Dry suit- socks, soft, or hard soles?

[gomi_otaku]

Looking at dry suits, I have a couple choices to make, and one of these involves boots. I don't like a lot of the soft sole boots out there, but then some of the hard sole boots (I was looking at the USIA suit) have heels like a pair of Sorel snow boots. Would I just be better off with the sock option, and go with separate boots? The USIA suit is available with the Oceanic Bioflex material socks- so I think it would be more durable than latex, without the excess bulk of neoprene, and is pretty wear-resistant as well. I'm assuming one of the best benefits of socks with external boots is that your feet don't fill with air? Anyone have problems with their feet getting too cold with the attached sock option?
thanks for some opinions and debate,
gomi_

 

[Mo2vation]

I dive dry.

I dive a 12 pound plate.

I dive a 130.

I carry a rediculously outsized camera rig.

I do a couple of hundred shore dives a year with all of the above.

No way I'm rock hopping in all of this gear in turbosoles. My DS has socks, and I use the appropriate footware to the task. Sharp rocky entry, long hill walk post dive, paved or dirt, sand... all depends.

I have rock boots for the simple stuff, and stiffer shoes for the hairy stuff.

I dive a tri lam. I hate attached boots... can't turn the suit inside out to dry my schvitz. In SoCal, we sweat in our drysuits.

YMMV.


---
Ken

 

[dannobee]

I dive dry.

I have 16 different tanks of varying sizes to choose from.

I shore dive, boat dive and rappel down cliffs to dive from rough granite. At least a hundred dives a year.

No way in heck I'd have anything but DV boots.

I love my DV boots. Nothing to lose or forget, the socks don't wear out and leak, and my feet are toasty warm with nothing other than a pair of ski socks underneath. And no air gets trapped in them. I used the same sized fins as with socks and booties. And I'll use those same fins when I go diving in Cozumel and Grand Cayman in December.

I don't have to turn my suit inside out because it never leaks. :11: It's a CF200 signature series (look at my pic).

If Ken's doing that much shore diving, he should be in a crushed neoprene suit like a CF200, not a tri-lam suit. I'd cut a TLS 350 to shreds in a couple dozen dives.

Just funnin' with ya Ken!

http://www.ossystems.com/repair/seals.html#dvb

 

[TSandM]

For the most part, our water entries are pretty easy on the feet. Sand, or rounded stones. I have soft-soled boots on my Mobby's, and so far, they are wearing well. I wear two pairs of socks, and my feet are probably the only part of me that has never gotten cold.

Boots ARE kind of a pain if your dry suit leaks and your feet get wet. Getting them dry is a challenge.