any drysuit beach divers here?

[meterman]

anyone have a picture of the turbo soles?:huh:

 

[Robert Phillips]

anyone have a picture of the turbo soles?:huh:

Here you go...

 

[Robert Phillips]

Photos posted

 

[fppf]

My wife and I both dive Pinnacle suits.
They have a rubber boot with 5mm lining in them, warm and good traction. They don't offer much support but we did not have a problem with the rocks. Just really need to watch your step. You can also get a pinnacle suit with all the features at a really good price.

 

[tedshark]

My suit is currently at DUI getting the turbo soles removed I am going to rock boots most common now days and better foot support and your booties don’t fill with air.
Then again my turbo soles were large on my foot I imagine ones that fit you good maybe ok and more comfortable.
With the rock boot you can always change your boot size without modifying your suit or wear different shoes Big Plus.
Also get front entry suit and a relief zipper if it’s a custom built suit some people say get zip seals I don’t have those the wrist zip seals allow for wearing dry gloves and seals can be replaced if damaged easier.
I personally do not have zip seals or a relief zipper.
Hope this helps.

 

[abrown203]

I got my DUI TLS350 with RockBoots about 1.5 years ago. Except for lobster diving, I have used it for all of my beach and boat dives. I was very concerned about the extra wear and tear of beach diving. So far it has help up great. I am glad I sprung for the CF200 knee pads. Sometimes I kneel down on the ground when gearing up/down. I will probably switch to the zip seals when the factory set wears out. I am glad I didn't spring for these with the new suit. I also very happy I spring for the two leg billows pockets.

The seals and zipper have held up great so far. My biggest worry was getting sand in the zipper. I figured the zipper wax would attract it. The DUI zipper guard is doing a great job keeping most of it out so far though.

For me wearing a drysuit for beach diving causes me to wear more weight, takes me longer to gear up, and gives me the feeling of diving with more “stuff”. I am significantly slower entering and exiting the surf zone.

I was also worried that wearing a drysuit would cause me to overheat pre or post beach dive. I have found this not to be the case, though most of my dives have been pretty easy and familiar.

Another worry was urchin spines piercing the TLS material. No problems so far, though I have really not gotten smashed hard into the reef yet.

Happy diving,

 

[HBDiveGirl]

This topic just had some good tossing about on This Thread.

A drysuit is a superb investment in your SoCal diving.
You'll dive longer and more often.
Brace yourself... and warn your significant others .

