Henderson Hyperstretch Insta-Dry

Image by Ann Louise Tuke

I was skeptical. After all, I usually travel with two wetsuits  swapping them between dives throughout the week, so I don't have to put on a chilly, clammy wetsuit. It's a pain in the you-know-what, and despite hanging both suits out to dry the day before I leave, I still end up packing wet wetsuits, the smell of which usually causes small animals to run for their lives from my garage when I unpack.
 
So when Henderson told me about this new, revolutionary material they'd just developed that not only dries almost instantly but actually repels water (the material is hydrophobic), I responded like someone who's just been told that pigs can, indeed, fly. But since I spend half my life donning and doffing damp neoprene, I had to put this material through the wet cycle and see if it lived up to its billing.
 
First the particulars the material is called Insta-Dry and has a supple, suede-like feel. Henderson bonds it with its popular Titanium Hyperstretch. The suit is also lined with Henderson's Gold Core technology for extra warmth.
 
I gathered the suit, a towel and a napkin and jaunted off to my outdoor laboratory, Blue Springs, Florida. I donned the shorty, which, compared to my other wetsuits, felt soft and comfy and, thanks to the Hyperstretch, fit like a custom-made Gucci glove. Plus, it gave me a Superman-shaped body, which certainly pleased the nearby manatees.
 
Feeling smooth as a sea otter, I slipped into the water, swam around for a while, got good and soaking wet, and despite a water temp of 72 degrees and an air temp of about 45, I stayed surprisingly warm (considering this was only a shorty).
 
Once out, I toweled off, took off the wetsuit, hung it up and stared at it. I waited five minutes, then I took out my Publix-brand napkin and pressed it against the wetsuit. No water, nor moisture. I tried a different panel. Same result. Inside the suit. No change.
 
Through all my dabbing, wiping, touching, swiping, the napkin remained dry as the day it was made.
 
There is one caveat the trim is  Lycra, so the piping does stay damp, but you'll hardly notice such a small thing because the rest of the suit lives up to its billing, which in the end is a small miracle in wetsuit advancement. I can now travel with just one wetsuit.

IMPRESSIONS: Good fit and lives up to its "Insta-Dry" billing KEY FEATURES:  Top secret material combination that repels water. Available in May 2004.