I'm comfortable down to about 50F in my 7mm one-piece.
Dry Suits
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robint
Contributor
Divedoggie - I would love to try out one of those Whites Fusion drysuits. I think they look more formfitting and comfortable than the ones I used previously, which means I might actually enjoy diving in one again. 
another thing to remember about drysuits... out of the water they can make you sweat! If the sun is shining they get very hot inside, standing around at surface. Sweat inside suit is bad and it defeats the purpose of the suit, making your undergarments damp and then not keeping you warm on successive dives. That is another reason wetsuits work better than drysuits sometimes. If topside weather is sunny, a wetsuit actually gets warm and heats you back up quickly.
robin
another thing to remember about drysuits... out of the water they can make you sweat! If the sun is shining they get very hot inside, standing around at surface. Sweat inside suit is bad and it defeats the purpose of the suit, making your undergarments damp and then not keeping you warm on successive dives. That is another reason wetsuits work better than drysuits sometimes.
If topside weather is sunny, a wetsuit actually gets warm and heats you back up quickly. robin
Thanks for the replies. One thing I failed to take into account is the effect depth has on wetsuits. I'm taking a deep diver course and have read a wetsuit looses most it's insulating ability when going below certain depths. So it seems I may have to learn to use one because of the depth and not necessarily water temp.
robint
Contributor
not necessarily true... a good quality wetsuit does NOT lose its thermal protection at 100' for example. It does compress to a certain extent, yes, but it is still close to the same warmth as at shallower depths. Now, that said, after 100+ dives to 100' depth, it will have some compression issues.
your deep diver class is not going to have a big affect on a wetsuit, unless it is a rental suit that is old and past its prime. (Just another reason that I don't like rental suits).
robin
not necessarily true... a good quality wetsuit does NOT lose its thermal protection at 100' for example. It does compress to a certain extent, yes, but it is still close to the same warmth as at shallower depths. Now, that said, after 100+ dives to 100' depth, it will have some compression issues.
your deep diver class is not going to have a big affect on a wetsuit, unless it is a rental suit that is old and past its prime. (Just another reason that I don't like rental suits).
robin
What Robin says is true of good quality (i.e., compressed or crushed neoprene) but no so of the run of the mill closed-cell neoprene. Here is a link to an article discussing the effects of depth on different types of neoprene. It shows that some neoprene will have one-half or less thickness at 4 atmospheres (~100-feet) than it does at the surface. It also shows that it will have ~1/2 the buoyancy at 4 atmospheres than it did at the surface. If you 7mm wetsuit takes 20 pounds to sink, at the surface, you'll be over-weighted by 10 pounds at 100 feet. That means your BC will have to provide an additional 10 pounds of lift at 100 feet. This is in addition to whatever lift if needs to provide to support your equipment (which doesn't vary between the surface and depth. In this case, you would want those extra 10 pounds to be releasable. This probably won't make a lot of difference to recreational divers less than 100-ft deep, but once you start looking at doubles, and exceeding 100-ft, it will become very significant.
Another thing you should consider is when and where you will be diving the chilly water. As previously mentioned, a dry suit can become hot if the ambient air temp is high during the surface interval. It is not a big deal to unzip, and partially remove (to the waist) or completely remove the dry suit during surface intervals in this case. But, if you plan on diving year round here, it can be really uncomfortable to exit the water and have snow and 32 degree wind hit you. You'll almost assuredly want to remove that wet suit and get dry during the surface interval. But putting on a wet, frozen, 30-something degree wet suit for the next dive is just short of torture. Sure, there are those that do it, but is it fun?? Diving should be enjoyable, not just barely tolerable IMHO.
RonFrank
Contributor
I am with Dive Doggie. If you can not do it comfortably in a 3mm, do it dry!
I dive a cheap ass Bare NexGen drysuit. It does not break the bank, and it works GREAT in water temps down to the upper 30''s (I have not gone colder).
Wetsuits are not all that much less of a hassle vs. drysuits beyond 3mm, so why bother going wet other than additional money. I guess one other factor is that if you blow a seal in a drysuit your are kinda done diving, and that is not so in a wetsuit as there are no seals to blow.
I have dove the Fusion. It is the nicest Drysuit I have dove, but I have only dove four varieties including the Fusion. But I do know a ton of dry suit divers, and Fusion is hands down the choice currently for many reasons.
I dive a cheap ass Bare NexGen drysuit. It does not break the bank, and it works GREAT in water temps down to the upper 30''s (I have not gone colder).
