Best Dry Suits for Warmth

[bamafan]

Being in Florida it is hot most of the year and putting on a drysuit really sucks. The advantage to the neoprene suits are that it doesn't require the heavy undergarments like a shell suit does so the suffering is somewhat minimized. I don't think they are popular for colder water though. Most people I know diving shell suits go with the DUI FLX or the Santi. If money isn't an option I would probably go with the SF Tech. I have heard good things about the British suits such as Otter, O'Three and Seaskin.

 

[JohnnyC]

A drysuit is only as warm as your undergarments/heated bits. You can freeze in an uncrushed neoprene, or sweat in a trilam. It all depends on the amount of insulation you're using.

A neoprene suit will require less undergarment for an equivalent "warmth," but like everything else, there are tradeoffs. An alternative to layering a boat load of undergarments is to use heated undergarments, vests, gloves, etc. They actively heat you using an offboard battery plugged into the suit. You can control the amount of heat, and can minimize bulk.

 

[KaFre]

have you found that you need extra weights with the D1 vs other type of drysuit?

I went directly from summer diving in 7mm wetsuit into all year diving in the D1. The springy liner that insulates you from the shell and keeps the condensation away from your undergarments obviously gives it some extra buoyancy, but I'd think that would just have to be replaced with thicker undergarments in a different suit.

I used 10kg in with the wetsuit and 16 with the dry. (22 pounds to 35).

 

[Scubatude]

As stated above, warmth of a drysuit is more a matter of undergarments than the drysuit itself.... mostly. Keeping you dry is the suits main job. All that being said, after diving several DUIs over 10-12 years (as well as some other brands) I decided to try Ursuit out of Finland. I dove the Ursuit ONE Endurance for about 6 month as a test and LOVED it. I flew to Finland where I toured the factory and went through their factory drysuit repair training. Really top notch products from a top notch company.

We are a dealer for Ursuit here in California, and a warranty repair facility. We are having an Ursuit Demo Day April 28 and stock rental drysuit from Ursuit and others.

 

[broncobowsher]

I'll repeat it again, it's what's under the suit that keeps you warm.
The suit itself might have a few features that might make a tiny amount of difference. Warm collars and warm cuffs are a neoprene blanket(?) that covers the seals. Doesn't fit tight. For the neck it gives a place for the hood to tuck into.

I don't think it was mentioned but dry gloves can do wonders as well. Keeping warm hands is great for keeping comfortable.

 

[WarmWaterGal]

I'll repeat it again, it's what's under the suit that keeps you warm.
The suit itself might have a few features that might make a tiny amount of difference. Warm collars and warm cuffs are a neoprene blanket(?) that covers the seals. Doesn't fit tight. For the neck it gives a place for the hood to tuck into.

I don't think it was mentioned but dry gloves can do wonders as well. Keeping warm hands is great for keeping comfortable.

What do you think about fourth element undergarments - the xerotherm and Halo3d?

 

[WarmWaterGal]

I'll repeat it again, it's what's under the suit that keeps you warm.
The suit itself might have a few features that might make a tiny amount of difference. Warm collars and warm cuffs are a neoprene blanket(?) that covers the seals. Doesn't fit tight. For the neck it gives a place for the hood to tuck into.

I don't think it was mentioned but dry gloves can do wonders as well. Keeping warm hands is great for keeping comfortable.

What do you think about fourth element xerotherm and Halo3d?

 

[Scubatude]

What do you think about fourth element undergarments - the xerotherm and Halo3d?

Fourth Element hands down my favorite!
I wear Xerotherms for down to about 60 degrees, Arctics down to 45, BOTH if the water is colder than that.