Drysuit 101...

[D_B]

I'll mention something that has not been brought up ...Training .. get it , and from someone that knows what they're doing and will stress you

I never would have known how difficult a drysuit could be when things go wrong without it

what to ask them about training ? .. I've heard that my drysuit class was a good one ... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/advanced-scuba-discussions/260824-padi-dry-suit-class.html

 

[I Dive]

I'll mention something that has not been brought up ...Training .. get it , and from someone that knows what they're doing and will stress you

I never would have known how difficult a drysuit could be when things go wrong without it

what to ask them about training ? .. I've heard that my drysuit class was a good one ... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/advanced-scuba-discussions/260824-padi-dry-suit-class.html

I am definitely getting the training, no doubt about that. I don't have any interest in taking off like a hot air baloon from 120 feet, and/or floating towards the surface upside down because my legs are full of air!

 

[D_B]

Good Idea .. my instructor would thank you for doing so

floating on the surface upside down? .... LOL! you have to read my post on my class
(BTW, that PADI Drysuit Class link is to my posts about my class and training, and not a link to padi)

 

[Underwater Ogre]

I have to agree with the other posters about the Whites Fusion. Very comfortable suit. I don't fit a regular off the rack suit, except for the Fusion. It will fit anyone.

Have fun, stay safe,
U/O

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

+1 on the Whites Fusion. In addition to the superior zipper arrangement, it offers a very liberally cut waterproof layer that goes under a stretchy exterior skin. The skin keeps things slightly compressed, helps control air movement in the suit and prevents any excess bagginess to reduce drag in the water. In effect, the suit swims very much like a wet suit and avoids may of the traditional dry suit control issues. In addition, the liberal cut of the water proof layer, allows for a great deal of variation in undergarments (or even seasonal weight gain/loss) without compromsing either the excellent mobility of the suit or the streamlining of the suit. I have owned several dry suits of various types over the years and none of them offerred more flexibility or range of motion than a Fusion.

Finally, the exterior skin takes all of the abuse in a wreck or cave and because it is free to move and stretch a bit, it is much more durable than you would expect it to be. In my experience it is more durable and leak resistant than a trilam.

I dive a White's Fusion, and wish to offer some cautionary observations. First, it is offered in two versions: one with a Lycra over-layer and one with a combination of Lycra and compressed neoprene over-layer ("Tech Skin"). The Tech Skin is more expensive, but be forewarned that you must have the Tech Skin to install pockets, whether factory pockets or after-market pockets like the Halcyon.

This has bitten me big-time and I have had to order the Tech Skin at additional expense. I haven't tried it yet, but repeating second-hand knowledge I have heard that when loaded up, the Tech Skin pockets sag on land but dive just fine. Other suits like DUI or White's other products do not have any problem with pockets sagging.

Another observation is that the Fusion does not have integrated boots or gloves. The feet are like really big socks and after putting socks on your feet and your feet in the suit, you then put boots or booties of some kind over the suit. Some people prefer a suit where the boots are integrated into the suit. I wear one pair of thermal socks and a pair of neoprene booties inside the suit and then either my tropical booties outside the suit or a pair of White's heavy diving boots depending on what fins I'm diving.

I wear either heavy wet gloves (Tobermory) or reef gloves (St. Lawrence River). This works for my recreational dives, but but many people like dry gloves with a ring system, especially for longer and colder dives. You are in Florida, you may not care, but I am just pointing this out before you buy. If you want to use a dry glove system, I suggest researching whether this can be added to the suit after-market. To the best of my knowledge White's do not sell dry gloves integrated with the Fusion.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Many people use innovative concepts dry glove rings with the fusion. A latex seal is a seal and if the ring installs in the seal it will work with the Fusion - although they are easier to install in some suits than others.

The pocket sag is an issue, but one that is overblown. I cave dive with jump reels, safety spools, wet notes and tables in my pockets and frankly do not really notice the sag any more even on land. In the water it is a non problem. There are a couple Scubaboard Fusion users who glued velcro on the under layer to keep the pockets in the correct location above water.

Integrated boots were the standard for decades, but they are frankly a PITA. They add one more item on the suit that has to fit you and in nearly all cases, they add to the feeling that your feet are being squeezed, primarily when you are floating vertically on the surface. I have never felt like my feet were being squeezed with integrated socks under some variant of a "rock boot" like Whites EVO3 or Alterra boots (which by the way hold up much better in real world use than the original DUI Rockboots). With any Rock Boot clone, my opinion is you have much better feel and control of the fin in addition to better footing when getting in or out of less developed dive sites. The traditional vulcanized rubber integrated dry suit boot is in my opinion a dinosaur.

I am also not a real dry glove fan. If you keep your core adequately warm a dry glove offers nothing over a quality 5mm wet glove with fairly leak free seams even in very cold water as your hands will stay warm. In fact, in very cold water most dry gloves are a bit too snug to allow you to use a thick enough liner underneath and your hands end up colder. Also, I have noted on some commercial dives that dry gloves have to be either very heavy (and then lack feel when usd in combination with a heavy liner) or are very prone to getting punctured and then leaking - and a wet dry glove is not much warmer than no glove at all. All in all I prefer 5mm wet gloves in cold water to dry gloves.

 

[Van Isle]

If most of the time you dive and say, "man, I wish I was cooler on that dive" then I'd say don't worry about a drysuit. If you sometimes or more frequently say "that wasn't so bad" with respect to the cold, or even "brrr!" you might want to consider a drysuit. A trilam/bag suits really, really let you tailor the warmth to the water. I wear mine down to high 30's with lots of poofy undergarments, and I dove in Mexico to mid 70's with less. A friend of mine wore a drysuit for his Indonesian liveaboard trip, all the time, each dive, in really, really warm water. It's really nice to get out of the water and be dry. No towel, no salt stains all over your body. It's also great back-up buoyancy control. With the "bag" suit you don't need multiple suits for different conditions, i.e. no big neoprene drysuit for "really cold" conditions, another lighter suit for "kinda cold" and a wetsuit for "warm" conditions. One suit can really cover pretty much all of it. FWIW you can install permanent or quick dry glove systems on a White's Fusion, and the Fusion packs even smaller than a 5/3 wetsuit for travel/tropical diving.

VI

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Many people use innovative concepts dry glove rings with the fusion. A latex seal is a seal and if the ring installs in the seal it will work with the Fusion - although they are easier to install in some suits than others.

I found aftermarket gloves by Diving Concepts with a quick search. Did you mean those? The only Innovative Concepts gloves I was able to locate were lobster gloves...

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Hmm...I can't find them either - and I own two sets of them. I am not exactly sure who may sell them now.

They are nice in that they do not have the lenght or the bulk of many ring systems and are easier to install.

 

[Jimmer]

Hey Reg. Take your Fusion and go see Matt at Dan's. He put those Diving concepts dry gloves on my Fusion and they have never even had a slight leak.

I agree with DA Aquamaster about the pockets. They do sag, but it's not the huge issue that a lot of people make it out to be.