Dry SUit

[GeronimoDF]

Hello,
What type of dry suits do you guys dive with on the wrecks?


Thanks,

Daniel

 

[Diver0001]

Hello,
What type of dry suits do you guys dive with on the wrecks?


Thanks,

Daniel

Personally I chose crushed neoprene.

R..

 

[MSilvia]

I've been using a crushed neoprene loaner, but I ordered a trilam Bare ATR HD, and will switch to that when it comes in.

 

[PeaceDog]

...all depends on how involved you want to get with your penetration.

Given my predisposition to fear of diving in enclosed spaces, I barely go inside most wrecks. The openings have to be almost pornographic in nature before I'll even consider going in.

But I digress...

I think if you really want to start getting serious about it - i.e. - running reels and squeezing through passageways - you'd want to go with crushed neoprene at the very least. I think TriLam suits are a great all-around drysuit and probably the best in terms of overall rec use, but I don't think they're the best idea for "wreck" use.

*dodges tomatoes and banana skins from U-Boat TriLam divers*

 

[MSilvia]

I think TriLam suits are a great all-around drysuit and probably the best in terms of overall rec use, but I don't think they're the best idea for "wreck" use.

Why not? If you think they're prone to punctures or rips, you should ask soggy about his experience trying to put a hole for a p-valve in his.

 

[Soggy]

Why not? If you think they're prone to punctures or rips, you should ask soggy about his experience trying to put a hole for a p-valve in his.

I was unable to put a hole in my trilam suit with a grommet tool and a hammer. I ended up very carefully, but forcefully, cutting a hole in the suit with an exacto knife and that was difficult, too. I do, however, regularly put holes in my crushed neoprene dry-gloves playing around wrecks (or lobster).

Not all trilam is created equal. I have the Bare ATR-HD which stands for automatic Torso Recall-Heavy Duty or something like that, vs. the ATR-Lite which is a much thinner, yet still very tough material.

The GUE guys down seem to all be diving DUI TLS350 or similar and they are doing wreck dives on the Britannic with several hours of decompression. Not trying to say that they are the end-all-be-all, but their requirements are certainly above mine.

The bottom line is that it isn't the drysuit material that you need to be concerned with, it's making sure you don't tear a wrist seal which is made out of latex.

 

[PeaceDog]

The GUE guys seem to all be diving DUI TLS350 or similar and they are doing wreck dives on the Britannic with several hours of decompression. Not trying to say that they are the end-all-be-all, but their requirements are certainly above mine.

Normally I wouldn't argue that logic, but on every wreck dive I've ever done from New Jersey to Maine, it's almost a 9 to 1 ratio of folks diving crushed neoprene versus trilam. My understanding is that this is the case overwhelmingly so throughout the hardcore northeast wreck diver community.

But again, neither you nor I really care about conditions that severe. Clearly, though, most folks heading into ragged, continuously-deteriorating wrecks want a thicker, more durable material than most kinds of trilaminate. Personally, I would just rather have the material that could catch on something be thicker and have a bit more give.

The bottom line is that it isn't the drysuit material that you need to be concerned with, it's making sure you don't tear a wrist seal which is made out of latex.

I agree that latex seals are problematic in that respect, but layered with a thick neoprene glove, this really shouldn't be an issue. I'd be more worried about a latex seal blowing on the boat rather than on the dive. This has definitely happened to me.

 

[MASS-Diver]

I like my DUI trilam (a TLS w/ lots of cordora on it) I would think (w/ the cordora) it's as tough as any nepoprene suit. Plus, I don't like the bouyancy change with neoprene.

It's is true lots of "hardcore" NE wreck divers tend to wear neoprene, but, most of these guys are diving in suits 5 or 10 years old. Like Soggy said, the best divers in the world dive wreck with Trilam suits, so that's good enough for me.

Plus, these days, shell suits are so cheap.

 

[Soggy]

Normally I wouldn't argue that logic, but on every wreck dive I've ever done from New Jersey to Maine, it's almost a 9 to 1 ratio of folks diving crushed neoprene versus trilam. My understanding is that this is the case overwhelmingly so throughout the hardcore northeast wreck diver community.

Personally, I wouldn't use the hardcore northeast wreck diver community as good example, but that's a whole other discussion. I would bet my trilam is more resistant to tears than any compressed neoprene suit.

 

[salty]

I dive a DUI Norsman Trilam. I beat the hell out of it and its going strong after about 5 years. As said earlier not all trilams are the same.