from the pages of the website and the catalogs, how the sternal reinforcement of the female model differs, in shape, from the one designed for men.
The care taken in gluing is also evident in these areas and, in the case of the sternal reinforcement, is made more solid by a perimeter stitching.
Even for the patch on the sternum, a solution was chosen that includes a print made up of separate sections. This solution does not stiffen the part. With thicker wetsuits, this undoubtedly becomes an advantage.
Wetsuit cut and sewing
The Seac Snake wetsuit, as mentioned, is a classic two-piece with high-waisted pants and a jacket with snap closure via “buttons”. The various patches are joined by gluing and BlindStitch seams. This technique provides strength, greater thermal insulation and, at the same time, limits rubbing of the stitchings on the diver’s skin. The cut of the men’s garment is different from the women’s one. As we have seen from the catalogue, the lady version is specifically designed for the shape of a female body. In particular, this is noticeable in the structure of the jacket and in the presence, in the women’s model, of only one sealing “button” against the two present in the men’s model. For this reason, the men’s model has a wider beaver tail.
Camouflage
While various brands have brought back the blue-green tones of camouflage, this SEAC Snake wetsuit represents an absolute novelty due to its texture which recalls, in fact, the scales of a snake.
Furthermore, this suit also manages to reproduce the iridescent chromatism of the scales of the snake’s livery. In fact, this texture is composed of a series of different multicolored scales. Continuous colour contrasts that, together with the different sizes of the scales, generate an optical illusion of depth. The effect generated is that of three-dimensionality. In this sense, the prey perceives different depths in the diver’s silhouette resulting in a decomposition of his image.
