Drysuit in the Galapagos

[Strachanw3]

Diving my trilam drysuit in June at the Galapagos. Any tips/tricks to those who have done this? Undergarment thoughts, any issues, anything you wish you knew before going?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I wore a drysuit on every dive there. The northern dives were in the low 80s, but not uncomfortable. A couple of the southern dives were in the upper 50s. Other divers on the boat were complaining about the cold water.

 

[Strachanw3]

I wore a drysuit on every dive there. The northern dives were in the low 80s, but not uncomfortable. A couple of the southern dives were in the upper 50s. Other divers on the boat were complaining about the cold water.

Thanks for the repsonse. What weight undergarments did you bring and I’m assuming no issues with the rocks at Darwin/wolf.

 

[bpodbielski]

Following because we are planning our Galapagos trip and I'm currently planning on diving dry.

Here are a few other posts that I had saved for my personal reference:

Thread 'Dry Suit for Galapagos Islands?'

Oct 30, 2005

I'm planning on spending Christmas in the Galapagos Islands (probably on a live aboard). This summer I bought a dry suit (Andy's) and have been diving in it locally to improve my dry suit skills.

I've talked to various people about using the dry suit in the Galapagos and I keep getting different responses. Some people laugh at the thought of using a dry suit there and other people say that its a great idea. The books say that the water varies in temp so that sometimes you will wear 7mm and other times 3mm.

I only have a 3mm (which I also plan on taking). My thought is that if I need...

• jhawke
• Replies: 12
• Forum: Exposure Suits

Thread 'Is a drysuit overkill in the Galapagos?'

Aug 16, 2015

We're headed to the Nortada on Sept 11th. We normally dive in New England and ALWAYS wear hoods and gloves and full 7 mm suits or drysuits. The water around here is in the mid 50's once you get below 40-50 feet and colder below that, so we're pretty used to the cold. That said, I like to be warm. I only want to bring one suit, but which one?. Wet or dry?

Thanks

• paulthenurse
• Replies: 16
• Forum: South America

I

Thread 'Going Galapagos October-Dry-Suits and Currents'

May 1, 2013

HI All. I have been all over this forum regarding Galapagos and there is some really good info and fantastic photos, a big thanks to all posters.

Trip info - Buddy Boat (7days) -- October this year

I have a couple of questions which hopefully will be useful to others as well.

Drysuit

I haven't found anything specific regarding dry suit diving, there is a lot about 3mm, 5mm, 7mm wet suits and wet vests. Seems 3 and 5 are not on but 7mm or...

• iantid
• Replies: 9
• Forum: South America

 

[justinthedeeps]

I was in a drysuit for 30ºC air & water recently in Indonesia, wearing just basic thin polypro, and ~4kg on a weight belt.
For pre-dive heat relief, zip up and shower/spray/drench the suit ASAP & repeatedly

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Thanks for the repsonse. What weight undergarments did you bring and I’m assuming no issues with the rocks at Darwin/wolf.

I wore my thick Weezle for all dives. I didn't overheat at Darwin/Wolf.

 

[LanceRiley]

I have never been to galapagos but consider this

Tech divers in the Philippines wear drysuit. Just thin undergarment

 

[Jase Carter]

Just got back from a mid-August trip with my drysuit. This was my first trip to the Galapagos and I was scared by some reports of the cold conditions, and I don't have a good 5mm or 7mm wetsuit. I had about 30 dives in my drysuit before the trip, and one of the reasons I wanted to bring my own suit was to improve as a drysuit diver. Some thoughts:

• It's overkill for thermal protection, IMO, unless you can't stand and/or have very little tolerance for cold water.
• Everyone, however, did complain about the cold on at least 2 dives, except for me
• A majority of other divers will most likely be in wetsuits (I was the only person in a drysuit out of 13 divers)
• I was overheated on two dives. The first was because I chased after some ocean life (dumb) and also had to swim against the current for a time, and second because everyone was worried about an upcoming dive being very cold and I wore a Fourth Element sweatshirt and a hood, which was WAY too much.
• I ended up diving in a t-shirt and shorts (and on two dives I had no socks) with no hood on Wolf and would do the same for most dives if I were to do it again
• I became a much better diver in a drysuit because of it, and the day-in-day-out repetition was very valuable
• There aren't a lot of dives to "get your weight right," which means I erred on the side of being overweighted. If I were to go back, I'd adjust my weight a bit, but that is hard to do in the moment when you know the current amount of weight you have is doable and you're already having AMAZING dives. You won't ever want to waste a dive by finding you are too light to descend or even worse if you have trouble performing a safety stop.

Am I glad I brought my drysuit? Yes. I became a better diver because of it and learned a lot about diving dry.

Would I bring a drysuit if I visit the Galapagos again? No. I would bring my own wetsuit or just make sure I bring a warm hooded vest to pair with a wetsuit rental.

 

[Strachanw3]

Thanks for all the replies and I hope this thread will answer some questions for future Galapagos divers. I actually did my trip 3rd week of June and was glad I brought it for the first half of the trip. Zero complaints and zero issues. Darwin and Wolf I dove my 5mm with a hood. Amazing trip overall!

 

[Pianist]

I dived in Indonesia (Nusa Penida) in October 2024.
I was very happy in my thin shell drysuit. Under drysuit I wore just thin shirt and pants.
It was comfortable both under water and onboard.
Sometimes it was little bit cold and I put more air in my suit under water.
I can recommend drysuit in such conditions.

I remember one man was shaking from cold in his wetsuit after dive on the Boat on Seychelles, so now I think drysuit may be very useful for diving in many warm places.