Drysuit diving and Wet suit diving

[DavidHickey]

Just wondering, I'm new to diving and trying to get myself and my wife set up with our own equipment. Money of course is a consideration. I was looking to buy her a wetsuit but came across a deal where I could get her a DUI 350 drysuit with rock boots in her size, brand new for around 650.00. If I buy her a drysuit is there any reason she will still need a wetsuit? Or can you pretty much wear a dry suit in any diving scenario? But can't afford both right now.
Thanks

 

[Dan Gibson]

Just because it appears to meet her measurements, don't assume it will be a good fit. $650 is not a good deal if it doesn't fit. $650 also sounds like a pretty well used 350 TLS or a real motivated seller to me. Don't forget the suit needs to fit with the thickest undergarments you plan to use.

I'd let her decide what she wants to wear before trying to find a good deal. She may not even like diving a drysuit. Some people don't.

You can wear a drysuit all year if you want to. Unless I hit tropical waters, that's all I use. I just vary the undergarments.

Just wondering, I'm new to diving and trying to get myself and my wife set up with our own equipment. Money of course is a consideration. I was looking to buy her a wetsuit but came across a deal where I could get her a DUI 350 drysuit with rock boots in her size, brand new for around 650.00. If I buy her a drysuit is there any reason she will still need a wetsuit? Or can you pretty much wear a dry suit in any diving scenario? But can't afford both right now.
Thanks

 

[crpntr133]

You can pretty much use the dry suit in any situation. I say any because I have seen a few times that it is too hot. Another thing to think about is training. Most around here will tell you to take a class or at least get someone that knows what they are doing to teach you. That is probably going to cost you $$.

 

[mossym]

deal like that i'd jump on the drysuit..but what temp is the water you'll be diving in most often?

 

[ScubaFreak]

Yeah you gotta think about what kinda diving your gonna be doing. If you dive in relatively warm temp water all year round, including vacations, there's probably no real need for the drysuit. But if you think that you'll be diving colder waters most of the time, go with the drysuit. When you plan to go on vacation to warmer waters a wetsuit can be picked up along the way for pretty cheap.
But check with your wife, the drysuit may not fit, she may not like drysuit diving as she might need more weight depending on the drysuit.
There's lots to consider, i'd chat to your instructor or LDS- if they're a good lds, they'll give you advice that's best for you.

SF

 

[Robert Ward]

David,

I like to keep the amount of equipment I'm wearing as simple as possible. I find wet suits simpler to deal with than dry suits. Also, as crp.... mentioned, training is important due to the amount of air one can put into the suit. You can become very buoyant very quickly which is dangerous. Some divers have even become inverted and all of the air goes to the legs. If that happens, it’s not an easy problem to overcome gracefully.

 

[ScubaFreak]

David,

I like to keep the amount of equipment I'm wearing as simple as possible. I find wet suits simpler to deal with than dry suits. Also, as crp.... mentioned, training is important due to the amount of air one can put into the suit. You can become very buoyant very quickly which is dangerous. Some divers have even become inverted and all of the air goes to the legs. If that happens, it’s not an easy problem to overcome gracefully.

Training is important, but it's quite simple to dive drysuit once the basics are taught correctly. Over inflation and inversion are few and far between as a drysuit is normally only used for suit squeeze. But I wouldn't let this put anybody off using drysuits.

SF

 

[DavidHickey]

I'd like to say we'll be diving all warm water, but the reality is we live in Ohio. So we'll probably do a lot of cold quarry diving and the occasional tropical trip. As far as fit goes, is DUI's size chart fairly accurate? It sounds as if it should fit her to a Tee, and from what I understand their sizing chart takes into account wearing their largest 400gram undergarment. And also wondering, how does rock boot sizing work? She wears a size 6 or 7 regular boot, and the rock boots that come with this are size 7. Are they pretty much the same?

 

[ScubaFreak]

Hi David,

There's no substitution for actually trying it on!! As perfect as it sounds, i'd be slow to buy a drysuit on sizes alone.

SF

 

[detroit diver]

I need to reiterate what folks have said here. Drysuits vary in size-even within manufacturer's specifications. Same goes for the underwear.

Before you spend your $650.00, make sure you get something that actually works.