Wetsuits are not all that much less of a hassle vs. drysuits beyond 3mm, so why bother going wet other than additional money. I guess one other factor is that if you blow a seal in a drysuit your are kinda done diving, and that is not so in a wetsuit as there are no seals to blow.
I have dove the Fusion. It is the nicest Drysuit I have dove, but I have only dove four varieties including the Fusion. But I do know a ton of dry suit divers, and Fusion is hands down the choice currently for many reasons.
GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
Ron,
I think you have become acclimatized to the care and maintenance of a D/S. It may still be worth it for you, but it is more complex and requires more care and maintenance than a W/S.
1) Seals need to be pampered, many use talc to slide on and prevent tearing.
2) The seal have to be replaced periodically
3) The seals sometimes tear and end you dive and dive day
4) They need care in storing (not in garage, away from ozone)
5) The latex seals deteriorates with age much faster than the rest of the suit
6) The zippers must be lubricated with bees wax
7) The zippers must be kept clean
8) Many suites require another person to zip you up with care
9) You have to deal with the whole pee thing (external catheter or hold it)
10) Minor damage (punctures, small tears) can end the dive
11) Proper storage critical to extend suit life
Compared to a wetsuit.
1) Rinse out the pee smell and hang in your garage
I think you have become acclimatized to the care and maintenance of a D/S. It may still be worth it for you, but it is more complex and requires more care and maintenance than a W/S.
1) Seals need to be pampered, many use talc to slide on and prevent tearing.
2) The seal have to be replaced periodically
3) The seals sometimes tear and end you dive and dive day
4) They need care in storing (not in garage, away from ozone)
5) The latex seals deteriorates with age much faster than the rest of the suit
6) The zippers must be lubricated with bees wax
7) The zippers must be kept clean
8) Many suites require another person to zip you up with care
9) You have to deal with the whole pee thing (external catheter or hold it)
10) Minor damage (punctures, small tears) can end the dive
11) Proper storage critical to extend suit life
Compared to a wetsuit.
1) Rinse out the pee smell and hang in your garage
RonFrank
Contributor
I don't spend much time or effort on my drysuit. Talc is easy to apply (30 seconds). Waxing the zipper is something I generally do daily when diving, but it takes maybe 5 minutes tops. I pee before getting in the suit, and I can go a couple hours between ummmm pees...
Overall a dry suit is a bit more work. OTOH, I've watched divers end their day after a few wet dives in cold water. Meanwhile my buddy and I went on to do 6 or more dives in cold water in a day, and were comfortable and warm (that was on a Live-aboard in S CA.).
I'll trade the warmth and comfort over a bit of maintenance. I have been diving dry for many years. I have replace the seals on my suit once in 6 years (last year), and I can live with that expense ($125).
One other factor is topside warmth. If you end up down at the Hole in 10F weather (been there, done that), the folks diving wet (generally students) freeze their tails off, and generally can not handle more than a couple of dives in those conditions.
Wax ~ $4
Hood ~ $25
Drysuit ~$500~$2500
Being warm at the end of a 6 dive day (6 hours diving) in 58F water ~ Priceless!
Overall a dry suit is a bit more work. OTOH, I've watched divers end their day after a few wet dives in cold water. Meanwhile my buddy and I went on to do 6 or more dives in cold water in a day, and were comfortable and warm (that was on a Live-aboard in S CA.).
I'll trade the warmth and comfort over a bit of maintenance. I have been diving dry for many years. I have replace the seals on my suit once in 6 years (last year), and I can live with that expense ($125).
One other factor is topside warmth. If you end up down at the Hole in 10F weather (been there, done that), the folks diving wet (generally students) freeze their tails off, and generally can not handle more than a couple of dives in those conditions.
Wax ~ $4
Hood ~ $25
Drysuit ~$500~$2500
Being warm at the end of a 6 dive day (6 hours diving) in 58F water ~ Priceless!
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I put off buying a drysuit for years because of the cost. Now that I have been diving one for awhile, there is no way I am diving wet unless it is 3mm or less water. I love it, wish I would have bought one sooner.
Really doesn't take any longer to talc my seals and wax my zipper than it does to shampoo a wetsuit.
I have 7mm Akona hasn't been used for sometime for sale....
Really doesn't take any longer to talc my seals and wax my zipper than it does to shampoo a wetsuit.
I have 7mm Akona hasn't been used for sometime for sale....
rafter_
Registered
I dive dry unless the water temp is ~80 plus. That said, I had an incident with getting waaay too cold in a 7mm farmer john when I was diving in some ~50 degree water a few years ago, so I'm a bit picky about temp now.
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