Drysuits take temperature out of the equation.

~~~
Claudette

P.S. I still dive wet for lobster hunting, and some shallow reef dives in the summer.
My BARE crushed neo suit is Very Heavy when wet. I'll dive wet at sites with long, steep cliff/stair access (Malaga, Haggerty's, Cardiac Hill, El Matador)

 

[Robert Phillips]

DO NOT GET A RELIEF ZIPPER!!! Everyone will laugh at you and you will look like a dork.
Spring for an overboard discharge valve and you won't have to call your dive short to unzip and pee. Relief zippers are so NE coast!

 

[Mo2vation]

DO NOT GET A RELIEF ZIPPER!!! Everyone will laugh at you and you will look like a dork.
Spring for an overboard discharge valve and you won't have to call your dive short to unzip and pee. Relief zippers are so NE coast!

And be sure to peel that damn bulls-eye sticker off your PST tank before you get it wet, or we'll we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

And get your Viz sticker placed on the INSIDE of your tank - facing your back, or we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

And ditch the ankle weights and gaiters - leave the trainining wheels for the NE divers with the horizontal zippers. Roll in with those and we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

And you have got to be kidding with that blinking light on the back of your tank. That is so AOW. Pull it off and leave it in the car for our next night dive, or we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

About that (j)Yoke valve... OY. This is SoCal, not some quarry dive. Lose that thing and get a DIN set up or we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

Are you still diving wet gloves with your dry suit? C'mon, lose those rigit digits and go blue, my man. Dry gloves are the new black. Coming up from a 90 minute SoCal dive with blue nails when you should be diving blue gloves just makes us want to all laugh at you cuz you look like a frozen dorkcicle.

And those Force Fins. You're kidding right? Listen Daffy, leave those to the resort divers and their JellyBean AL80's. Show up in a pair of those waddlers and we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.
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Yes, I'm quite through.

A couple of hundred beach dives a year I do in a Drysuit. It depends more on that you do UNDER water than on top or getting in and out. I dive a DUI TLS350 trilam. After 15 months I have patched it close to 120 times.

Its basically now just blobs of AquaSeal held together by some Tri-Lam material. Great suit, but I'm a combat photographer - so I get bounced all over. I wrap up on rocks and reefs and wrecks - and I pin ball in the surge to get the shot... so my DS is a chess board of Aqua Seal. Not the suit's fault. Its just the way I roll.

I now also have a CF200. I've had it for a couple of weeks - and I love it. But I have managed to put a couple of holes in it (knees... dang Urchin farm at Anacapa....) But this suit is way tougher than my TLS. Its stretchy, and I love that. I put a Neoprene neck seal on it. Its the most comfortable suit I've ever worn... once you get into it. No easy task. Its not slick like the TLS... so with my polartec DUI grays, its like pulling on velcro. Not pretty. But after several weeks I can now also squeeze myself through an unstrung tennis racket - so there are compensating virtues to learning to contort into this evil velcro thing...

The TLS, in my learned opinion, is the ultimate SoCal dry suit. Its just the best combination of materials and workmanship and cut for SoCal diving. Hot days, cool water. Its easy to get on and easy to get off. This is a HUGE plus, as you will be getting out of it between dives from May through November. Its light so its easy to pack. It dries instantly, which is a plus if you're going 3 - 8 dives a week like I do. Its got a relaxed fit so its kinda laid back - meaning if you want to eat a pizza, eat a pizza and don't fret it - your DrySuit will respect you in the morning. Being TriLam its super easy to repair. I've never missed a dive because of a puncture. If I got a couple of hours, I Aquaseal it up. If I gotta go back in right now, I duct tape it. So it seeps... whatever. It will dry before I finish woofing down my Chipotle burrito on my SI.

If you're not attacking the dive to get the shot, and if you're looking for a versatile, fairly priced, easy-to-love dry suit, I can't recommend the DUI TLS350 enough for SoCal diving.

Go try one on and see if you can get into a stock size. Then, go hit up eBay. They're on there all the time. Save some cash. A DS is a person-shaped bag with a zipper and three seals. They're not rocket science. Don't pay crazy cash for a new one if you can fit into a stock size. eBay has them for cheap.

---
Ken

 

[Robert Phillips]

And be sure to peel that damn bulls-eye sticker off your PST tank before you get it wet, or we'll we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

And get your Viz sticker placed on the INSIDE of your tank - facing your back, or we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

And ditch the ankle weights and gaiters - leave the trainining wheels for the NE divers with the horizontal zippers. Roll in with those and we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

And you have got to be kidding with that blinking light on the back of your tank. That is so AOW. Pull it off and leave it in the car for our next night dive, or we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

About that (j)Yoke valve... OY. This is SoCal, not some quarry dive. Lose that thing and get a DIN set up or we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

Are you still diving wet gloves with your dry suit? C'mon, lose those rigit digits and go blue, my man. Dry gloves are the new black. Coming up from a 90 minute SoCal dive with blue nails when you should be diving blue gloves just makes us want to all laugh at you cuz you look like a frozen dorkcicle.

And those Force Fins. You're kidding right? Listen Daffy, leave those to the resort divers and their JellyBean AL80's. Show up in a pair of those waddlers and we'll all laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.
Ken

Do forget the snorkel: Leave it in the dive bag or in the garage. Wear it on a dive and we'll laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

And the pig sticker on your calf: This is not WWII and you ain't Lloyd Bridges. Wear that thing and we'll laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

Spare Aire? Leave it at the dive shop, roll with one of these and we'll laugh at you and you'll look like a dork.

More anyone?