Considering drysuit diving, any advice would be welcome...

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I think you need to ask yourself what type of diving you want to do. If you like looking at fish and critters, Dan has some valid points. You can go pretty far in a good wet suit. When you start talking about exploring wrecks, you are often talking deeper dives and colder water where dry suits become worth the hassle. If you want to dive in the winter, it becomes a requirement in much of the world. I don't buy that a d/s in more dangerous when you mix in all the factors. It is more complicated, has more failure points to ruin a dive and requires overhead (maintenance, gearing up and initial cost) that a casual diver might not want to mess with. It all depends how addicted you are to diving.

 

[BRT]

If I was going to swim around at speed in cold water I'd dive a good wetsuit. What I like to do is float along slowly and examine things. This makes a drysuit a must. I still get cold but it is doable. For interest, if I swim fairly hard for a couple of minutes I get too hot in the drysuit. Just floating along I'm too cold.

 

[boulderjohn]

Here is a quick story that may give you something to think about.

I was in the Seattle area with the opportunity to dive only one day. I had brought my dry suit and my thickest underwear and a good hood. My friends took me on a warm up day dive, after which we did a one hour night dive. If I recall correctly, the water temperature was 47° F. About 3/4 of the way through the dive I realized I had made a mistake in my choice of underwear. I was uncomfortably warm. At the end of the one hour dive, I was sweating. Given the chance to dive in those conditions again, I will dial back the underwear a bit.

How does that compare to your wet suit?

 

[seattlepaul1975]

Also I think the other issue I gave seen here in Seattle is someone diving a wet suit and not being able to do a 2nd dive due to being so cold they were shaking and unable to stop.

 

[MalibuJerry]

I dive in CA in 50 degree mas o menos water in the winter and use a dry suit. You should go for it, be warm and enjoy the dive. Moreover, if you are warm you are going to be safer and you will off gas more efficiently. A couple of pieces of advice. In the courses they teach you to use your dry suit as a buoyancy device (or they used to). Don't do it. Put the minimum amount of air into the suit that you need to stay warm and use your bc as your primary buoyancy device. This will give you better trim, less drag, and more flexibility. Second, be patient and expect to do about 10 to 15 dives before it becomes natural. Then wonder why you waited so long. Third, consider using a p-valve. They work really well and it keeps from being uncomfortable on that third dive where you really need to relieve yourself. As with a wetsuit, it will feel warm if you pee in your dry suit (no p-valve), but you definitely will not like it as much.

 

[rongoodman]

Given your location, you'll want to be diving dry, especially with the longer exposures that deco dives imply. If you need more convincing, bring your wetsuit up to Lake George and we can go dive on the Radeau.

 

[kr2y5]

Thanks, I'm convinced! The ScubaBoard has spoken with one voice . I don't mind the learning curve at all, I was mostly concerned with the claim that it takes so much effort to maintain the required skills at a sufficiently high level, and I was not sure that 10-20 local dives/year will cut the mustard. But, it sounds like nobody on this thread shares this concern, so I won't let it stop me from buying a drysuit. As for the type of diving I do: for the past 90 dives or so, I never entered the water without my camera, it has pretty much become a body part of mine, and it defines the way I dive. I like wrecks, and I like to hover on top of things for several minutes while shooting a video. I did feel a bit cold at times in the Keys in a 5mm wetsuit in July, and I suspect a drysuit would be a valid option for those sort of dives as well.

Besides Fusion One and DUI FLX Extreme mentioned here already, what other specific models would you recommend? As stated earlier, I will do most recreational dives in tropical destinations, Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida, Cozumel, Yucatan, etc., but I plan to also do local wreck dives west of the NJ shore, and get some tec training in the near future. I might want to venture into more exotic areas with colder climate one day, we'll see...

 

[NAM001]

kr2y5

I dive a dui trilam tls 350 for 5 or so years on occasions and have not had seal issues. It depends on how rough you are on your suit. I did hnot see in your OP where you are located. I dive mostly in the gulf when i can get there and it isnot always warm. I have dove ith buddys with DS on in warm gulf waters. Although i prefer warm water 3mm shorty diving. If the water gets to 60 i am heading for my harveys semi or my DS. bouyacy is manageable with the right undergarments.

Issues of DRAG is a moot issue if air consumption is the concern cause you either have drag or you are shivvering to keep warm. I will take the drag.
As mentioned there are many variation s of DS's out there. I like the trilam. Others like somehing more rugged for things like wreck penitrations. My DS with a 100 g undergarment takes 19# of weight. My harveys 3mm farmer john needs 19# also. at 100 ft id rather have the DS for the bouyancy changes.
Also as others have mentioned there are DEMO days for teh manufacturers. If you go the dui route get teh zip seals. Dont be bound by the DIR men in black thing a little color makes you easy to see. Mine is nav blue with a yellow chest piece and has relective tape on it. Look at my profile pic. Good luck.

 

[00wabbit]

I prefer my Fusion Bullet. It's good for snow diving.

 

[boulderjohn]

I strongly recommend the Fusion that I have been trying to sell in the classifieds section for several months now.