Buy the drysuit or take the class first?

[knfmn]

Thanks for the advice so far guys, especially the suggestion of the other thread, Lynne. Looks like I'm leaning towards taking the class first and test diving at least one suit before dropping the big bucks. It seems like they include a suit rental in the course price (which then gets applied to eventual purchase) but I'd have to confirm that, so seems like a good option. What I end up buying might be somewhat influenced by what the shop owner does with the job application I gave him last week - the Fusion looks interesting, but he doesn't sell it.

I think that taking the class and renting a couple of suits before deciding is absolutely your best bet. Not sure where you are, but does DUI do their dog days near you? You can try out several of their models there for a low price.

I know there are a lot of fans of the Whites Drysuits on this board, but I did my drysuit class in one and absolutely hated it. They feel like diving in a garbage bag to me and the construction just feels cheap.

I went to the dog days after my class and tested a suit and fell in love with it. I kept my eyes open and lucked into one on eBay earlier this year.

One thing about taking the class with the intention of renting suits....drysuit rentals, at least here, are frighteningly expensive. $100/day is the going rate here.

Take the class, test some suits and see what you do and don't like. The only input I can give is that the front entry suits are the way to go. The back entry ones are cheaper, but they really suck when you're trying to get your suit on by yourself. Replaceable seals are important as well. You don't want to have to ship the suit off if you rip a seal. Much easier if you can just buy another seal and pop it in. Good luck with your decision!!

Kristopher

 

[Drewpy]

Some dive shops, if you buy a dry suit from them, they will give you the course for free. DO NOT USE A DRY SUIT WITH OUT TAKING THE COURSE!

Sorry..as Tigerman said, its not rocket science. I did not see the need for a class or certification and I did not die and niether did my buddy.
It's not that hard, just a few tricks to know. With over 200 dives you will be fine.

 

[oreocookie]

I think that taking the class and renting a couple of suits before deciding is absolutely your best bet. Not sure where you are, but does DUI do their dog days near you? You can try out several of their models there for a low price.

Closest Demo Day is somewhere in NY in October, which unfortunately doesn't really help me much now.

One thing about taking the class with the intention of renting suits....drysuit rentals, at least here, are frighteningly expensive. $100/day is the going rate here.

I think that's about the going rate around here too, so I really hope to not rent too much before I know what I want.

---------- Post added March 27th, 2013 at 12:22 AM ----------

Sorry..as Tigerman said, its not rocket science. I did not see the need for a class or certification and I did not die and niether did my buddy.
It's not that hard, just a few tricks to know. With over 200 dives you will be fine.

I don't expect it to be that hard, but if they're going to give me what amounts to a free class, why not take it?

 

[Diver6106]

On 21 October 2008, a Fairfax County VA Police Officer drowned in a dry suit during a rescue exercise. They had other divers, rescue boats and a helicopter ready for a full rescue operation directed toward him, he 'played' the victim. Went over the side and it took several days to find him. So you better KNOW what you're doing when you put on a dry suit.

 

[diverrex]

Ill be the "politically uncorrect" one here..

Screw the class, get a good mentor instead and just buy the suit.
Do get some help selecting a good suit though. Both regards to type and brand of the suit..

Drysuit diving is not magic, theres a couple of tricks you need to know of and the rest is just practice.

Sorry..as Tigerman said, its not rocket science. I did not see the need for a class or certification and I did not die and niether did my buddy.
It's not that hard, just a few tricks to know. With over 200 dives you will be fine.

So what are the tricks you need to know?

 

[Johnsbadwheel]

Any more info on that? It seems a little too ambiguous, almost like saying someone died in a car accident and blaming the car. Can you categorically say that the drysuit was the cause, or last played a significant role, in the fatality?

 

[Storker]

So what are the tricks you need to know?

I won't pretend to be particularly seasoned, but all my OW dives have been in a DS. The most important thing to master is to anticipate buoyancy changes. Since a DS vents slower than a BCD, you can easily end up in a situation where Boyle works faster than your exhaust valve, taking you all the way to the surface. So even minute changes in buoyancy need to be handled. Also, you need to be able to flip around if you end up feet up, before said Boyle takes the wheel and takes you to the surface feet first.

Now, whether to use the DS or the BCD as your primary buoyancy control device is a matter of discussion. PADI recommends using the DS as your buoyancy device, but you'll find lots of conflicting opinion here. I'm still quite heavily task loaded underwater and prefer using my DS for buoyancy at my stage of experience. Pro, it's only one volume of air to manage; con, you can't vent the DS as quickly and you'll have a larger air bubble moving around in your suit.

EDIT: In my part of the world, people usually take their OW cert in a dry suit. When novice divers can certify and start diving in a DS, that's certainly an indication that DS diving really isn't rocket science

 

[Captain Bil]

If the class is free, take it. If not, find a mentor and learn the way most of us did. The best advice has been previously stated: whichever way you decide, try to rent as many different types of suit you can and buy the right one the first time. These things are expensive and there are many types to choose from: basic shell, trilam, neoprene, front zip, back zip, type of neck and wrist seals ( neoprene, latex, silicone, glued in or zip), boots or socks, and we haven't even considered undergarments yet.

At $2000 or so for a dry suit, I'd go into the purchase with as much info as I could get. Good luck, believe me it's worth it in the long run!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[elan]

I would disagree with someone saying its just a couple of tricks to learn. There are a bunch of details which if taken out of the picture make the diving way less enjoyable. Most of thise free dry suit classes I have seen were just scratching the surface.
I thought I "knew it all" until I met my GUE instructor when I realized I do not know anything about drysuits. My advise would be to take a GUE or UTD drysuit class and only then purchase your first suit.
In my own experience I had to put more than 500 into fixin the issues with the suit which I could have avoided had I known all the details before purchasing the drysuit.

Remeber that you will be using it for 5-10 years.

 

[Hawkwood]

Oreocookie,

A good drysuit course should spend time going over all the options in drysuits (i.e. fabric, construction, pros-cons), etc. I hope that by the time I am finished teaching my class, the students also have a good understanding of what to look for when renting or buying a drysuit. At our shop, we are under no obligation to "sell" to our students.