Different Dry Suit for Different Regions?

[Scuba_Canuck]

Hi - I'm researching dry suits for the B.C. West Coast around Vancouver Island.

My question is based on whether different manufacturer's dry suites are better suited for different regions ie. Great Lakes, North East, California etc.

Are there features of one manufacturer's suit that would be better for our conditions on the west coast? Does it matter?

Whites suits are made here on Vancouver Island and I wonder if they were sort of designed for the diving around here for example. I am looking at the Nexus II and Catalyst SE.

Thanks for any input -

 

[mahjong]

I would say that more important to consider are the kind of diving you plan to do and your own preferences (weighting, amount of underwear, drag, drying time, etc.), which generally can only be known with experience. Cold water is cold water, but there are other issues--currents, actual temps, rocky terrain, boat vs shore diving, caves, wrecks--and these might play a more important role than the particular region or body of water. I would advise reading up on the differences between shell, neoprene, and crushed/compressed neoprene. Then, ideally, see if you can try out the different kinds of suits--as rentals, for example--before buying. Good luck. Mahjong

 

[MarkH]

All drysuits are more or less designed for the same thing: keeping you dry underneath. Local divers in B.C. wear just about every kind of suit (neoprene, crushed neoprene, tri-lam, bi-lam, etc.) and you'll see several brands as well. Our water here really isn't any different from the East Coast, Northern California, Norway, UK, etc. Whites is local so they probably have better representation in the shops here than some other cold-water areas.