Dry suit durability

[rubberduck]

I was thinking about investing in a middle of the line dry suit but was curious how durable they are. I mostly do shore dives and the majority of the time I'm lobsta hunting - reaching under rocks and hanging around the bottom. If you do these activities dry how careful of the suit do you need to be?

I was thinking of USIA or BARE.

 

[airsix]

You might consider a Viking (vulcanized rubber) suit. They are super tough. Not as light and free as silk pajamas, but you'll have suit-of-armor-confidence . I love mine.
-Ben M.

 

[H2Andy]

i have a DUI TLS350 that was made in 1994

it's still going really well. i've patched a few little holes, and it's dry, with
the exception of a new small seep somewhere in my right leg that makes my
right foot damp.

by the way, that was an instruction/rental suit, so i can assume it
got quite a lot of abuse

works real good

 

[cerich]

usia has a lifetime seam warranty.

 

[gracefulc]

My USIA arrived end of January and I have done 8 dives in it thus far and must say I am quite impressed with it's durability. The fabric feels like canvas, but it isn't stiff. I have had multiple people randoly come up and ask me about my drysuit just b/c I can move SO well in it, particularly in the water. Also the dives I've done in it thus far have included areas over oyster beds in shallow water, resulting in bumping the oysters on occasion. I was terrified I would cut my suit but thus far not a single issue. I spent about 4 months researching various types of drysuits and actually did about 5 dives in a rented USIA prior to ordering mine and I must admit, this suit is, in my opinion, high quality without being overly expensive. I got their top of the line with self entry and their newest (nicest) undergarment for pretty cheap too! Any questions feel free to PM me!

 

[Diver0001]

i have a DUI TLS350 that was made in 1994

it's still going really well. i've patched a few little holes, and it's dry, with
the exception of a new small seep somewhere in my right leg that makes my
right foot damp.

by the way, that was an instruction/rental suit, so i can assume it
got quite a lot of abuse

works real good

It's hard to find anybody with a DUI suit that doesn't have some kind of mysterious leak. It's part of the trademark.... They shouldn't even be called drysuits. At best they're "tends-toward-dry" suit. I guess they have other great features but waterproof isn't one of them.

In terms of materials crushed neoprene is probably as tough as it gets. It's not sexy, it's not trendy, it's not much good under about 70 metres but it's durable as hell. I've had my current suit for about 6 years crawling in and out of the water over all kinds of oyster covered rocks and diving smashed, twisted, snaggy wrecks and giving it all kinds of horrible abuse and it's as still as water tight as the day I bought it.

R..

 

[Scottri]

I'm on my second USIA suit. The first one lasted 14 years and hundreds of dives in some pretty nasty conditions. They oyster beds where I dive chews up equipment but I never put a hole in either of my USIA suits. The only things I ever had to do to mine was seals and one zipper. I am very impressed with how well they hold up. USIA is very good about their warranty as well. Most of my friends dive with the USIA Aqua Pro Plus.

 

[cummings66]

It's hard to find anybody with a DUI suit that doesn't have some kind of mysterious leak. It's part of the trademark.... They shouldn't even be called drysuits. At best they're "tends-toward-dry" suit.

It's interesting that you say that. I find that most drysuits will at some time become a wetsuit, or semi-dry at some point. I know one of my buddies dives a DUI and can't find his leak in the boot area so he puts up with a damp foot.

I myself dive a Viking and love it, but it too has had a leak in the boot which was easily fixed. I do find I have fewer problems than some of my buddies who dive other brands, but I don't think that's really a good indicator of durability in the conditions this diver wants to dive under.

Personally I'd say don't use drygloves, or buy lots of aquaseal for the tears he's going to get in the glove and don't lie on the bottom for the rest of the suit. I would think a neoprene suit would be tougher and more resistant to the abrasion he's going to see, but it's also going to be tougher to repair when he does get a puncture compared to a trilam or vulcanized rubber suit.

 

[H2Andy]

It's hard to find anybody with a DUI suit that doesn't have some kind of mysterious leak. It's part of the trademark.... They shouldn't even be called drysuits. At best they're "tends-toward-dry" suit. I guess they have other great features but waterproof isn't
one of them.

at the moment (after fixing some wear-and-tear leaks after i bought the
suit used, as an ex-rental) the suit is doing great.

there is some seepage, not much of it, on the right lower leg/foot, that does
(sometimes) get my foot damp.

seems pretty waterproof to me. i've been in a leaky suit, and believe me, you
know it =)

 

[Diver0001]

at the moment (after fixing some wear-and-tear leaks after i bought the
suit used, as an ex-rental) the suit is doing great.

there is some seepage, not much of it, on the right lower leg/foot, that does
(sometimes) get my foot damp.

seems pretty waterproof to me. i've been in a leaky suit, and believe me, you
know it =)

So, you're saying that with a lot of effort you can get it mostly waterproof most of the time. You're more patient than I am, and more willing to put up with being wet.

Where I dive the water is often so cold that I can't accept the suit leaking. Some people still do, though. My tech instructor's DUI suit cracked open in -17C just as we were getting into the water for an ice dive. By the time he got out of the water and back to the car his undersuit was firmly frozen to the inside of the drysuit and we needed to cut it to get him out of the suit and save him from serious injury. If the same thing had happend under water he would have run a serious risk of hypotherma.

Granted, those are extreme circumstances but you can't ignore context when you choose a suit. I know you guys from Florida think that the whole world should dive in DUI suits but they're just not tough enough for some environments. I'm sure they're perfect for caves, though. It's all about context.

R..