Are dry suits worth it?

[2airishuman]

I like my 7mm wetsuit but realize that there are some dives for which it just isn't warm enough. I've been thinking of making a transition to dry suit diving at some point. Previous advice in these boards has been that I probably would be happiest with a DUI CF200x, a suit that will end up costing me over $4,000 all told including undergarment and accessories.

I've encountered so many stories -- both here and in chatting with divers in person -- of dry suit problems that I'm genuinely wondering if it's worth it. Poor fit. Leaks. Expensive repairs. Dives called because of a flooded suit or seal problem.

Now we have this thread which paints an image of the experience of dry suit ownership that is hardly flattering. While the various facts in that thread's narrative are specific to a particular manufacturer, suit, and situation, there are also comments indicating that there is a customer service and warranty service problem in the dry suit industry as a whole.

Has anyone had a mostly positive experience with a dry suit? Meaning, ordering a suit that arrives promptly and fits properly, works reliably for a reasonable number of dives, and then can be repaired at a reasonable price and with a reasonable turnaround time when necessary?

Or are dry suits just something where we have to put up with poor quality and poor service because the market is small and there are no alternatives?

 

[Doby45]

Does a bear poop in the woods? Damn straight they are.

I bought a used Fusion Bullet for just over $600 (suit retails for $1999) I have added about $200 to install wrist rings and soon to be neck ring. I have now about 30 dives on my drysuit with no "certification" and it is just as comfortable to me as my 5mm wetsuit and basically dives the same. Seals can be replaced in 5 minutes (if I am drunk) and about 2 minutes sober. No need to miss a dive. The seals are rather inexpensive at $25 for a PAIR of wrists and $30 for a neck seal. Silicone is of course a bit more but STILL cheaper than other major brands seals. I have no issues with my suit as far as leaks go. The Fusion Sport skin is shown below, got it from @decompression

 

[Edward3c]

Most likely of no use to you, but in the UK, Otter have a good reputation.

I'm on my third dry-suit from the them, the first 2 gave me about 9 and 10 years respectively. the Christmas/New Year shrinkage got the better of them. Suit 3, now in year 4, is about to go back for new neck and wrist seals after 400 dives.

Therefore to answer your question. Yes there is good service and dry-suits work.

 

[fmerkel]

Like a lot of situations.....depends. I've been diving for 20 years in Puget Sound with a dive club (Marker Buoys) that do some 200+ local dives/year. Temp go from 45/46*F in winter to low 50's in the summer, though with global warming it's staying warmer than that. Very few people stay diving around here unless they get a drysuit. They certainly don't do multiple dives in the winter, often the situation that changes their minds since the best diving around here is fall>spring.
My wife and I both bought off the rack shell suits (~1K, USIA and OS), and got 300 dives out of them with no issues at all. At 50 dives/year that's 6 years.
Our next suits were much more expensive and went 13 years before replacement needing only seals and zippers, no seam leaks at all. IMO DUI has a far more exulted reputation than it deserves. I think it stands for Dry Until Immersed. I think there are equally good suits for lots less money.

Now often do you dive? How cold is the water?

 

[runsongas]

you can get a usia techniflex or scubapro everdry for much less than a dui suit and they work just fine. or go used if you are willing to do some gluing.

 

[Storker]

Of all the divers I know, know of or have met up here, there's exactly one who dives wet. And while we are toasty warm after the dive, he's getting cold and has to get his button indoors to get out of the wet suit.

So, yes. A drysuit is totally worth it in cold waters.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

All drysuits eventually become wetsuits ... and then you get 'em fixed.

Where I live, if you want to dive all year round you get a drysuit. And for many of us, winter's the best time to go diving.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mdb]

Dry suits are most definitely "worth it". Many good choices. Hope some Dry suit divers add their personal comments on various suits.

 

[RandomGuy1]

So I guess I will tell my happy drysuit story. I purchased a used Whites fusion bullett. It already had the sitech dryglove system installed. The suit dives dry most of the time, with the exception of when I do something wrong. I wouldn't go back to diving wet in cold water.

 

[2airishuman]

Now often do you dive? How cold is the water?

I average one "dive outing" a week, which typically ends up being two dives.

I mostly shore dive in Minnesota lakes. Most of my dives are in 3mm because there's usually more to see in the shallows where it's warmer most of the year. In the deeper lakes temps are below 45 degrees below the thermocline all year. The wreck diving in Lake Superior would be the main reason for getting a dry suit for me with temps often below 40 and depths to recreational limits and beyond.