Dry suits

Which dry suits are the best?

  • DUI

    Votes: 9 75.0%
  • Andy's

    Votes: 1 8.3%
  • Bare

    Votes: 2 16.7%
  • Oneil

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    12
  • Poll closed .

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

baconboy9

Guest
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Location
New Jersey
I'm looking to get a dry suit and would like to hear some opinions about what you guys think about some companys that are out there. I'm diving in cold water most of the time, since being up in the east coast, so any suggestions.........Thanks:)
 
Like most things, it would depend on your needs, budget and usage. I have a Bare ATR HD, which is a great suit and should last me a long time.
However, have never heard a bad thing about most of the DUI line except that they are expensive.
 
well i own a bare ATR HD and its money very well spent excellent quality but if you have the money DUI has extra little features that is nice but its all about you prefrences
 
You are missing many excellent brands of dry suit made in Canada and Europe. Top European suit makers are Viking, Poseidon and Typhoon.

Excellent Canadian suit makers include Whites, Atlan, Brooks, Oceaner. You can buy these at decent prices with your US dollar versus the Canadian dollar. The Whites Newtpro and the Brooks Seal Suit are known to be the best made, anywhere. Make sure to get a GST tax refund if you buy in Canada, after leaving the country.

http://www.whitescoldwater.com/index.ASP
http://www.oceaner.com
http://www.atlaninc.com
http://brooksdivegear.com/drysuits.html

http://www.typhoon-int.co.uk
http://www.trelleborg.com
http://www.poseidon.se
 
I have a BARE ATR Light that I have been happy with - however, there are many good drysuits out there - DUI, Typhoon, Andy's, etc.
 
I have a Mobys twinshell pro. Great suit. I got a custom made suit due to my non-off the rack size. The boots on a Moby were hard to get off and on but I think that has been fixed since Parkway is selling them now. Other then that is has been a great suit.
Stay warm when wet,
Joe
 
baconboy9, is the reason you left
out some obvious high quality suits from your poll because you're only listing what your LDS carries?


You can buy these at decent prices with your US dollar versus the Canadian dollar
The US dollar is worth only $0.80 compared to what it was a little over a year ago compared to the european currencies.
Happily VIKING & POSEIDON haven't jacked their US prices to match.
 
All of those manufacturers .... and many more ... make quality suits that you can be happy with. Whatever suit you choose, make sure you first educate yourself on what constitutes a good fit, and insist that whatever suit you purchase fits you properly. Otherwise, no matter who's suit you purchase you will not have a good diving experience with it.

Start with the undergarment. Make sure it provides enough stretch in the fabric to allow a full range of motion. Put the undergarment on and do a full squat to assure flex in your legs without discomfort in the crotch area. Cross your legs in a "figure 4" to assure that your undergarment won't be restrictive when you have to put your fins on. Lift each arm back behind your head and make sure your arm motion isn't restricted (you should be able to reach as far back with the undergarment on as with it off). Make sure the fabric doesn't bunch up or bag on any part of your body ... those would just create air spaces you don't want when diving, and give you buoyancy and/or trim issues to deal with.

If the undergarment doesn't meet all those criteria, consider either a custom-cut or choose a different garment.

Go through similar tests with the suit (while wearing the undergarment). Depending on the style of suit, make sure it is cut to fit your body. Shell suits will necessarily require some additional fabric than neoprene suits because they don't stretch ... and a suit that's too snug will restrict your motion. But you do not want any folds or "bellows" in any area of the suit that would create an unwanted air space.

Finally, pay attention to "features". Some suits come with ankle vents. I personally don't like them ... and notice that most people who purchase those kind of suits end up having them closed off. When donning and doffing the suit, note what kind of tension is being placed upon the zipper. This is especially important with front-entry suits. If the suit is difficult to get into, chances are you're putting a lot of tension on the (fully opened) zipper which will eventually wear holes in the zipper gussets ... and you'll end up replacing an otherwise perfectly functional zipper because of leakage though the holes. Consider what kind of valves the suit uses ... is the exhaust valve variable, or on/off? Does the intake valve swivel or is it fixed to one side or the other? All of these will make a difference in your overall enjoyment of diving the suit. Soft boots or hard boots (what do you plan to be walking over when you enter the water)? DUI and SeaSoft offer neoprene socks, over which you wear rock boots or wetsuit boots (I prefer the latter). If looking at those suits, try on the boots and make sure the "sock" doesn't bunch in the toes, or have a seam in a place that's going to be uncomfortable during the dive. Bring your fins and make sure that buying this suit isn't going to mean you'll have to replace your fins because the foot pocket's too small (or else plan accordingly).

There's a whole lot more than who makes the suit to think about ... frankly, most manufacturers make suits you can be happy with if you consider all the other stuff first ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom