Drysuit advice

[tbone1004]

uncompressed neo is just inexpensive, that's it's only advantage. It's perfectly fine if you are doing shallow cold water diving <15m, but other than that I would go with compression stable neo or bag.

if you fly, then you'll want a bag suit because they're significantly lighter and smaller, but if you're diving local, I wouldn't look at bag suits personally. All of mine have been trilams, but the next one for cave diving will be an O3 Ri 1-100 since I don't need the extra insulation, but the neo suits are just more comfortable. They're more flexible, they stretch better than even the "stretchy" drysuits, and they are easier to swim around in because they're more streamlined. The Ri 2-100 would be where I would go if I were diving cold water since it has some inherent insulation qualities to it which are nice.

also remember that while it is lower inherent warmth, the heat is more readily transferred out of the suit thru a trilam suit than it is through a neoprene suit, so if you're really trying to stay warm, the neo suits just do it better in my opinion.

 

[KevinNM]

@tbone1004 why would you go for a crushed neo over a trilam suit? My thinking was that a trilam suit would be better for travel (admittedly not the primary use in my case) and wear less (does the neoprene not wear quicker?) and the lower inherent warmth could be easily solved with warmer undergarment?

Crushed neoprene is very tough stuff. If you plan to crawl around in wrecks this might be very useful.

 

[BoltSnap]

If you want the most durable and comfortable suit out there (made to measure):

SF Tech - Drysuits

 

[Stoo]

I dove Vikings with great success for years. I still have a ProTec which is 100% dry. The downside with it is that it's heavy and stiff. Because I fly to dive on occasion, I decided to get a light-weight suit. After canvassing my friends with them, I decided in favour of a SANTI. Not because of good reviews from friends, but because of the mass of mied or bad reviews of DUI. Nobody was ever dry in them and they almost all had more than one suit, since the other was always in being repaired. Nobody I dove with had a SANTI, but reviews were positive.

Anyway, I have had it for two years, and as much as I love diving in it, it's never been dry. It's been back to their repair facility three times and I am on the cusp of sending it back to Poland. I'll give it one more go, but I think that either I have a lemon, or the material and/or workmanship simply isn't up to snuff.

I've come to the conclusion that as comfy as these light-weight suits are, they just don't stand up to use.

I suggest you either get a crushed (or not) neoprene suit, for the least amount of money you can, and plan on replacing it from time to time. (I dove with a friend from the UK yesterday. She dove in a new O-Three, and came out dry. First dive only... but it's a start!)

 

[stuartv]

I have a Bare crushed neoprene and a Waterproof trilam. For UK diving plus travel, I would go trilam, for sure - with attached neoprene socks (vs attached boots). Actually, I'd do that even if it were just for the UK. My trilam is more comfortable in the water and way more comfortable out of the water. Especially on a warm day. I have 2 dive buddies that live in London. Both very experienced tech and wreck divers. They both wear trilams. A neoprene drysuit (crushed or not) would SUCK to fly with. They're heavy anyway and they take forever to dry.

Even though I love my Waterproof D9X, I'm thinking of getting a new suit, for a custom fit, replaceable seals, and a tougher shell. My number one choice right now is the Fourth Element Argonaut. Their custom fitting process looks like the bomb. And their suits look like the bomb, too.

 

[stuartv]

Oh, and, Seaskin looks awesome on paper. Pricing is unbelievably low. But, I did some reading on a UK diver forum (thediveforum.com, I think) and found a lot of reviews. It sounds like Seaskin used to be top notch but their quality has really fallen off the last couple of years.

Nevertheless, if I were anywhere near driving distance, I would go have a look.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I can support the Fourth Element Argonaut. I got mine last year. Fourth Element were very good in the communication especially with answerign queries for the minor details.

That said, My choice of suits was limited by the fact I wanted a dealer here in country (UAE) for a piece of mind but more importantly because my knowledge of drysuits was nil , I wanted to have the dealer measure me (and thus take responsibility if it didn't fit)

I chose the kevlar upper because it being able to breath was important. Obviously I use it in water temps that would make most people laugh (I use the DS when temps drop to 24C) but even with higher air temps I don't cook or get damp on the surface.

I chose 2 pockets, a P valve (though never used it) and tek boots because I always boat dive.

In hindsight I should have brought the SI seals, but I only use my suit for 30 dives a year at the moment so not an issue as I can get then repaired easily locally

 

[rombre]

Thanks all!

Given the amount of available, well regarded options, I think it makes most sense for me to go for a suit from the UK.
Will have another think about trilam vs. crushed neo. As I said, most dives would be in the UK, but I'd also like to have the option to take the suit to Canada, Iceland, Malta which seems to be a bit of a pain with the crushed neos

For crushed neo, the best choices seem to be the O'Three Ri 1-100 and Ri 2-100, for trilam the Otter Britannic (Telescopic?) and the Fourth Element Argonaut
All of these seem to be available as a front entry which seems preferable.

Regarding Seaskin, similar to @stuartv I have found lots of positive opinions from several years ago but a lot more negative views over the last few years - I would therefore discard them.

What are your opinions on how forgiving these suits are regarding body weight change?

I chose the kevlar upper because it being able to breath was important.

What's the advantage of the Kevlar upper in practice? I thought it was a durability thing.

 

[stuartv]

What's the advantage of the Kevlar upper in practice? I thought it was a durability thing.

FE says that their non-Kevlar version is the more durable. The Kevlar advantage is that it is breathable, while still maintaining some level of durability. And it's lighter.

 

[Duglum]

You might want to consider Ursuk/Ursuit as well. They're from Finland and make very high quality suits.
I just love mine.