Workmanship of different drysuit brands

[beester]

Everybody just mentions what they dive. Most have only dived/owned a limited number of suits, so getting objective opinions are hard. I understand that I'm actually not helping But I'm refusing to mention the 6 different suits I've dived over the years.

I would look at material (strong trilaminate with protections, or crushed neoprene), making sure that the fit is good (you need to retain good mobility), zips can be plastic or metal, I've used both with good and not so good success. Look also at availability (living in Australia, having to ship something back because of warranty could be a hassle). If you are saying really sump diving (crawling crawling, sidemount, sharp rocks all the time) maybe also look at your local cave/sump diving colleagues?

 

[billgraham]

Everybody just mentions what they dive. Most have only dived/owned a limited number of suits, so getting objective opinions are hard. I understand that I'm actually not helping But I'm refusing to mention the 6 different suits I've dived over the years.

I would look at material (strong trilaminate with protections, or crushed neoprene), making sure that the fit is good (you need to retain good mobility), zips can be plastic or metal, I've used both with good and not so good success. Look also at availability (living in Australia, having to ship something back because of warranty could be a hassle). If you are saying really sump diving (crawling crawling, sidemount, sharp rocks all the time) maybe also look at your local cave/sump diving colleagues?

The toughest suits I've owned were CF-200's from DUI. My last old one just bit the dust and it was manufactured in the 1990's. I never loved them for cave diving but then again I never had a custom made one. Their crushed neoprene WAS superior but by the early 2000's, they were using something else and the suits weren't the same. Tri-lam suits are fine but they offer no thermal protection if you punch a hole in them or rip a seal. I had one that fit pretty well from MARES or DACOR (Made by Diving Concepts) and I really liked it for cave diving. I also had an Atlan Custom dry suit made for cave diving and that thing was great until I shredded it in a small cave I should have worn a wetsuit to dive. The neoprene on that suit wasn't crushed, though, so the bouyancy change might be annoying to some CCR divers, but it wasn't that noticeable to me. The Pinnacle suit is about as form fitting as the Atlan one I had custom made, and the merino wool underwear isn't bulky and is warm for the (short) dives I've been doing. Another thing to think about is whether you go diving by yourself, because a backzip suit isn't going to work out for you!

 

[beester]

The toughest suits I've owned were CF-200's from DUI. My last old one just bit the dust and it was manufactured in the 1990's. I never loved them for cave diving but then again I never had a custom made one. Their crushed neoprene WAS superior but by the early 2000's, they were using something else and the suits weren't the same. Tri-lam suits are fine but they offer no thermal protection if you punch a hole in them or rip a seal. I had one that fit pretty well from MARES or DACOR (Made by Diving Concepts) and I really liked it for cave diving. I also had an Atlan Custom dry suit made for cave diving and that thing was great until I shredded it in a small cave I should have worn a wetsuit to dive. The neoprene on that suit wasn't crushed, though, so the bouyancy change might be annoying to some CCR divers, but it wasn't that noticeable to me. The Pinnacle suit is about as form fitting as the Atlan one I had custom made, and the merino wool underwear isn't bulky and is warm for the (short) dives I've been doing. Another thing to think about is whether you go diving by yourself, because a backzip suit isn't going to work out for you!

One of the 3 suits I have is an old CF200. Very good for tight wreck diving, never really dove it in caves though, using other suits for that. Agree with everything you say on it.

Regarding trilaminate and thermal protection, well that's a function of the undersuit. There are undersuits who retain a good part of their isolating qualities even when flooded. I'm mainly using these ones because a flood in cold water with a couple of hours of deco or swimming out will get dangerous quick!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I've owned Poseiden, USIA, Diving Concepts, DUI, and Waterproof drysuits. My current suit, the Waterproof DX7 is the best fitting, well-built suit I've owned.

 

[billgraham]

There are undersuits who retain a good part of their isolating qualities even when flooded. I'm mainly using these ones because a flood in cold water with a couple of hours of deco or swimming out will get dangerous quick!

The Merino wool stuff I'm using from Pinnacle provides some thermal insulation. Note, if you use this stuff, DO NOT use the little thumb loop when you go to put your arms in the sleeve. Just a little bit of it up into the wrist seal will act as a very efficient device to wick water into the suit...On the plus side, I stayed fairly warm for an hour despite pouring a half gallon of water out when I took it off. I now push the sleeves of the underwear up my arms a couple of inches to keep it out of there.

 

[mdwalter]

I have found Atlan neoprene suits to be extremely durable and long lasting. I've had 3, and I still have 2 of them. One of the remaining ones is still my rotation and the other just needs a new zipper (after about 10 years). I once has a Viking rubber suit, which was very durable. I bought it used and the arms and legs were a bit too long for me, but that did not stop me from using it for Cavern & Intro cave class. I eventually sold it, since it was not really my size, but quality wise, I would recommend it as very durable. I've only had my DUI for about a year, but so far so good. I bought it used with a bad zipper, but once I replaced that the rest of the suit is bone dry. It's also nice to have those zip seals so if you rip one or want to switch to gloves it's easy peasy. Some buddies of mine have had leaky troubles with the TLS, but everyone with a CF like mine seems happy with the durability and fit, and so far so am I. The DUI is also the first I've had that was not rear zip. Over the years I got good at zipping them unassisted, so it can be done. I'm actually having more trouble with the first few inches of the diagonal zip (at the shoulder) than I now do with rear zips, but I'm sure that will go away with some more practice.

 

[billgraham]

I have found Atlan neoprene suits to be extremely durable and long lasting. I've had 3, and I still have 2 of them. One of the remaining ones is still my rotation and the other just needs a new zipper (after about 10 years).

The one I had made was great. I was an idiot to swim it into a small cave and shred it, it was still going strong after ten years.

 

[1atm]

Not sure whereabouts you are located but in Europe two brands that have excellent customer service and customer reviews and appear to be bombproof are SF and OThree. Not cheap though.

I agree on ScubaForce workmanship. I have two, and the material and the workmanship are excellent. They are way more durable than Santi Emotion+ or DUI TLS which my buddies have. As a bonus SF is much cheaper too.

Now the problem with SF are the dealers. It is very hard to find a dealer that can measure you up for a proper cave cut. In my area at least, the experienced dealers catering to tech/cave sell Santi/DUI. SF is sold by shops with recreational focus. You can still get a very good suit from them, but it means YOU have to know exactly what you are looking for and how to size a suit. Otherwise you will end up with a terrible fit because “we will make it a bit larger so in case you get cold or eat some more pie it will still work”. Don’t trust the dealers call, and dont buy one as your first suit if you dont have experience. The result being terrible. If you get one that fits, best value for money out there imho.

 

[Tracerbullet]

after doing months of research talking to different companies, divers that I saw when I was out I finally chose a custom O’Three neoprene suit.

 

[RedSix]

@beester: Actually Austria is not Australia ;-)
@1atm: Not sure, but @cathal might not mean ScubaForce, but SF Tech from Switzerland.