Drysuit for Monterey Bay

[Narcd_dvr]

I love to complain about my Bare XCD2 Tech at every opportunity. Don't get one.

The T100, combined with the compressed neoprene suit, is almost warm enough for Monterey. With argon and a 12mm Otter Bay hood, definitely warm enough.

Lots of options out there. They say fit is everything. Have fun shopping.

jumsted,
So, how do you like the Bare XCD2? I've been looking into dry suits and have narrowed it down to Bare XCD2 or Diving Concept's compressed neoprene suit. Thanks.

Enrique

 

[jumsted65]

jumsted,
So, how do you like the Bare XCD2?

I don't like it. I was led to believe that the compressed neoprene had similar buoyancy characteristics to trilam. It doesn't seem that way. I need more lead to sink than buddies with trilam suits.

The suit is very difficult to vent while in the horizontal position due to the position of the valve. This could be remedied by moving the valve, I suppose, but it's just a pain to vent.

The compressed neoprene is very heavy and difficult to deal with out of the water. I knew this going into the purchase and didn't think it would bug me as much as it actually does.

There are pros to the suit. The off-the-rack size fits me like a glove and I was able to save considerable money over a custom suit. It doesn't leak. The seals have held up remarkably well for about 150+ dives. Etc.

 

[Narcd_dvr]

I don't like it. I was led to believe that the compressed neoprene had similar buoyancy characteristics to trilam. It doesn't seem that way. I need more lead to sink than buddies with trilam suits.

The suit is very difficult to vent while in the horizontal position due to the position of the valve. This could be remedied by moving the valve, I suppose, but it's just a pain to vent.

The compressed neoprene is very heavy and difficult to deal with out of the water. I knew this going into the purchase and didn't think it would bug me as much as it actually does.

There are pros to the suit. The off-the-rack size fits me like a glove and I was able to save considerable money over a custom suit. It doesn't leak. The seals have held up remarkably well for about 150+ dives. Etc.

Thanks for your feedback, that certainly helps a lot.

 

[reefugee]

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. After lots of thoughts, I decided to get a DUI CLX450 for my wife and me. While the DUI drysuit was considerably more expensive, I didn't want to ever regret that I didn't but the suit that I really wanted. Fortunately for me, I will fit into a stock suit. My wife needs a custom fit suit. We both got the zipper pockets on both legs and the zip seals for wrist and neck. Our undergarment will be the Bare T200. Hoods (wet? dry?), gloves (wet), and rockboots comes as part of the package. This is a package deal from Dive Tank, so I am not sure what hoods or gloves comes with the package, but we can always replace them later on. Actually - I have a pair of Henderson Gold Core gloves that I absolutely love, so I will probably continue using those.

The only bad thing is that our drysuit will take a little longer to arrive that I had thought (not DiveTank's fault). The person who was going to show us how to use the drysuit will be out of the country for a while, so we will not be able to use our drysuits until he gets back (December?). Kinda sucks because I think my wife has booked a boat dive (my first boat dive in Monterey) for my birthday in November. Maybe I will just hit breakwater or the local lake (Lake Folsom) and just try to learn how to use it on my own. Anyone here want to teach me how to use a drysuit?

Anyway - thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

I'd not recommend "just trying it" but rather some skilled education and supervision.

The idea of a dive at the breakwater before your boat dive is a REALLY good one, though.

Congrats on getting hitched.

 

[divenut2001]

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. After lots of thoughts, I decided to get a DUI CLX450 for my wife and me. While the DUI drysuit was considerably more expensive, I didn't want to ever regret that I didn't but the suit that I really wanted. Fortunately for me, I will fit into a stock suit. My wife needs a custom fit suit. We both got the zipper pockets on both legs and the zip seals for wrist and neck. Our undergarment will be the Bare T200. Hoods (wet? dry?), gloves (wet), and rockboots comes as part of the package. This is a package deal from Dive Tank, so I am not sure what hoods or gloves comes with the package, but we can always replace them later on. Actually - I have a pair of Henderson Gold Core gloves that I absolutely love, so I will probably continue using those.

The only bad thing is that our drysuit will take a little longer to arrive that I had thought (not DiveTank's fault). The person who was going to show us how to use the drysuit will be out of the country for a while, so we will not be able to use our drysuits until he gets back (December?). Kinda sucks because I think my wife has booked a boat dive (my first boat dive in Monterey) for my birthday in November. Maybe I will just hit breakwater or the local lake (Lake Folsom) and just try to learn how to use it on my own. Anyone here want to teach me how to use a drysuit?

Anyway - thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

I bought my CLX 450 at Dolphin a couple of years ago and they thru in a dry suit course for free. Got use to it right in their pool and then did a couple of dives with them off the Cypress Sea for the course. DUI controls the pricing so it should be the same price no matter where you buy it.

At any rate you can pick up a dry suit course packet at your LDS and read the manual and watch the tape on your own. The only thing that I found to be different was that PADI teaches you to use your dry suit as your BC where others will tell you to only put enough air in your dry suit to keep the squeeze off and use your BC for bouyancy. There's people that swear by both methods, I've found the later works best for me.