Question Best HOT weather drysuit?

[Mnbue]

Hi guys, thanks in advance.
I’m looking for feedback from those who dive dry in HOT climates, on their experiences with drysuit durability.

I’ve been living in the Caribbean and diving caves the past 5 years, and just had my second drysuit fail due to the climate. In both cases, the adhesive used to seal critical parts of the suit degraded to the point where the constant fight against leaks just wasn’t worth it anymore. I’m convinced that the issue is that most suits are manufactured for cold weather diving, and aren’t tested for long-term survival of the adhesive in hotter weather.

Before anyone asks, the suits are stored properly hanging in a dry, cool area of my house….so I don’t think storage is the issue.

So I’m in the market for a new suit and exploring options. SANTI and DUI are popular here and could work, but I have yet to find one that makes me really happy in terms of overall fit and features, so I’m open to alternatives. Waterproof had some drysuits that looked interesting on paper, but no one I know here has one so I have no idea if they would have the same problem.

Must haves - very durable fabric/build, I do a lot of crawling around on rocks for some of my dives. Also, front zip as I find back zip uncomfortable in my sidemount harness. Metal zipper as I’ve had no luck with plastic ones.

Nice to haves - cave cut option, female cut option, soft wrists (hate trying to force wrist rings between tanks to clip/unclip stages), user-replaceable seals.

Thanks for any advice you can come up with!

 

[Lorenzoid]

Florida cave divers deal with heat. I haven't heard anyone say they favor one brand over another because it lasts longer in a hot climate. Other than FL and MX, I'm not sure there are places in the world where it's common to use a drysuit in a hot climate.

 

[runsongas]

4E argonaut was about the only breathable drysuit that would hold up to more than moderate usage, but they might have got out of the drysuit biz (not seeing products listed on their page for some reason)

if you aren't requiring breathable, look at ursuit. like crushed neoprene is more durable, but i would not want to dive a pinnacle or otter in florida/MX

 

[Mnbue]

Florida cave divers deal with heat. I haven't heard anyone say they favor one brand over another because it lasts longer in a hot climate. Other than FL and MX, I'm not sure there are places in the world where it's common to use a drysuit in a hot climate.

That’s exactly why I’m asking for people with experience living in those places to tell me what they use. Clearly some brands stand up and others don’t. And since it’s not something you can look up in the specs for the suit my only option is to find out who still has theirs and likes it after a few hundred Florida or Mexico dives.

 

[Mnbue]

4E argonaut was about the only breathable drysuit that would hold up to more than moderate usage, but they might have got out of the drysuit biz (not seeing products listed on their page for some reason)

if you aren't requiring breathable, look at ursuit. like crushed neoprene is more durable, but i would not want to dive a pinnacle or otter in florida/MX

The 4E Argonaut was actually what I had most recently, and it fell apart quite quickly and dramatically (48 leaks repaired and a zipper replaced not because of zipper malfunction but because the adhesive gluing it on dissolved…all in the first year of use). I’m annoyed because I had a lot of very experienced people recommending it prior. And for the price tag that wasn’t nearly enough usage.

Breathable and durable don’t seem to exist in the same package, so that’s not critical to me for the next suit. I’m not familiar with Ursuit but I’ll definitely look them up, thanks.

 

[asher102]

Something to consider here is that the available materials to construct drysuits don't vary that much between the major/recommended manufacturers.

If you are seeing rapid degradation of the seams, you may want to look at your storage methods. Is it in a climate controlled area out of direct sunlight? Is there a potential source of ozone or solvent vapor in the storage area? If you can eliminate these factors you would be amazed at the difference in longevity of a suit that is stored properly. This is coming from TX, where garage temps in the summer are probably close to what you are seeing.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That’s exactly why I’m asking for people with experience living in those places to tell me what they use. Clearly some brands stand up and others don’t. And since it’s not something you can look up in the specs for the suit my only option is to find out who still has theirs and likes it after a few hundred Florida or Mexico dives.

I see a lot of Santi and DUI, but you said you're familiar with those.

 

[NauticalNick]

4E argonaut was about the only breathable drysuit that would hold up to more than moderate usage, but they might have got out of the drysuit biz (not seeing products listed on their page for some reason)

if you aren't requiring breathable, look at ursuit. like crushed neoprene is more durable, but i would not want to dive a pinnacle or otter in florida/MX

They're definitely still doing it. They just released the Argonaut 3.0 which looks incredible as usual.

 

[NauticalNick]

The 4E Argonaut was actually what I had most recently, and it fell apart quite quickly and dramatically (48 leaks repaired and a zipper replaced not because of zipper malfunction but because the adhesive gluing it on dissolved…all in the first year of use). I’m annoyed because I had a lot of very experienced people recommending it prior. And for the price tag that wasn’t nearly enough usage.

Breathable and durable don’t seem to exist in the same package, so that’s not critical to me for the next suit. I’m not familiar with Ursuit but I’ll definitely look them up, thanks.

That seems surprising to me given the somewhat consensus positive reviews you mentioned. Did they not do anything for you? You're right, 1 year seems a bit crazy for such an expensive piece of kit to fail, regardless of how hard you're using it.

 

[RyanT]

I haven't used a bunch of different dry suit brands, so I can't say for sure, but, I suspect that there won't be any one brand that holds up significantly better than others. I say this based on my experience working in the tropics. There are lots of materials that degrade much faster than they do in temperate climates. This is likely a combination of heat/UV, and the microbial/fungal community. In Panama, I have to wipe down my electrical cables at the start of each field season because fungus loves it. Clothing with elastic always degrades fairly quickly. Unfortunately, it's just part of life in the tropics.