Drysuit as your only suit year round.

[Nflor001]

Has anyone done this? Looking to pick up a Bare SB or a Whites Fusion and use it for tropical and cold water diving. Making it my one and only suit. I've seen the Fusion and it seems to pack up nice and light for travel compared to my 3mm.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I dive my drysuit year-round here in SoCal.
I still prefer to dive a 3mm wetsuit when I go on warm water vacations.

The Fusion is a great suit. It would perform in warm water just as well as cold/temperate water. One thing to consider is that you'd have to pack your clunky rock boots with you on your vacation. I think it's possible to modify the suit by attaching DUI Turbo Soles. That would cut down on dive gear bulk/weight somewhat.

A 3mm wetsuit is simpler to dive. You don't need to worry about managing a drysuit bubble. You don't need to attach a condom cath for the p-valve. There are fewer failure points on it. The zipper on a wetsuit is less prone to failure than the zipper on a drysuit.

Make sure you demo any drysuit before you buy it.

 

[knowone]

Seems to detract somewhat from the total immersion in the medium.

 

[jenth]

It's totally doable. I dive my Fusion year round here in SoCal. I've even taken it up to the colder waters of NorCal (48 degrees F). With heavier undergarments (400g thinsulate), I can pretty much go 4 dives in a day without getting cold. My husband and I also just got back from a trip to Roatan (79 degrees F). We both brought our Fusions (my primary suit, his back up suit) and we were SO happy we did. Obviously we brought much lighter undergarments...and though we did get some funny looks from all the divers, we never got hot and never got cold. While the other wetsuit divers in Roatan were doubling up their wetsuits because they eventually got cold, my husband and I were perfectly happy with our drysuits.

I love my Fusion. Though, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do as Bubbletrubble says and test it out before making the purchase.

 

[flots am]

I dive dry 100% of the time, except for warm-water vactions, where I bring a 3mm full suit.

I'm not a huge fan of drysuits in the tropics because by the time I get into it and adjusted and zipped up, I'm way too hot.

 

[TSandM]

I dive my Fusion everywhere, from Puget Sound to the cenotes to the Red Sea to Hawaii. Just vary the undergarment; the suit works great. It is a little slower to dry than a laminate suit, so it's not a bad idea to pack a little portable fan if you aren't going somewhere where the heat is dry.

 

[Jax]

One thing to consider is that you'd have to pack your clunky rock boots with you on your vacation. I think it's possible to modify the suit by attaching DUI Turbo Soles. That would cut down on dive gear bulk/weight somewhat.

Or buy Chuck Taylors . . .

 

[Nflor001]

Forgot about packing the boots. I guess I could stick with converse for multipurpose shoes, but they would probably be huge for walking around town.

To me this seems like a good idea. One suit to deal with all year and it simplifies packing for travelling overseas. Vary the insulation for different climates. If it gets too hot, you can always dive with rash guard and shorts.

do it.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

If you go the one-suit-to-use-for-all route, take care of the drysuit zipper. I'd recommend packing it in a piece of luggage which provides some structural protection. It doesn't take much to mess up the zipper...and it's an expensive fix ($300-$350 to have it replaced professionally).

I'd also think about installing the removable neck and wrist seal system manufactured by Si-tech. This would allow you to replace a torn neck or wrist seal in the field (provided you are carrying spare seals).

 

[TSandM]

That is actually going to be the next "repair" on my suit . . . when I get home from MX, the SiTech replaceable seal system is going on the suit, and the neck seal changes to silicone. I am gradually developing a true FrankenFusion.