Dry Suit

[akscubaduck1]

Viking
I've got a Protec front entry. It's the warmest suit I have ever used when standing on the beach between dives.
Last new years day it was 5 degrees F blowing 50mph, still toasty.
Other suits owned in the past DUI TLS 350, O'Neill 7mm, SAS 7mm

 

[akscubaduck1]

Oh by the way you may get some ribbing ( no pun intended ) about looking like a giant condom.

 

[tgsmith]

Most of the suits today are of good quality. This probably isn't the answer you want to hear, but you need to try them on if you really want to pick out the best.

Suits have different cuts depending on the brand and line(Bare Nex-Gen is a 5-panel suit, I believe the Bare HD Trilam is more cuts. The DUI TLS350 is a 12-panel suit, IIRC). I've been told the Dive Rite 905 fits a large, round waist so reminiscent of N Florida( ), while the Bare's are more slender. Don't quote me though, that's only what I've been told.

Personally, I'd say buy what you can get a deal on unless you either 1) don't like that suit for whatever reason or 2) really have your eye set on a certain suit. Me, I bought my DUI TLS350 because it was brand new, old stock, and I got it for $1400. I really like it, but I also really appreciate the Bare suits, and probably would not pay full-price for a DUI. There's plenty of good suits out there without the price-tag of a DUI.

For warmth, you're going to want dry-gloves, believe me. My smurf gloves(those blue PVC lobster gloves) are the single best investment I've made in cold-water diving, by far. I got the SiTech Glove Lock system, which from what I can tell is a copy of the excellent DC ring system. The original, older style SiTech Quick-Cuff system has some drawbacks(prone to rolling the O-Ring and leaking, difficult to don/doff). If you don't get zip-gloves, I'd definitely get the SiTech GloveLock or DC Ring systems. What the hell is the point of having FREEZING cold hands with a body insulated by a drysuit? For instance, I can easily do 35+ minutes at 40*F and only JUST be getting chilled in the fingers, whereas before with my 5mm Xcel wet-gloves I could only do 5 minutes comfortably, and by 20 my hands were definitely painful. Cons of the smurf-gloves is they aren't the greatest choice for digging as they can puncture.....so if you're going to be digging a 7mm mitt may be a better choice.

For your undergarments, check out this guy on ebay: eBay My World - rondel101bjrr I have one of his undergarments, and so do many others on here. I have NO clue why you would want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on brand-name undergarments when these do the trick. They work great, simple as that. As for your base layer, I'd check out a local sporting goods store, Campmor, or Cabela's. Again, you can overpay for brand name Scuba-specific base-layers, or you can just buy base layers from the rest of the world at 1/4 the price. I used polypro for a while which worked great, then Uncle Sam said "give it back" so I had to buy some of my own. Went and got some Duo-fold undies from Campmor and they work fine.

You might infer from my post that what really counts is your warming layers, and I'd agree with that. The drysuit itself is only one small part in the equation, and all the major brands are decent suits. Find one you like based on personal preference/price range, buy it and have fun. There isn't a gold-standard suit for everyone.

 

[underwaterfrank]

I have in the past 15 years used a Viking suit, an Amron Explorer rubber suit and a Hunter Gates rubber suit. The Viking suit was not my favorite as the boots fit loosely and were easily damaged. Amron and Hunter Gates suits were very tough but a little stiff and not very stretchy. I have now discovered the Thor rubber suit from Northern Diver in the UK. Very tough, boots fit nice and tight around the ankles so don't pop-off easily, and their material is quite stretchy so you don't have all the extra baggyness...my favorite until now.

 

[underwaterfrank]

I suppose I forgot to add the obvious to my previous post. Rubber suits are easy and simple to maintain, keep clean and repair. You can pick-up a good used one from ebay for as little as $500 if you are patient. (note the Vikings sell for more because it's a really strong name brand, but they are no better than Amron, Hunter, DUI, Northern Diver from my experience.
The material itself does not provide much protection from the cold, so all your insulation has to come from your undergarments.
The suit material itself is not buoyant, so you can dive with not too much extra weight compared to a standard wetsuit. I use exactly the same amount of weight when I dive a 7mm wetsuit as when I use a Viking or similar drysuit.
WHilst the weight of the suit helps during diving, of course it can be a burden for those who want to travel and take their suit as part of their check-in luggage on a plane.
The vulcanized rubber boots are not too buoyant either, so you can dive without ankle weights (I do recommend using ankle straps just to ensure your boots/fins don't pop-off when you swim legs-up)
I fully agree with tgsmith's comment above. Don't spend major bucks on brand name undersuits. I've done ice dives and the easiests undersuits I have used are made up from ...T-shirt (get the wicking type from a sports store) + a woolen sweater + thick track pants + thick woolen socks. Total cost from your local Walmart or similar store...less than $100! And great advantage is...you can wear the undersuit gear before and after the dive, no need to change clothes!
Call me old-fashioned or retro or primitive or whatever, it just works for me.
What I do recommend though is to invest in a proper fitting hood (separate hood is my favorite as it allows more freedom of movement and it makes it easier to get into your suit)
Dry suit gloves are great too as long as they aren't too bulky. You can buy rubber drysuit gloves on ebay.co.uk for little money, and you can then wear a thin or thick layer underneath as the weather changes. Great compromise between retaining sufficient dexterity and being not too cold.
Anyway...just my preference...best thing as always is to try before you buy.
I sure haven't tried out very many of the newer trilaminate suits and I realize I'm probably missiing-out on understanding all the advantages of those too. I did recently dive a Typhoon suit and didn't like it much as it had virtually no stretch (it was the self-donning style with the wrap-around bib style portion)

 

[Bronson]

I used a TLS350 for New Jersey and UK waters with Rick Boots and loved it. Best to find a local dealer who can advise on fitting and service support. No sense in relying on the mail service to be sending back if you need any repairs.

 

[Mossimo56]

I would suggest Abyss Tech or Pro. I am a commercial urchin diver from the east coast of Canada. Everyone around here uses Abyss suits for urchins and for diving on salmon farms. I made the mistake of trying to save some money and bought a Bare D6 Pro. After approimately 25 dives the rear of the boots started to pull away from the neoprene and developed a leak. Abyss is worth the extra money in my opinion.

 

[hypertech]

You will do well with either a DUI or a Bare. Get whichever fits you best. In my case, the Bare fit me well and was half the price of a DUI. It has worked very well for me. I did have a leaky seam, which was promptly repaired under warranty with no issues. With you so close to Bare, I'd lean that direction.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Dredged up a 1.5 year old thread . I wonder what they bought.

 

[DivingPhan]

alot of the people i dive with have TLS350 or the CF200 DUIs as well ive heard grerat thing of Bare as well
i know my instructor dove the artic in his CF200 and said he was comfy