dry suit selection

[Okiecaver]

Hi Ray. I tend to agree with Matt. My Unisuit is fast becoming my favorite. I also have a tri-lam for Open water, but for cave or wreck diving I prefer the Poseidon. I also prefer attached hoods. It reduces flushing, helps with that"secure" feeling and is one less thing to keep track of. They also have the warmest boots I've found yet.

Some other things to consider. Since I'm hair-impaired I use an Ice cap underhood, which helps with feeling warm. I'm also switching to argon for my cave dives as the run times on them are up past 90 min, along with pee valves on my suits so I can stay hydrated.

I have some 3 finger mitts coming. A buddy in the northwest says that with LESS neo in between the fingers, you actually have better articulation than with a 5mm glove. We'll see how that works.

RE: Poseidon changing marketers. I know that OMS is going to be marketing their regs. As far as suits go, you can still order those direct from companies in the UK and Sweden. Mine is the Unisuit Classic, called the Commercial now, and you can get those thru their division in Kiel, Germany.

Hope this helps
Brock

 

[Ray]

Thanks a lot everyone - I learn every time I visit.

Okie: what is 'flushing'? - dumping air from the hood?
Did you specify a type of boot to get the very warm kind, or is only one kind provided on the Poseidon unisuit? Did you order your Poseidon from overseas, if so, any difficulties from that? If you are happy with the company you ordered it from, would you give me a way to contact them? When you say the Kiel, Germany division, is that a division of the Poseidon factory [can I order factory direct?]. Have you ever known anyone to ask so many questions?

mbranson: what about the neck seal - is it a pain to get it right? You recommend latex or neo there? Any problem with wearing your street clothes in the Poseidon [I guess you just have more room in a shell type]? I like the idea of a built in hood. A knife pouch would save a step. Are dry type gloves easier to get on than wet type? I am having a lot of difficulty finding a U.S. distributor. The one I e-mailed two days ago has not yet responded - I'll call tomorrow.

haggis: is a light duty latex more comfortable than a light duty neo? I have been told by a dive shop that latex will not choke you as badly. I did read at least one dire warning about being sent feet up too fast - time to panic.

See ya,
Ray

 

[Okiecaver]

Hi Ray

Flushing is just that- exchanging warm air or water for cold water. Separate hoods have a tendency to flush.

I bought mine from a guy in Wisconsin who had purchased a lot from the government.

Do a search on Google for "unisuit" It will lead you to several retailers in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. I can't recall if you can purchase a suit direct from the Kiel website, but I know that it's out there and they can probably help you find a retailer.

Good luck and keep us informed
Brock

 

[mbranson]

Ray,
Actully the neck seal on the Unisuit is almost foolproof. When you get your head up through the hood, the seal is in place. It's like a big neoprene turtle neck sewn under the hood. With this suit, I don't believe you have a choice between neoprene or latex. As far as street clothes, there is a lot more room in a shell type suit. In the Unisuit, there isn't enough room to wear much more than thick long johns. If you even need anything that thick. Poseidon states that undergarments should only be necessary for warmth in the most extreme conditions. But it's easier to get the suit off if you have something full length on underneath. I wear thin long underwear (stylishly colored of course) with thick wool socks in 40 degree water and am toasty. I find dry suit gloves are a pain in the butt to put on, at least the ones I have. I usually wear thick cold water wet suit gloves, especially if I am crabbing. Those mean little guys can give you a blood blister through 7mm of neoprene and I want all the protection I can get.
Matt

 

[Okiecaver]

Hey Ray.

Now that I've been able to sleep on it, Swissub, Marlin and Beauchat offer a Unisuit clone. The Swissub offers models specially designed for cave, wreck or commercial work. They also come with wrist rings so you can use latex wrist seals or dry gloves. With the favorable UDS to Euro exchange rate you should get a good price, and both the Swissub and Marlin offer custom service.

There's one more element to this- the European style suits are just dead sexy. Compare a guy or gal in a European style suit versus one in your basic trash bag trilam shell and see who the dive groupies run to.;-)

I use a base layer of Polartec fleecelined long johns, with a thinsulate vest over the torso, and wool socks. Altho I know guys who wear street cloths under ther drysuits, I'd advise against it. You need someting that wicks moisture away from your skin, and cotton just holds it there.

In any case, once you decide, take a drysuit course or get an experience drysuit diver to take you to a pool and show you the ropes, and refigure your weight requirements.

Have fun and dive safe
Brock

 

[Okiecaver]

Here's the link for Marlin Tauchsport.

http://www.marlin.de

Dive safe
Brock

 

[ericfine50]

Brock,

I forget, what type of suit are you diving with? Did you get your P-Valve yet?

Eric

PS - can you email me any info on the Scapa Trip?

 

[Okiecaver]

Eric,

I dive a Poseidon Unisuit for cave and wrecks, and a Polar Bear Commercial with drygloves for open water. The P-valves are on order from Amron thru Triton Diving in Sacremento,CA. I've the Amron price list in PDF format at home- I'll send it this evening. They also have 6cf inflation systems.

Not that much to report on Scapa. Needless to say, neither Scapa Flow Technical or the European Technical Diving Centre can give me a quote for a trip 2-3 years in the future.

However, both recommended booking for late winter-early spring, before the plankton turns the water to pea soup. Both have guest accomdations and pick up service. Both can pump trimix on board. The Loyal Watcher has a slight edge in that it has an onboard chamber.

Let me know what other info you need and I'll try to find out.

Dive safe
Brock

 

[Ray]

Hi all - thanks again for the info,
After hours of web searching and several e-mails [so far all returned as not functioning]to U.S. dive shops that are supposed to carry Poseidon stuff, I am unable to get even a price on a unisuit.

Okiecaver: On the cloned suits by Swissub and Marlin - how do I find their websites, or who to order from? You'd say their quality is comparable to Poseidon's? Is the Kiel site the main Poseidon factory? Is that poseidon.com?

mbranson: Seems like they could make a dry glove that would be easy to put on. I've been chomped by a crab before - they get respect now.

See ya

 

[Okiecaver]

Hi Ray-

I posted a direct link to Marlin above- use Alta Vista's free translator to decode the German text.

Swissub's URL is http://www.swissub.ch the price list is in English. You can order direct from the factory with either company. Swissub will email you back with quotes.

Remember, this the beginning of the dive season for most of the northern hemisphere, so everyone is going to be a bit slow to respond.

take care and dive safe,
Brock