Happy New Year fellow divers. Couple of questions concerning dry suits. I live in Virginia Beach area and I am looking to purchase my first dry. I can't handle the thought of not diving again until the water warms up around here. First off, not sure where to go for my suit. There are three dive shops in my immediate area that I know of. The biggest with the best selection is the one where I took my OW cert. They carry two types of dry's. DUI and Dive Rite. Not sure exact model names right now but both are made of tri lam material. The other two shops are smaller and don't even stock dry's but I think they could order one for me. I am leary of ordering one on internet, since it is a big investment for me and I know that fit is everything in a dry. What do I do? Settle for one from the LDS? Go on-line? While researching these forums, it seems I might be better off with a crushed neoprene suit. If I decide to take this route, I am not sure I could get it locally. I think I want front entry so i can be sure that it is zipped all the way, etc. I have heard that the zippers wear faster on front donning but I think I would rather chance this than chance getting wet. Can I order one based on my size then get it cut specifically at my LDS? Anyway, looking forward to any comments and suggestions any of you might have. Dive On!!
Dry suit dilemma
- Thread starter Bolney
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Green_Manelishi
Contributor
Bolney:
I would not buy a front zip just because you can check the zipper; if your buddy is that much of a doofus that he leaves the zipper open a bit, find a different buddy.
Crushed neo is tough for sure but it's also heavier when wet.
Bolney: Front / Rear entry is a preference thing. If you get a rear entry suit just have your buddy hold the loop out for you after closing it so you can verify that it's really closed. Should be no problem.
What's your budget? Buget was a key criteria for myself, so I ended up with a Bare nexgen which a lot of folks dive around here. YMMV.
I would be very careful buying a suit online, just because fit is pretty essential.
What's your budget? Buget was a key criteria for myself, so I ended up with a Bare nexgen which a lot of folks dive around here. YMMV.
I would be very careful buying a suit online, just because fit is pretty essential.
Like Jeckyll said - budget is a driving force. DUI anDive-Rite are both good - Diverite only has one model. The LDS that stocks them, or anyone that is an authorized dealer, should be able to take your measurements and then the manufacturer can recommend a stcok size - unless you want a custom.
Diverite had a good sale going through Christmas, but don't know if its still on.
Don't forget to ask about the feet - are they rock boots, or just soles on the bottom?
And don't forget to take a course - its simple but there are somethings to watch for/be able to handle.
Diverite had a good sale going through Christmas, but don't know if its still on.
Don't forget to ask about the feet - are they rock boots, or just soles on the bottom?
And don't forget to take a course - its simple but there are somethings to watch for/be able to handle.
Green_Manelishi
Contributor
Bolney:
I've used a neoprene suit with neoprene seals with no problems. I currently use a shell White's suit with latex wrist seals and neoprene neck seal as well as a Viking Extreme with latex wrist and neck seals; no problems.
The seals that will be best for you are the seals that will keep you dry
The material that will be best for you is whatever you can afford, fits well, keeps you dry and is appropriate for your diving.
The extreme is a robust suit. I've seen the DiveRite 905 and it's also quite sturdy. Some of the DUI suits are tough but others are not; it's a matter of appropriateness to your situation.
I personally like shell suits because they dry fast and I can vary the amount of underwear. However, they don't swim as nicely as neoprene suit.
So, it's a tradeoff. Like I said, buy what you can afford that fits well and keeps you dry. Understand the pros and cons of each and decide accordingly.
If I was to buy a third drysuit I'd get a 'self don' simply because I do a fair bit of solo diving and it'd be nice to not have to rely on someone who might not be familiar with dry-suit zippers.
Jeckyll, not too worried about budget but I am not saying that I want to pay more than I need to just for a name. Does anyone know of any brands that have a bad reputation? I would like to keep the price around $1000, but if I need to pay more for certain accessories that would really benifit me then it's not a problem. Is $1000 unrealistic for what I am looking for? I found dive rite neoprenes for $1500-1800.
Also I plan on using this suit for a long time so I guess it would be worth it to pay more and get the custom? And Tedwhite...good point on the boots/soles. I would think that just soles would be better for fitting into my fins. I have the scuba pro split fins with adjustable heel straps. Not sure if rock boots are too big and they seem like they would be bulky. Also I already talked to my LDS about a class and they said if I bought my suit there they would not charge me for a one on one lass on how to use it. I thought that was pretty fair considering the money involved.
crlavoie
Contributor
Bolney:
Surprisingly, the free class was the deciding factor for me. The short story:
My LDS was substantially higher than what I could get on-line for a comparable DS. However, it's a drysuit and it WILL need work which could leave me without a suit for a few weeks at a time. I was shocked when they wouldn't move on the class (FYI, I spent about $3K already in 05... without ever asking for a discount). I am sure that for whatever reason, there wasn't enough margin for them to do it. In turn, I went to another LDS that gave me a SMOKING deal on a Bare XCD2... with the free class so that put me about $200 ahead of what any on-line retailer could do.
If the class doesn't mean much to you, I would look at Bare. They have a ton of sizes and after trying 3 suits at the shop, we settled on exactly the size I would have chosen from the chart on my own (though the peace of mind is appreciated). Get a soft tape measurer and have someone do your measurements. It's not rocket science.
I've done business with Larry at Scubatoys for other stuff and he's outstanding. I've heard the same about Divetank.com.
charlieo
Contributor
check out this site www.divetank.com. Then ask around. I found the folks at dive tank to be up front and very helpful.
Similar threads
