Are these good Drysuits?

[Narced Out]

Not sure if these are good or not. Whats the difference between breathable and non breathable?

Stearns Rapid Rescue Extreme Drysuit

Stearns Rapid Rescue Drysuit

OS Systems Breathable Rescue Drysuit

 

[rongoodman]

These suits are for surface rescue, not diving. Breathable just means the suit is made out of GoreTex or a similar fabric for comfort on the surface--the submerged parts of the suit aren't going to be passing water vapor through to the outside.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Those drysuits probably work great...as surface rescue suits.

Notice, however, that all three suits lack an inflater valve.
Only one has an exhaust valve.
It's possible that the breathable fabric on the OSS Breathable Rescue Suit might allow water in at increased ambient pressure.
You need both an inflater valve and an exhaust valve on a drysuit to be used for scuba diving.

 

[Narced Out]

is there anyway to get those valves built in for a reasonable price?

 

[Crush]

is there anyway to get those valves built in for a reasonable price?

I have learned from many patient souls on SB that a device which has a "2 in 1" utility in reality does neither very well. Consider, for example, BP wings designed to work with singles or doubles - they trap air with singles (i.e., they are too big), and are often too small for doubles (i.e., not enough lift).

If you want to do surface rescues, buy a surface drysuit. If you want to dive, buy a diving drysuit. If you want to do both, buy both a surface drysuit and a diving drysuit.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

is there anyway to get those valves built in for a reasonable price?

The suits also lack attached waterproof booties. Your toes will freeze! Without having attached booties, I suppose you could wear neoprene wetsuit, but your feet will not be dry.

Honestly, it's not worth the time, money, and effort.
Consider that an inflater valve will cost $60-$120. A new exhaust valve costs about the same. Neoprene booties, I don't know how much they cost. Add labor costs to all of that. Then, when all of this is done, you have no guarantee that the suit will not leak.

New drysuits designed for scuba diving come with a manufacturer's warranty.

The low-end Whites Fusion suits are quite reasonably priced. There are other economical options out there. I own the Bare Nex-Gen. I've put a few hundred dives on the suit. It's held up pretty well so far. At some point I'll probably have to replace the zipper...which will be expensive.

 

[Narced Out]

Dam....i just cant seem to find a drysuit under a 1000 then...

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

Dam....i just cant seem to find a drysuit under a 1000 then...

Hey Narced Out:

Call JGLO at Indian Valley Scuba Indian Valley Scuba. John is the Drysuit Guru there. They are purging all their 2010 Drysuits at rock bottom prices. DUI, Whites, Bare, Waterproof, SeaSoft, etc. Act fast, since the stock will go quick. You will find their 800 phone number on the web site. If John is not in, have Bev or Brian take a message. John will get back to you right away. I use these guys as my LDS, and if I didn't get my CF200 back in order, I would buy one of these suits. Hope it helps. Safe diving to you.

 

[Narced Out]

Hey wreck diver, so what your saying is i can buy the surface drysuit and these guys will put purge valves on it?

 

[rongoodman]

Hey wreck diver, so what your saying is i can buy the surface drysuit and these guys will put purge valves on it?

No, he's saying that you can get some good deals on suits appropriate for diving at Indian Valley Scuba. What size are you--there are some really good deals on used suits lately here and over at the Deco Stop