Benti Sub is the company based in Ancona, Italy, of Fabio Bentivoglio, an Italian artisan with huge experience in the design and manufacturing of tailor made wetsuits, for spearfishing, freediving and scuba diving. Not the best communicator ;), check his historic website, and with a very understated approach, Fabio Bentivoglio is a man of old times, totally focused on the product and its quality, both for what regards the cut and the materials.
We have so decided to test the Benti Sub wetsuits ourselves, and have asked Fabio to manufacture two spearfishing wetsuits, one for Claudio Marconcini and one for Roberto Poggioli. We met him at the Eudi Show 2025, the biggest European Spearfishing and Freediving show, where Fabio took himself all the measures. For freediving, we will soon have another wetsuit and test it with Davide Tummolillo. Let’s see what Claudio and Roberto have told us after wearing their new wetsuits and testing them at sea.
Special cut and materials
The excellent cut of the Benti Sub wetsuits, as you will see confirmed by the reviews of Claudio Marconcini and Roberto Poggioli, has really unique solutions. The rear of the neck has a V shaped design for the best adherence to the body. The arms and legs are preformed using only two longitudinal seams along the sides, but with no transversal one. This obviously eliminates any discomfort of the seams.
Roberto Poggioli
“No one more than me has probably difficulty and having precise tailor made wetsuits. I have a special body, as I really have big arms and chest, and the neck area is always critical for wetsuits manufacturers. Sometimes, when working on a tailor made wetsuit for me, some artisans are quite disorientated by the measures they take. So, normally, after receiving my wetsuit, there is always the need to work on ti again and optimize some measures and shape, especially, as said, in the neck and chin area.
When I have received my 5 mm smooth open cell wetsuit in Yamamoto 45 (Benti only uses the best neoprene on the market), I immediately notices some excellent details of the cut. Arms, legs, but in particular the neck and chin area, have special designs with amazing care. An example above all is the chin, always a very difficult area for me, but also for many other spearos. Benti gives the chin an excellent very angled profile which perfectly fits and keeps in place at all times. The neck is also perfect and I am really pleased. All the rest of the wetsuit has an amazing cut and top quality neoprene. To me, this is the best wetsuit I have ever worn. Super! The only improvement I see is on the visual quality of the bondings, which, even though resistant and well made, do not appear aesthetically as nice as other solutions of other brands. This does not impact durability at all, but might be seen by some as a weak point.”
Claudio Marconcini
“I was lucky enough to have my measurements taken directly by the expert hands of Mr. Bentivoglio at this year’s EUDI Show. This gave me the chance to talk with him and get valuable advice on the many available options: materials, technical solutions, and color schemes.
Both the jacket and trousers are made of ultra-soft Yamamoto 45 neoprene.
The jacket, in 8 mm smooth-out/open-cell neoprene, features a sternum reinforcement for loading spearguns and an intelligent split beaver tail system. Thanks to two Velcro strips, it can be secured to the lower and inner part of the jacket, leaving space to accommodate the beaver tail tip which then stays centered, avoiding discomfort that we men know all too well.
It’s made using a very limited number of neoprene panels, which means fewer glued joints and consequently greater softness.
As an ambush-style spearfisherman, I’m a strong believer in camouflage, and honestly, the color options in the Bentisub catalog didn’t quite match my preferences. I spoke with Mr. Bentivoglio and explained what I needed and which colors the camouflage pattern should include.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and saw the finished product. That’s the beauty of handcrafted gear — you can have it customized exactly how you want.
The pants, made of 6.5 mm lined/open-cell neoprene, feature a beaver tail tip as well. I specifically asked for an external lining and Melco reinforcements on the knees to prevent premature wear when crawling over rocks.
The range of camouflage options for the linings is so wide that everyone can find the most suitable solution.
The softness of the suit is remarkable, but what impressed me the most — with all due respect to other craftsmen who have tailored suits for me — is the precision of the cut, which makes this wetsuit one of the most comfortable, if not the most comfortable, I have ever worn.
100% substance, not always visible
The wetsuits by Benti Sub we received are 100% substance, and sometimes lack a little bit in the visual quality. They are, in fact, nice and well manufactured, but the real quality is not 100% visible. The perceived quality of the bondings of the neoprene and the logos printed on the wetsuit are nice, but not the best we have seen. What instead is magic is the cut and the quality of the neoprene. These are top, and as you have read from the true comments by Claudio Marconcini and Roberto Poggioli, the cut is the best they have ever tried. What should we add more than this? Well done Fabio Bentivoglio!
