Commercial Diving School Equipment

[Milkman00]

Hi,

I'm attending commercial diving school this september and have been looking at the
Whites Hazmat BE and the Bares tech trilam HD tech/pro dry

I'm running close to the wire now...should have been researching this stuff atleast a month ago.

My main dilema between them are that I like the front entry of the hazmat and tech dry,but the Hazmat has the p-valve that I can order as an option from the manufacture.

the big drawback from buying a whites drysuit is that they only offer a 30-day warrenty (under commercial/pro use)which is complete garbage and Bare offers a lifetime guarantee on seams and workmanship. so then it comes to wether I should get the tech or pro drysuit from bare?

I'm hoping that there are other commercial divers here that could shed some light on their expierence with these drysuits or other drysuits that you think are good in the field?

I've asked the people at my school what they would recommend,but they can't say ****...all they can say is "this is what you need".

 

[thewils]

hey dude!!
Dont go with the Whites Hazmat, its the ****tiest suit out there, everyone I know that has had one and other commercial divers with one all hate them. Apperently they just start falling apart at the seams and leaking, just crap!
Your suit is your most important peice of gear so you are doing right by looking into it.
I personaly have a BARE crushed neopreane XCD2. ITs awesome becuase its really warm and can be disinfected unlike suits that are just neoprene. Forget the Lifetime warenty with BARE or most other suit companies that only applys to rec divers and if they find out you do the commercial gig your warrenty is scratched.
Viking and Gates make nice suits as well these are generally called "shell" suits becuase they are just rubber usually. Very good and durible and whats nice is even if you get a big hole in them you can patch it with a tire repair kit so they can go a long way. The downside is unlike the Crushed Neoprene these are very cold offering no insulation so you really have to look into your undergear!
Personaly I would go with the BARE I love it, get a convienice zipper, Latex writs seals and a Foldover neck seal its awesome! You can think about gettin the dry gloves but thats a 70 dollar or somethinglike that add on, lots of guys rock out wet gloves or mke their own dry gloves at home, this is what I did it cost 10 bucks.
Best of luck mate

 

[Thalassamania]

Viking or Gates. I'd recommend a Viking HD with the "dog collar" neck seal setup. As far as crushed neoprene is concerned, it's not much warmer.

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

Before you buy, do your homework. In the gulf, most guys I know wear wetsuits and hotwater suits. Not too many are diving dry. Make sure before you spend money on something you may not actually use. Depending on where you will be diving (I see you are from Canada) will depend on what exposure protection you will need. Not meant to detract from comments on the suits you listed, just another perspective. FWIW, Mark

 

[underwaterkiwi]

Hi there. Im a Commercial diver and i own the Bare trilam drysuit. but in the industry most companys are using hotwater suits. but as an onshore diver in winter the membrane drysuit is fantastic to wear, the neoprene suits of other companys mean you are using far more lead and often cannot get that many layers under..and get too hot as the water warms..whereas the Bare even as a custom fit , you will get plenty warm clothes under, and can dive in right throughout summer if you get sick of being wet everyday (can happen).
the front entry zip is top quality and you can get pockets and an ezypee valve just like any other.
just be aware that as opposed to neoprene the membranes wear faster so chuck a pair of overalls over top...easy..hope this helps

 

[Thalassamania]

The only suits that can really be decontaminated are rubber suits. For comfort a hot water suit can't be beat. Chaffing gear is a must whatever suit you chose.

 

[Gilldiver]

I will second the chaffing gear. Without a good pair of overalls over any suit, the life of that suit may be hours. The first time you work around a dock in salt water that is covered with mussles and barnicles (not to mention all the trash) all over the pillings you will know why.

Why don't you ask your school what is recomended?

 

[DiveJedi]

Again - do your homework and inquire with your local commercial dive facility.

Here are a few things you should consider:

- Viking (Hunter, Gates, Viking - all the same company) and the Whites Hazmat are the ONLY 2 companies that have a drysuit that is approved to ASTM chemical standards. If you are diving in contaminated water - those are your ONLY options. You need to have a suit that can be decontaminated.
- Our Hazmat has 2 full layers of dry chemical resistant material
- You need to compare apples to apples

If you are not diving in contaminated water - its a whole different ball game - your suit options expand exponentially - if that is the case - talk to your dive shop. Just like many other manufacturers we have neoprene suits that are plenty abrasion resistant as well.

We supply our Hazmat to the LAPD, the US coast Guard, and countless other fire & sherrif dept's around North America - they wouldn't buy the hazmat if it was crap.

Good Luck,

Tyler

 

[diveandclimb]

If you are going to need to use the suit for contaminated water go for a Viking. Otherwise get a Bare or DUI both are excellent suits. You should also seriously consider dry gloves. They cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $120 and are really really nice.

 

[divedry1956]

Hi,

I'm attending commercial diving school this september and have been looking at the
Whites Hazmat BE and the Bares tech trilam HD tech/pro dry

I'm running close to the wire now...should have been researching this stuff atleast a month ago.

My main dilema between them are that I like the front entry of the hazmat and tech dry,but the Hazmat has the p-valve that I can order as an option from the manufacture.

the big drawback from buying a whites drysuit is that they only offer a 30-day warrenty (under commercial/pro use)which is complete garbage and Bare offers a lifetime guarantee on seams and workmanship. so then it comes to wether I should get the tech or pro drysuit from bare?

I'm hoping that there are other commercial divers here that could shed some light on their expierence with these drysuits or other drysuits that you think are good in the field?

I've asked the people at my school what they would recommend,but they can't say ****...all they can say is "this is what you need".

Hey Milkman00,
If you don’t mind me asking which commercial diving school are you attending? If you are in Canada chances are I have heard of them. Being that it is already October I’m sure you have already purchased your suit. What type of suit did you end up going with? I’m curious to know, pending on the type of training and jobs you plan to take will be your deciding factor of which suit to purchase.
If you are getting your CSA Occupational Scuba chances are you will be working on a fish farm on the west coast, which would mean you would want to stray from a neoprene suit as most fish farms do not allow neoprene to avoid cross contamination between pens.
If you are getting your CSA Restricted/Unrestricted surface supply training “hose gear” your dive jobs most likely will lean towards contaminated water diving /black water diving, in which case a dry suit is a must and it should probably have the ability to with stand contaminate/ be decontaminated. I hope you make the right choice. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to PM me.
Cheers,
“From your fellow Occupational Diver”