Cold water diving is a PITA

[billt4sf]

Years ago, my husband took a class from a wonderful man named Joe Talavera. *dave* came up from Medford for the class, and he and I went diving together during the day, before the first evening lecture session. When we came into the classroom, Joe started talking about the pillars of diving, one of which was Community. He asked us how much time we'd spent underwater that day, and we told him about 45 minutes. Then he asked how much time we had spent TOGETHER, and we looked at each other and tallied up seven hours. This was my introduction to the idea that diving is a very social activity, even though diving itself isn't, really. It also seems like one of the most time-intensive things, in terms of preparation and cleanup, that you could ever hope to do. But a lot of us seem to think it is worth it!

We like it alot when we have an appropriate level of challenge. We do love to spend time together, even just driving, and having an appropriate level of challenge makes the day even more enjoyable.

 

[Groundhog246]

Maybe it's the way I am using it, but I found the DUI suit to be easier to manage -- in the sense that with the White's Fusion, when I added air it went right to the single highest position on my body - ZING! -- and formed a big pocket and set me out of balance. The didn't happen much at all with the DUI.

DUI suits cost more for the reason they're a better suit. Not to put down the White's and if you had a custom fitted White's you might find it just as good. But the DUI is designed for use with BP/wing and doubles, with that bit of extra flex you need to reach around. And diving with a too tight neck seal is dangerous, as it can restrict blood flow to your brain.

 

[billt4sf]

DUI suits cost more for the reason they're a better suit. .

I am thinking HOG suits -- much cheaper. Anybody have experience with them?

- Bill

 

[TSandM]

DUI suits cost more for the reason they're a better suit. Not to put down the White's and if you had a custom fitted White's you might find it just as good. But the DUI is designed for use with BP/wing and doubles, with that bit of extra flex you need to reach around.

Note that the OP was using the Whites Fusion dry suit in rental, which does not require a custom fit. The fact that the neck seals were too tight is not the fault of the suit or the manufacturer; it's the fault of the dive shop that rented them the suit.

Although a correctly cut custom suit should allow one to reach one's valves (with ANY make of suit), one of the strong points of the Fusions is that they don't have to be custom cut to allow that. But the OP is a long way from worrying about reaching his valves. He's still at the stage of trying to get himself comfortable in the dry suit.

I think the claim that DUI is a "better" suit ought to be supported with specific examples. Yes, they are prettier, and easier to get into . . . but Fusions rarely leak

 

[Groundhog246]

Note that the OP was using the Whites Fusion dry suit in rental, which does not require a custom fit. The fact that the neck seals were too tight is not the fault of the suit or the manufacturer; it's the fault of the dive shop that rented them the suit.

Although a correctly cut custom suit should allow one to reach one's valves (with ANY make of suit), one of the strong points of the Fusions is that they don't have to be custom cut to allow that. But the OP is a long way from worrying about reaching his valves. He's still at the stage of trying to get himself comfortable in the dry suit.

I think the claim that DUI is a "better" suit ought to be supported with specific examples. Yes, they are prettier, and easier to get into . . . but Fusions rarely leak

Let's just put the DUI being better down as a personal opinion and I don't own a DUI, I have a USIA semi-custom. It's my opinion is based on watching quite a few divers, some of them dive buddies, in quite an assortment of drysuits. I wasn't thinking about the neck seal, although the fact you can change it easily is a plus. I was referring to his issue with the White's of air going to the wrong place, which might even be helped if it was a custom White's. Since there aren't that many "off the shelf" people, I'm not a fan of "off the shelf" DS.

---------- Post added May 13th, 2013 at 05:09 PM ----------

I am thinking HOG suits -- much cheaper. Anybody have experience with them?

- Bill

I've never heard of them, though that means nothing. Just keep in mind, a lower cost suit, you end up not liking is an expensive mistake.

 

[billt4sf]

Fusions rarely leak

We have used both Fusions and DUI as rentals, and we could reach the valves on both. The DUI is *much* easier to get in and out of. Do the Whites have a version that has neck and wrist rings that can be used for configuring seals? Is the DUI leak-prone (whatever that means)?

- Bill

 

[Hepcat62]

We have used both Fusions and DUI as rentals, and we could reach the valves on both. The DUI is *much* easier to get in and out of. Do the Whites have a version that has neck and wrist rings that can be used for configuring seals? Is the DUI leak-prone (whatever that means)?

Just FYI, TSandM was talking about your tank valve(s) - not your drysuit dump valve.

 

[Wineaux]

Bill, the weekend of June 8/9 DUI is doing their demo days at breakwater in Monterey where they let you try some suits and take you out for a dive with a DM. I thought that might be something that you and Emily could be interested in.

 

[TravisD]

We have used both Fusions and DUI as rentals, and we could reach the valves on both. The DUI is *much* easier to get in and out of. Do the Whites have a version that has neck and wrist rings that can be used for configuring seals? Is the DUI leak-prone (whatever that means)?

The Fusions (and just about any suit) can be configured with a ring system such as the SiTech system. SiTech is the one that Whites will install from the factory, but Viking and some others make similar (though apparently not usually compatible) systems.

One advantage of the "hard" ring systems like the SiTech is that you can put dry gloves on after donning the suit. The DUI ZipSeals are nice since they're soft and don't seem to get in the way as much, but you have to attach gloves before donning the suit. The SiTech rings let you pop the gloves off without removing any of the suit so you get your dexterity back to work zippers, grab a snack, etc. I know you were just asking about seals, but the same system will let you interchange seals as well. Another positive for the SiTech system is that you can use any standard wrist seal - latex or silicone, and they're generally MUCH cheaper than the proprietary ZipSeals.

Also, you can get rings in different sizes, and also in round or oval depending on your preference.

 

[billt4sf]

The Fusions (and just about any suit) can be configured with a ring system such as the SiTech system. SiTech is the one that Whites will install from the factory.

Well, it's a negative for Bamboo Reef that they do not have a ring seal system for their dry suit rentals. Maybe I shouldn't complain because not many shops rent drysuits at all, but we *really* suffered our first few times in the non-configurable (meaning smallest) neck and wrist seals, thinking that this is always how it's going to be. They actually had us put the suit on and watched us for a few minutes to see if our faces reddened, supposedly that would tell if the suit was not wearable. Ugh. Thank God that's over with!