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and Commercial Diving Suits, Water-sports Surface Suits, Undersuits
and base clothing plus a range of accessories
Visit the factory and meet the people who will make your suit
Friendly advice available on the end of a 'phone (or email) when or if you need it
All repairs done to original manufacturers standard
Suit testing while-you-wait
Any boot, sock, seal, pocket, valves etc. can be fitted All makes repaired
Suppliers to rescue organisations, Military and Government agencies
- Firebuy approved.
Fully accredited to supply Government departments under the e-commerce system
Secure on-line payment through PayPal or SagePay
Best Advice : Before buying any make of drysuit, ask someone
that already owns one. With over 25,000 sold it doesn't take long
to find an experienced diver with a Polar Bears suit - and they're
usually very approachable.
History
Polar Bears was founded as a diving equipment supplier in 1982.
Initially making thermal undersuits our 'Woolly Bear' soon became an industry standard and we continue to make 100s a year. We were also the first company to introduce 3M Thinsulate to the diving market back in 1987.
During that time the only drysuits available were very expensive and not within reach of the average sport diver. As more affordable membrane fabrics were developed Polar Bears set about designing and trialling a front diagonal entry drysuit. The first produced for a customer was on 25th January, 1988 and was called a DS4.
Many of the first suits produced were for the RNLI and professional users such as police divers but the majority were for sport diving use. In the first order book names such as Beaver, Kent Diving, Diveline and Andark appear. These are still around but many of the other dive shops listed are long gone. Unlike some of those early suits - last year we had a very old Polar Bear come back from a Fire Service for a neck seal repair. A new neck seal was fitted, it passed the pressure test and went back into service - it was made in 1988 !
Lasting over 20 years is a bit of an exception but we still make our drysuits in the same way, and in the same premises. We still try and source as many of the component parts from the UK, the fabric is made in Oldham, the zips in Slough for example. Nothing much has changed production-wise. We still take our time, right from the start of the process through to pressure testing and packing, to ensure the customer gets the best quality possible. Every suit is inspected as it is made and at every operation to ensure it meets our exacting standards.
Our customer base has changed many times over the years but we still pride ourselves in offering an affordable quality product to the sport diver. A product which that will give years of reliable service.
You can still buy a DS4. The specification has changed a bit but is still faithful to the original concept. An affordable, quality drysuit.
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