7 mm wetsuit or Drysuit?

[DivingCRNA]

I looked hard for this info before posting, so please forgive me if I missed this topic.

I am too fat for my 7mm wetsuit. I was pretty skinny when I bought it (too skinny acording to my wife) and am a 10 pounds overweight now. It is for sale on E-bay as I write. The question is: Do I look for another 2 piece 7 mm wetsuit, or do I make the just to dry diving figuring if I need that much wetsuit, dry might be more comfortable?

Surface water temps here in the Ozarks lakes can be in the 70s in the summer, but in the 50s below the thermocline. So when it is real warm the 3 mm wetsuit is fine if I stay shallow and freezing under the thermocline. The quarry near my house is 50s below the thermocline also.

Find a drysuit, or get a 7mm wetsuit that fits me better than the old one? How about the semi-dry suits?

Thanks a ton,

Don

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Don, go for the drysuit!!! it may be a little more but well worth it.Due to my size I was looking at 7mil suits and would have had to go full custom at a cost of around 700 for what I wanted. I went w/os systems semi-custom hd pro for about 1650 total including undergarments, front entry, relief zipper (more than glad I got that). now a 7mil would have been ok as long as my measurements did not vary more than 2 or 3 inches over the life of the suit. neoprene shrinks over time by the way. I seem to expand. my dry suit has room enough for me to put on 20 or so pounds while fitting correctly now. also the 7 mil has an average lifespan of about 5 yrs give or take if you dive like I do. the drysuit can last with proper care and the replacement of a seal now and then for 15 or 20. plus I dove my suit in 72 degree water in march in fla springs and in 50 degree (46 below the thermo) two weeks later in wva. fla had 70-75 degree air temps and wva 35 with snow and sleet. I was more than comfortable on both trips. Also evaporative cooling is not an issue with a dry suit for all practical purposes in the conditions I was diving in. I would not want to have been in a wetsuit in 35 degree temps with a steady 10 -15 mph breeze like was blowing that day. especially since we were doing some deep dives 1st that required a good surface interval between the second and third. plus now my season is 365 and I live in sw.pa. Jim Lapenta rescue diver w/nitrox, drysuit. going for deep, uw nav, equip specialist for msd will complete by end of month and started Divemaster.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I go both ways on the issue. The alpine lakes around here tend to be near 70 on the surface by August with several thermoclines ending in bottom temps in the upper 30's to low 40's below 100 ft.

So on the surface you cook in a dry suit, especially when donning it in sunny 90 degree weather, however at depth where you need the most insulation, a wet suit or semi-dry is at its most compressed so neither is ideal.

Traditionally, in the spring, early summer, late fall and winter I have dry suited it while in mid summer I went with a semi-dry wet suit with a 5/7mm vest/hood combo. For me the determining factor of when I switch to a semi-dry is the water temps at the depths where the deco occurs as waiting out even a short deco stop in 45 degree water in a semi-dry is very very uncomfortable.

However I have also relatively recently switched from a trilam drysuit to a 7mm neoprene dry suit which offers the warmth of a drysuit with the low drag and improved "swimability" of a wet suit. It is also quicker to don than a traditional under garment/shell dry suit and the swamp cooler effect on the surface is a big help staying cool while gearing up on hot days. So I am going to try diving year round in it this season, at least for the deep diving.

The point made in an earlier post about the evaporative cooling effects of wind on a neoprene suit (wet or dry) are well taken. However they are also easy to control by covering the suit with a set of waterproof and wind proof overgarments. I have a two piece nylon rainsuit that I can put on in under 15 seconds and that will then keep the swamp cooling effect in check during breezy surface intervals.

 

[Hoosier]

It is a tough question to answer because there are many factors you should consider: DA Aquamaster pointed a good tech diver’s perspective, so I am more concerned about the rec. diver’s perspective.

1. Finance:
From the beginning, dry suit is much more expensive than the wetsuit. Even though you choose the entry level, there are a lot of thing you eventually spend money, such as custom fit, undergarment, extra weight, extra weight system, dry glove, or seal maintenance, etc……

2. maintenance:
It requires a lot of maintenance hassles, such as puncher, seal tear, zipper broken, or valve leak, etc…. Check out this board, how many threads about dry suit maintenance we have. It is all money involved occurrences. It is your luck not to face with these kinds of situation.

3. Your dive style:
How many logs do you make per year? How many dives can you make during the off-season? How deep do you intend to dive? You should ask these questions to yourself frankly?

4. Are you a cold blooded?
You know yourself.

In my case, I decided to go with a dry suit because
1. I plan to do the tech diving, probably the deep diving also.
2. I don’t want to be bothered by the local weather condition, cold water temp.
3. I try to dive at least once per week, even ice diving.
4. I used to have a hard time to don/doff the wetsuit.

BUT, I still like the wetsuit because I want to feel and taste the water. So, I don’t like the dry glove.

It is totally your call, so ask to yourself.

My 2 cents.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I'll second the "I don't like dry gloves" comment. The cuff rings tend to be too large and get in the way, especially when wearing stage bottles, working underwater, etc. In my experience (water temps down to 33 degrees) they are also not required. If you have 5 to 7mm wet gloves in good condition (not a lot of leaks) and have warm enough suit insulation, your hands will stay warm. If you get cold hands, sure it with more insulation on your torso.

 

[matt_unique]

I would recommend you go dry. It will be only a little more expensive than a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit but offer you so much more. You will never go back to wet once you dive dry in cooler water temps. It feels pretty awesome to be completely warm and dry while diving in 50 degree water.

You can buy a brand new O'Neill neoprene drysuit for about $500 and expect about $130 for thermals. I have been diving mine for 5 years and would buy another when this one needs to be replaced.

--Matt

 

[ScubaSarus]

You may want to consider a hyper stretch if you go wet.

 

[Debraw]

If you are planning on diving for years to come I would recommend a dry suit. 50 degrees is cold! I can handle 60 degrees in my 5 mil and hood and gloves but when it goes below that I am in my dry suit. I have the CD4 neoprene from Bare and I love it. I only wear a t-shirt and shorts/socks underneath. I am a divemaster year around so I need something I can work in comfortably and not get cold. Our students wear Mares Isotherm Semi-drys and stay warm also.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

The hyper strech wetsuits are more comfortable and do allow for a little...growth.

But once I went dry I haven't gone back. The comfort is there and if you dig doing repetitive dives, you'll love dry.

Sure it costs money, what doesn't? Much like divorce it's expensive because it's worth it

 

[lorien]

You may want to consider a hyper stretch if you go wet.

Just a note, if you mean Henderson Hyperstretch, I got one of those when I started divng as it actually fit me when no other suit did. Easier on and off HOWEVER, the darn thing just deteriorated way too fast despite my careful care. It started as a 7/5 and went pretty quickly to about a 5/3 and less in some areas, the neoprene just broke down way too fast, knee pads ripped in a few months and needed repair, the list goes on and on. And it is expensive compared to other wet suits. Personally I would never spend the money on another one of them. I know there are other flex wet suits out there but I have not tried any of them, I just have to give the Henderson a thumbs down. Of course I dove it every weekend, maybe if you do not use it as much it might hold up longer.