Atlan drysuit and tech diving?
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SuPrBuGmAn
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I know a couple people using them, but I don't think they've used them to 200'. They are doing decompression and they are liking the suits.
PfcAJ
Contributor
I know someone who uses an Atlan. One thing to consider is how much that 7mm neoprene is going to crush at depth and how thick an undergarment you can get underneath it, plus the water temp. Getting cold sucks on a deco dive (or any dive, for that matter).
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I don't know anyone using non-compressed neoprene below about 160ft. As far as getting cold due to compression goes, most ocean dives are short enough bounces you probably won't chill too much from the loss of neoprene insulation at depth. I'd be more concerned about weighting at depth and how much proper (for conditions) undergarment fits underneath.
ucfdiver
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PfcAJ
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Depth? Swimming? Wat?
ucfdiver
Contributor
I have used one on deco dives to depths around 150' with bottom temps in the 32-35 degree range and depths in mid water in the 40-60 degree range.
In my experience, the short time (35-45 minutes) at depth is less important than the temps during deco where you are fairly sedentary and where you spend a longer percentage of the total dive time. On these dives, I also dove with nothing more than a moisture wicking layer.
I did not find compression to be an issue and all other things being equal I stayed as warm in a 7mm Atlan (or my later 5mm/7mm O'Neil) as I did in a trilam with 400 g thinsulate. In comparing the two:
1. The weight requirements are a wash when configured for similar water temps.
2. The shell of the neoprene suit is an insulating layer so condensation almost never happens and the inner surface of the suit never feels cold. In contrast while in a trilam, condensation is guarenteed when the warm moist gas in the suit contacts the cold uninsulated shell of the trilam suit.
3. A good fitting trilam swims very well - much like a wet suit and makes air management in the suit much easier if you carry a bit more gas in the suit in colder water. In that regard it is very similar to a Whites Fusion.
4. A good fitting neoprene suit is much more streamlined than even a good fitting trilam, and a lot more streamlined than a baggy trilam.
5. A neoprene suit can be dove with an extreme squeeze without hurting. It lacks the bite of a squeezed trilam.
6. A flooded trilam is effing cold. period. No way around it. In contrast a good fitting but flooded neoprene suit is still a very efficient semi-dry. I have spent some very long commercial dives in a flooded neoprene drysuit and been extremely glad I was not in a flooded trilam.
My past experience aside, I also know at least one cave and technical diver who currently does deep dives (200-300 ft) in a 7mm Atlan drysuit.
In my experience, the short time (35-45 minutes) at depth is less important than the temps during deco where you are fairly sedentary and where you spend a longer percentage of the total dive time. On these dives, I also dove with nothing more than a moisture wicking layer.
I did not find compression to be an issue and all other things being equal I stayed as warm in a 7mm Atlan (or my later 5mm/7mm O'Neil) as I did in a trilam with 400 g thinsulate. In comparing the two:
1. The weight requirements are a wash when configured for similar water temps.
2. The shell of the neoprene suit is an insulating layer so condensation almost never happens and the inner surface of the suit never feels cold. In contrast while in a trilam, condensation is guarenteed when the warm moist gas in the suit contacts the cold uninsulated shell of the trilam suit.
3. A good fitting trilam swims very well - much like a wet suit and makes air management in the suit much easier if you carry a bit more gas in the suit in colder water. In that regard it is very similar to a Whites Fusion.
4. A good fitting neoprene suit is much more streamlined than even a good fitting trilam, and a lot more streamlined than a baggy trilam.
5. A neoprene suit can be dove with an extreme squeeze without hurting. It lacks the bite of a squeezed trilam.
6. A flooded trilam is effing cold. period. No way around it. In contrast a good fitting but flooded neoprene suit is still a very efficient semi-dry. I have spent some very long commercial dives in a flooded neoprene drysuit and been extremely glad I was not in a flooded trilam.
My past experience aside, I also know at least one cave and technical diver who currently does deep dives (200-300 ft) in a 7mm Atlan drysuit.
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