Dry Suit Selection available? Sorry, another DS thread.

[uffstuffson]

I apologize in advance for starting another dry suit thread but I have not found any existing threads that have a very long list of quality dry suits. Maybe I haven't searched enough but my impatience may be getting in the way.

OK, so what I am looking for is not "what is the best dry suit." Although that is my ultimate goal, to get the best dry suit for myself. I am hoping to compile a lot of quality options to do some research on and get a diverse list of dry suits and what their best qualities are and some of their drawbacks. I am not looking in any certain price range, if I have to I will spend big money to get what I want but if I think a cheaper one will do just fine that is great too.

What are YOUR favorite dry suits and why? What kind of diving do you do in them? How is your mobility in it? Any durability problems?

A little bit about myself. I am pretty new to diving and I am going to get my NAUI advanced whenever it gets warm enough around northern Indiana to get back into the water. Not my choice, I'd jump in tomorrow for class if I could get my instructor to follow. Then I would like to start working on becoming a master and when I feel comfortable I would love to become an instructor. That way I will have an excuse to give my wife for excessive diving and hopefully I can pass along how much I love diving to others. My interests and goals when it comes to diving are wrecks, deep dives, wreck penetration and maybe some cave diving. I am attempting to perfect all of my skills along the way and to become skilled enough to do that kind of diving and get certified. I am not asking you to limit your dry suit suggestions to suits that cater to that type of diving but it will definitely be one of my considerations when buying one.

Please no criticism of my ratio of aspirations to experience, although guiding hands to get me to that level are very welcome.

Thank you guys/girls for sharing your expertise and experience with me.

 

[krawlings]

I would look in to doing some of the dry suit demo days . Whites has them and DUI . THIS WAY YOU CAN SEE HOW THEY DIVE AND HOW THEY FIT .Allso if you are going to spend good money have one that will meet all you needs now and for in your future. Like one that will be durable and withstand wreck diving,and one that gives you the best options for the tipe of diving and the weather / water temps you will dive in . spend you money wisely with the most understanding of what you want what you need and how well you like it . How it feel ,how it dives and lastly how it looks on you !!! LOL GOOD LUCK

 

[ajduplessis]

Santi's, DUI, Whites, Bare and Scubapro all make quality suits. You need to understand what your needs are and what material suit you want.

A good suit is one that fits well, does not leak and tick all the boxes with regards to your unique requirements.

 

[tbone1004]

USIA is my preference. Inexpensive, fully customizable, high quality, extremely durable. My cave instructor has his from 2003 that was used in the "Ice Island" dives in the iceberg with Wes Skiles. That same suit is used in all of his dry cave dives, and all of the wreck dives. Only problem with it is the relief zipper broke and he had someone put a patch behind it. I have had mine since 2006 and it was used before that. Built in 2001 and is still going strong aside from seal replacements. My new one was built this year, same quality as the old ones.
DUI makes good suits as well, be mindful that the TLS is relatively thin for cave diving. This increases flexibility but may hinder some of it's durability inside of a wreck, where it wasn't designed for. Be mindful of neoprene vs. trilam because of heat. I can't dive a neoprene suit because they're too hot for me. That has nothing to do with manufacturers though, but you really just need to dive them.

 

[RJP]

Definitely give Santi some serious consideration.

 

[TSandM]

This question reminds me of the saying, "You can have good, cheap or fast, but not all three at once."

There are a lot of qualities to evaluate in a dry suit, and some of them are incompatible.

The first thing to do is decide what kind of diving you are going to do in the suit. Are you going to dive very cold water, or just mildly cold? Are you going to travel with the suit? Are you going to crawl on rocks, or do wreck penetration, where a very durable suit is critical? Is budget the biggest issue? How good are you at DIY repairs on things?

Material has a big influence on price. Bilaminate suits, or full neoprene suits tend to be the cheapest. Bilams are not as durable as trilaminates or compressed or crushed neoprene, but if you don't dive frequently, and you don't dive in conditions that are likely to damage the suit, the prices can be very attractive. Full neo is heavy, dries slowly, and loses a fair amount of insulation at deeper depths, but if you are mostly doing shallow dives, the price again can be nice, as well as the lack of need for a thick undergarment. But they don't travel well.

Trilaminate suits tend to be more expensive, but are more durable. They dry fast. They have no intrinsic insulating quality, so they're very flexible as far as temperature goes (just vary the undergarment). They are EXTREMELY unforgiving of the wrong cut (as are bilams) because the material of which they are made does not stretch. It is not terribly difficult to put a hole in most of them, but patching is relatively easy (but a PITA). They are light in weight, and with their quick drying, are good suits for travel.

Compressed and crushed neo suits are heavier and dry more slowly, but they are very difficult to damage. They have a little stretch, and have some intrinsic insulating capacity, so they can be good suits for very cold water. They're hard to travel with because of the weight (and I found mind a real nuisance to get in and out of). These suits tend to run toward the top of the price range.

There are some new ideas in suits, as well -- Bare has a stretch material which is supposed to be breathable. It hasn't been out long, and I haven't heard much about its durability, but it's apparently somewhat difficult to DIY on. The Whites Fusion is an odd hybrid of a bilaminate bag with a stretch outer "skin", which allows a lot of mobility without having a baggy suit. It doesn't dry as fast as a trilam (but this is in part dependent on which of the various skins you select) but it does dry faster than neoprene, and it's much lighter as well.

Used suits are also an option. If you are handy, seals are not hard to replace. Badly worn zippers are another story -- but it costs $300 to $400 to have a zipper replaced, and if you buy an otherwise sound suit for less than half what it would have cost you new, replacing the zipper may be a cost-effective option.

Me, I'm a Fusion kind of gal. Pros are moderate price, amazing durability, lack of critical dependence on fit, superb mobility, good streamlining (for a drysuit), light weight and fairly quick drying. Cons are that it's a little bit challenging to get into, and I prefer attached boots to sock/rock boot systems. Full pockets on the tech skin sag a little (not really annoying to me) and the Sport skin requires some kind of DIY pocket solution or something like X-shorts. The SiTech necktite ring ROCKS, and makes it easy to DIY one of the more frequent and challenging dry suit repairs.

 

[DaMaDo]

I tried a fusion bullet suit and thought it was great in the water...felt like I had a wetsuit on. I hated getting into it on the boat and didn't like the sagging pockets.

I eventually tried a friend's DUI and went that route. I got a custom-fitted FLX Extreme since I go into wrecks and plan on doing a lot of them in the future. I think fits and feels great both in and out of the water and dries very fast.

ajduplessis mentions the "top" brands for drysuits, but from what I've seen it can be a very personal choice. You should definitely try some if you can before you buy.

 

[altaskier]

You should keep in mind your local situation: what drysuit types are available from shops near you? (For questions, service, etc.). What drysuit types do many of the people you dive with use? (Tips from your buddies).