I have both, just got my shell suit back from a zipper replacement, everyone has their own cold tolerance and that changes, at least it has for me. For my use neoprene is the better choice but being a back zip means I must have someone with me that I trust to zip it, shell I can easily do myself. Yesterday I put on my 200 weight wool base and Hollis 450 insulation and my shell suit to test the zipper so I would know it works before adding a pee valve (another “things change” item that makes the hour plus dives in a drysuit enjoyable) my pool is 55° now, I felt the cold in seconds, not cold enough to get out but without lofting air added the squeeze really took the warm out of the undies quickly. In the neoprene suit I remain warm in the same conditions.
I don’t make or sell any type of wet or drysuit.
The bubble is real, both of my present suits are custom from the same maker, the shell suit has a good size bubble that moves with each and every twist and turn so you just get used to adjusting to the changes, the neo has less air in it and is warmer I can react to things like Sealions buzz by’s with nearly no change since the air movement in the suit is reduced and slowed by the nature of the material. I use the suit for boyancy control with both types, it just works better when you also depend on the loft for warmth, this is a cold water based opinion but if I were in warmer water I wouldn’t bother with a drysuit. Trim is easier in the neo suit, some boyancy is in the material so it can’t shift with movement, my suit is compressed 3mil and the boyancy change with depth is minimal. Trim in a shell suit is a constant adjustment thing, if you go head down air will go to your feet, feet down air goes to your shoulders, in a standard trilam suit there is little you can do about this, it’s a physics thing. Many of my dive buddies use whites or aqualung suits which seems to help greatly with trim due to the outer material maintaining compression.
My choices are to dive in 85° water with no suit as the temps drop I go to varying levels of insulation diving wet until the mid to lower 60’s and than I go dry. From 58° up the shell suit excels because I can subtract layers as needed, below that temp and the neoprene is incredible. These are my temps and everyone else has to go out and learn their own, over time those tolerances will change, pay attention and change with them.
To answer the OP’s question of neoprene or trilam, my answer is yes.
I don’t make or sell any type of wet or drysuit.
The bubble is real, both of my present suits are custom from the same maker, the shell suit has a good size bubble that moves with each and every twist and turn so you just get used to adjusting to the changes, the neo has less air in it and is warmer I can react to things like Sealions buzz by’s with nearly no change since the air movement in the suit is reduced and slowed by the nature of the material. I use the suit for boyancy control with both types, it just works better when you also depend on the loft for warmth, this is a cold water based opinion but if I were in warmer water I wouldn’t bother with a drysuit. Trim is easier in the neo suit, some boyancy is in the material so it can’t shift with movement, my suit is compressed 3mil and the boyancy change with depth is minimal. Trim in a shell suit is a constant adjustment thing, if you go head down air will go to your feet, feet down air goes to your shoulders, in a standard trilam suit there is little you can do about this, it’s a physics thing. Many of my dive buddies use whites or aqualung suits which seems to help greatly with trim due to the outer material maintaining compression.
My choices are to dive in 85° water with no suit as the temps drop I go to varying levels of insulation diving wet until the mid to lower 60’s and than I go dry. From 58° up the shell suit excels because I can subtract layers as needed, below that temp and the neoprene is incredible. These are my temps and everyone else has to go out and learn their own, over time those tolerances will change, pay attention and change with them.
To answer the OP’s question of neoprene or trilam, my answer is yes.
