Best bang for buck?

[Brad Chandler]

Hello all.

New to diving and I want to make sound investments. I will list my goals and then you can give me your advice.

Took my checkout dives in full 7mm in a quarry with 45 degree water. Did not mind it at all. Looking to dive cold and warm as my bride and I travel frequently. Here is the list of equipment I currently own.

Cressi 3mm full suit
Bare 7mm boots
Standard warm water gloves from Lowes

Atomic BC1 BC
Atomic B2 Reg and Octo with cressi triple
Atomic mask, fins

Dive Computer
Integrated Shearwater Teric

My questions are these, I eventually will probably end up in a dry suit but that is down the road. I am considering a Bare or Neotek Semi dry suit for cold water diving.

The predominance of my diving will be in midwest quarry’s and the Great Lakes region with warm water trips 3 to 4 times a year.

With all that said, I have the budget to get what I need but I dont want redundant gear that is not used. The above items were fairly simple as I prefer Atomic for Guarantees and feel. The Shearwater will be all I ever need.

Any suggestions to round out what I need for maximum flexibility?

Thanks

 

[Marie13]

Get the semi dry. I have a regular buddy who goes pretty cold on the Great Lakes with his. I also see plenty of other people diving locally at the quarry or on the big lake with them.

Glad to see you got a good computer from the beginning.

 

[rongoodman]

Why not go straight to the dry suit if you're committed to cold-water diving? What advantages does a semi-dry offer? The dry suit would actually be more flexible in terms of varying the amount if insulation provided.

 

[Brad Chandler]

Cost for one and two, if I get a dry suit and I rip/tear it doing wrecks and stuff while I am becoming more proficient I have lost more money. I am still new to the mechanics and have to work on my skills to get where I want to be. I am a very safe diver who does all the risk analysis etc.. but I need more experience for the unexpected events.

 

[Brad Chandler]

My dive instructor ripped his dry suit on my checkout dives in 45 degree water and about started crying. He had to go wet

 

[rongoodman]

Well, you said you had the budget. As for ripping it on a wreck, as a new diver you hopefully won't be nearly close enough to one to snag your suit. It just seems to me that money spent on a semi-dry will be a waste in the long run. You don't necessarily need to start off with a DUI or Santi made-to-measure dry suit. I'd have a talk with the guys at Dive Right in Scuba and go from there.

(Did your instructor actually rip his suit, or just tear a seal? Modern seals can be replaced on the spot in about ten minutes.)

 

[Brad Chandler]

Ahh it was a seal. So I guess not that much harm done. What about overheating? Which suit would be more prone to that? As in, it’s 60 degree water, but a much warmer day. I dont want to have a 3, 5, 7, mm suit hanging in closet plus drysuit, plus semi-dry. Know what I am saying? I want to maximize my dive season for the best investment.

P.S Just because I have the money does not mean I dont want to spend it wisely. Not being snarky, just sayin...

 

[cerich]

7mm Deep 6 Wetsuit

 

[Degenerate]

Ahh it was a seal. So I guess not that much harm done. What about overheating? Which suit would be more prone to that? As in, it’s 60 degree water, but a much warmer day. I dont want to have a 3, 5, 7, mm suit hanging in closet plus drysuit, plus semi-dry. Know what I am saying? I want to maximize my dive season for the best investment.

P.S Just because I have the money does not mean I dont want to spend it wisely. Not being snarky, just sayin...

I dive my drysuit year round and sure, you might feel a bit warm when you're gearing up in the summer but once you hit the water you will cool off in quickly.
Instead of having 4 different suits in your closet you would have 4 different types of undergarments..
I don't see myself ever going back to a wetsuit.

 

[CT-Rich]

For the typ of diving you want, a drysuit will give you more flexibility locally. You can vary the undergarments to conditions and their is a lot to be said for coming out of a dive and being dry on the surface. A five mm wetsuit will cover most non dry diving and is not too bulky for travel.

As for tears, modern Drysuits are pretty damn tough. I have a Fusion and it is holding up so far. I split a cuff this spring and replaced it myself. You are better off learning to repair the suit yourself. The downside is the suit needs to be kept more carefully than a wetsuit. They are also not as streamlined as a wet or semi. This makes long surface swims much slower.